Race on for last spots

ATHLETICS/Olympic qualification trail:  Twenty-eight days before Athens becomes the centre of the sporting world, the handful of Irish athletes still aspiring to Olympic qualification will this weekend spread themselves all over Europe in search of the elusive qualifying standards.

If everything goes to plan as many as five athletes could join the 13 announced last week, but with Tuesday's final deadline fast approaching the pressure is on.

Gary Ryan remains confident of running the 20.59 he requires over 200 metres, and tomorrow in Madrid he begins that final quest. He'll also run in Thessalonika in Greece on Monday, but the slight altitude of Madrid should provide the better chance.

Also in Madrid is Sonia O'Sullivan, who'll use the Atletismo Grand Prix meeting for her first 3,000 metres of the season, and almost certainly her penultimate major race before Athens. She has targeted the same distance at the Zurich Golden League meetinbg on August 6th as her final outing before the Olympics, and the only other test run planned at this stage is the 1,500 metres at the national championships on Sunday week.

The Madrid meeting doesn't have the best of memories for O'Sullivan, but having been based in Spain for the last number of days it was an ideal stop-off en route to Athens. Yet it won't be an easy assignment. Among those also lining up is her training partner and reigning world cross country champion, Benita Johnson of Australia, as well as the top Kenyan Isabella Ochichi.

The men's 3,000 metres will feature Alistair Cragg, also already Athens bound, and the usual crop of Kenyans and Ethiopians will certainly create the opportunity for a personal best.

Back on the Olympic qualification trail, this evening's meeting in Bangor will feature Gareth Turnbull in a paced 1,500 metres. He still needs to knock a few seconds off his season's best to run the 3:36.20 required for Athens, and unless conditions are ideal that seems unlikely. Terry McHugh will also seek a qualification mark in the javelin.

Tomorrow's Loughborough meeting in England features Peter Coghlan (110 metre hurdles), Ciara Sheehy (200 metres) and David Gillick (400 metres). Paul Hession will also seek the 200-metre standard at the Oordegem meeting in Belgium.

Most of them then head on to Greece, where 24 hours before the deadline the Thessalonika track will become a sort of last-chance saloon. Hession, Ryan, and Turnbull will be joined by David McCarthy, Rob Daly and Karen Shinkins (400 metres) and Freda Davoren (1,500 metres) and if any of those old Greek gods are with them someone should come home with a qualifying time.

Nick Sweeney, meanwhile, is set to become Irish team member number 14, having thrown 64.12 metres in the discus in the United States last Sunday week. Athletics Ireland are now expecting final documentation on that throw which will make Sweeney's addition to the team a formality.