O'Sullivan eyes title in New Delhi

ATHLETICS: Six weeks ago in Athens it was surely the furthest thing from her mind, yet tomorrow morning in New Delhi she's back in the hunt for a major athletics title. Clearly Sonia O'Sullivan doesn't yet see retiring as an option.

Winning the World Half Marathon championships at this stage of her seasons seems a long shot, and yet the field of opposing runners in New Delhi is hardly the most daunting. O'Sullivan in fact appears to be in as good as shape as any of them, her sixth place finish in last Sunday's Great North Run half marathon providing fair encouragement.

Although she finished exactly a minute behind Australia's Benita Johnson, clocking 68 minutes 55 seconds for the 13.1 miles, O'Sullivan appeared fresh and unperturbed. Two days later she decided the body was fine, and early on Thursday headed for India, taking the few days to adjust to the heat.

With a best of 67:19 from two years ago, O'Sullivan still has reason to believe she can challenge for this title - and the $30,000 prize. She didn't, however, enjoy her only other venture into these championships, when in Brussels in May of 2002 she ended up 14th and well short of her pre-race target.

Still, with so many of the big names being absent, including title-holder Paula Radcliffe, an Irish medal appears within reach. China's known front-runner Sun Yingjie will start as favourite, primarily because of her amazing double just last Sunday when within a few hours she won the 5,000 metres (15:41.47) and the 10,000 metres (31:47.23) at the National Grand Prix. Others like Kenya's Leah Malot and Ethiopia's Teyiba Erkesso won't be easily beaten.

O'Sullivan's decision to run also suggests that she is seriously considering the longer distances for the immediate future, including no doubt the marathon. Earlier this week Johnson announced her participation in the New York marathon on November 7th, and as her training partner, it's been rumoured O'Sullivan might do the same.

What happens in New Delhi will ultimately influence such thoughts. In the meantime it was confirmed that Ireland will have some interest in New York, with US-based Marie Davenport, who finished 14th in the 10,000 metres in Athens, making her debut over the 26.2-mile distance.