SONIA O'SULLIVAN is scheduled to make her first appearance of the outdoor track season in Oregon in the US on May 26th.
O'Sullivan will start the final phase of her buildup to the World Championships, in Athens in August, when she takes on some of America's leading milers over 1500 metres.
Most of her early season, heavy work was completed in Australia, where she spent three months making ready for the World Indoor Championships in Paris in March, where she won silver in the 3,000, and the World Cross Country Championship in Turin, where she finished ninth.
Since then, she has returned to Philadelphia where she has been working with Marcus O'Sullivan and several of her former Villanova University teammates.
"So far, the emphasis has been on strength work with only one track session a week," she said. "But gradually this will change and by the time I get back to Europe, at the end of the month I will have started getting a racing ,edge."
O'Sullivan's first European appearance will be in Paris on June 2nd. In all, she may compete in no more than five races before seeking to add the World 1,500 metres title to the 5,000 metres championship she won in Gothenburg two years ago.
Brian Forbes, the Ulster man who holds the intervarsity 400 metres championship, has rejected the chance of pursuing an international career with Ireland.
Forbes, who had been selected in the team to compete in the SIKI Games in Ljubjlana in Slovenia next Sunday, has informed BLE that he does not wish to avail of the invitation. He will be replaced by Peter Lyons of Dublin City Harriers.
His unexpected withdrawal catches the mood of a difficult assignment for the Irish selectors who, because of injuries and examination commitments, have been forced to make a number of changes from the team originally selected.
The problem they faced in the choice of a women's 400 metres representative was typical of their difficulties. Their first selection, Karen Shinkins, has examinations next weed and with her DCH clubmate, Jennifer McKenna, also unavailable, the vacancy is now likely to go to the former BLOE title holder, Mary McCarthy of Athenry.
Examinations have also caused a major reappraisal of the men's 400 metres hurdles selection where Jeremy Lyons (Ferrybank) and Brian Liddy (UCD) are unavailable. It means early recognition for David Keoghan (UCD), who won the Dublin champion ship at the weekend.
Freda Davern of UCC, the intervarsity 800 metres champion, who was expected to run in Slovenia, has also withdrawn and in the reshuffled team, Grainne Redmond (DCH), the new Dublin title holder, will now compete in the 100 metres hurdles.
