Sprinters set pace for Ireland worlds team

ATHLETICS: Athletics Ireland has set a deadline of March 3rd for Irish athletes to secure qualifying times for the World Indoor Championships, which take place a fortnight later in Birmingham. So far just four athletes are sure of selection, with only limited prospects of the team being extended much further.

Surprisingly, all four of the qualifiers this season are in the sprints which reflects the shift from the traditionally stronger distance running events. Paul Brizzell and Ciara Sheehy (both 200 metres), Paul McKee (400 metres) and Derval O'Rourke (60 metre hurdles) have each secured the necessary times in recent weeks.

While Alistair Cragg has also been comfortably inside the 3,000 metres time, he's tied to his American university commitments in Arkansas for the rest of the indoor season.

Sonia O'Sullivan had been pre-selected for Birmingham but instead has targeted the World Cross Country Championships in Lausanne later in March.

For the athletes on the fringes of selection the focus is now on this weekend's Irish Championships, which take place at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast for the first time.

Gary Ryan appears best positioned to add his name to the list of qualifiers in the 200 metres. At last Saturday's Scottish Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Ryan retained the 200 metres title in 21.16 seconds, but was still an agonising .01 seconds outside the world standard.

At the same meeting, Sheehy clocked 23.79, behind Scotland's Susan Burnside - the exact qualifying time for Birmingham.

McKee achieved his 400 metres mark when he won in Chemnitz, Germany, last Friday in 46.85 seconds.

Rob Daly will also seek qualification in the event in Belfast this weekend, having clocked an Irish record of 34.28 over the rarely-run 300 metres in Cardiff on Sunday.

In earning her place in the 60 metres hurdles, O'Rourke improved the Irish record to 8.18, also achieved in Cardiff. Karen Shinkins, last year's European Indoor bronze medallist over 400 metres, has raced sparingly this season but is still likely to gain selection if desired.

Daniel Caulfield is now the only hope in the middle distances, and is still confident of securing the 800 metres time when he runs in Boston this weekend. There were also hopes of an Irish men's team qualifying in the 400 metres relay, but that now appears unlikely after David McCarthy pulled up injured in Cardiff.

Meanwhile, 100 metres world record holder Tim Montgomery has withdrawn from the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix on February 21st after refusing to discuss his nowsevered relationship with controversial Canadian coach Charlie Francis.

The Birmingham promoters said yesterday that the deal had fallen through because the American sprinter had refused to answer questions about Francis at a news conference scheduled for London later today.

"He didn't want to talk about the matter to the media," said a Birmingham spokesman, "but we didn't think that was possible because of the size of the story."