ATHLETICS:SONIA O'SULLIVAN will run next month's Boston Marathon with the hope of qualifying for a record fifth Olympics. She may be 38 now and out of competitive running for most of the past year, but she's not entirely without a chance.  IAN O'RIORDANreports.

The women's marathon A-standard for Beijing is two hours and 37 minutes, and O'Sullivan's best is almost exactly eight minutes quicker - the 2:29.01 she ran in London back in 2005. The B-standard is a more moderate 2:42.00, although the Olympic Council of Ireland insists on the A-standard only for selection.

O'Sullivan will return next week to her London home after spending the winter months in Australia (it being their summer), during which time she enjoyed 15 weeks of uninterrupted training, including a spell at the high altitude Falls Creek. That helped convince her to give Olympic qualification one last shot, having dropped out of the Berlin Marathon last September because of a calf muscle injury.

The Boston event takes place on Monday, April 21st - Patriots' Day in the US - and while it is one of the world's most famous marathons, and this the 112th running, it's also regarded as one of the most difficult. Starting in the satellite town of Hopkinton, it winds it way towards downtown Boston, taking in the notorious Heartbreak Hill approaching 21 miles.

Last year the women's race was won by Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia in a mediocre 2:29.18, with only the top-six women breaking 2:37. However, the fact it won't be a particularly fast race up front may suit O'Sullivan.

While it's not a priority at this stage of her career, making a fifth Olympics does still excite O'Sullivan. The Cobh mother of two, who turned 38 in November, shares the record for Irish Olympic participation with three other athletes: Marcus O'Sullivan (who ran in 1984, '88, '92 and '96), John Treacy (1980, '84, '88 and '92) and javelin thrower Terry McHugh (1988, '92, '96, and 2000).

While Treacy's silver medal in the marathon was matched by O'Sullivan's success in the 5,000 metres at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, few athletes of any nation could match the drama she has produced at the Games.

On her debut in Barcelona in 1992, she led the 3,000 metres final down the backstretch, but was narrowly out-sprinted for a medal, ending up fourth. That disappointment was made worse a year later when the silver medallist, Tatyana Dorovskikh of the Ukraine, tested positive for a banned substance.

Four years later O'Sullivan was the overwhelming favourite in the 5,000 metres, but suffering from a mysterious illness, dropped out with just over two laps remaining. She tried to bounce back in the 1,500 metres but failed to make the final. After winning silver in Sydney behind Romania's Gabriela Szabo, O'Sullivan again reached the 5,000 metres final in Athens in 2004, and made what seemed like an emotional farewell when, again suffering from illness, she was lapped by the entire field.

She had already announced her participation at the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park on April 6th, and if she does claim the Olympic standard in Boston, no athlete will be more deserving or more cherishing of it than O'Sullivan.

Currently, no other Irish woman has the A-standard in the marathon, which means if O'Sullivan did run the B-standard she would still be officially eligible for selection, but only if the Olympic Council of Ireland make an exception to their rules.

On a less positive note, the Olympic qualification hopes of another Irish athlete, 800 metres runner David Campbell, would appear to have suffered a fatal setback. Campbell, who was also training in Australia under O'Sullivan's partner Nic Bideau, has sustained a stress fracture of the tibia and is likely to be sidelined for two months. Campbell last summer ran 1:46.05 for the 800 metres, just shy of the 1:46.00 A-standard.

It was also confirmed yesterday than Kenya's Abraham Chebii will defend his Great Ireland Run title, while former Ireland 800 metres international James McIlroy, who later switched allegiance to England, was retiring from the sport because of lack of funding: "I just wouldn't want to get further into debt," said McIlroy. "I wasn't prepared to lose my house (for Beijing). I need to look for full-time employment because I wasn't earning anything from athletics."

Ireland's record Olympic athletes

Sonia O'Sullivan

1992(1,500m, 3,000m)

1996(1,500m, 5,000m)

2000(5,000m, silver medal, 10,000m)

2004(5,000m)

John Treacy

1980(5,000m, 10,000m)

1984(10,000m, marathon, silver medal)

1988(marathon)

1992(marathon)

Marcus O'Sullivan

1984(800m, 1,500m)

1988(1,500m)

1992(1,500m)

1996(1,500m)

Terry McHugh

1988(javelin)

1992(javelin)

1996(javelin)

2000(javelin).