Sun may help O'Sullivan to shine again

ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: So the Chinese are back. Those short strides, quick surges and fearless tactics have been the main images of the women's distance races in Paris, even if they've come solely from Yingjie Sun.

And though few things are ever certain after the heats in championship running, it is clear Sun will strongly influence Sonia O'Sullivan's 5,000 metres final this Saturday. Inevitably this will evoke memories of 10 years ago, when a trio of Chinese, trained by the controversial Ma Junren, destroyed her hopes in the 3,000 metres in Stuttgart.

The 25-year-old Sun, who took third in Saturday's 10,000 metres final, looked impressive when qualifying from heat one of the 5,000 metres on Tuesday night.

O'Sullivan avoided a confrontation by qualifying from the second heat. But the front-running tactics of Sun will almost certainly play a part in O'Sullivan's chances of a medal on Saturday, and in a strange twist to what happened 10 years ago might actually help them. A faster race would seem likely to play into O'Sullivan's hands.

Sun's sudden emergence onto the world scene cannot be credited to Junren. She did work briefly with the eccentric, chain-smoking coach as a teenager back in 1995, but he reportedly said she "had no talent" and refused to let her train with his army.

Five years later Junren had a fatal run-in with the Chinese federation, and was axed as national coach just prior to the Sydney Olympics. He continues to train his own athletes with his traditional one-marathon-a-day regime, complemented by the infamous turtle-blood soup, but these days they rarely feature on the world stage.

For the last few years Sun has been guided by Wang Dexian, who two years ago was appointed joint national coach with Hu Rong. Dexian has set up his training camp in the hills of Qinghuangdao, 200 kilometres from Beijing, and it's there Sun has undergone the exhausting training methods that have turned her into one of the stories of the World Championships in Paris.

It's not just the way Sun has performed here that has made her stand out in Paris, with her regular surges to the front of the 10,000 metres ultimately creating the third-fastest time in history, but also her running style. She barely moves her arms, running instead with them extended straight down like she's carrying invisible pails of milk

Sun will start the 5,000 metres final equally determined to press the pace from the early stages. Last year at the Asian Games in Busan she won both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, improving her personal best to 14:40.41 over the shorter distance.

O'Sullivan's best is still the 14:41.02 she clocked when winning Olympic silver in Sydney, and she admits she will probably need to run a lifetime best to feature in the medals.

And that's where Sun's presence could prove an advantage. A slower pace would suit the Ethiopian Berhane Adere, who also has the 10,000 metres in her legs and looked tired on Tuesday. And the Kenyan hope Edith Masai is also better known for her fast finish than her survival in fast-paced races.

Win or lose on Saturday the Paris championships won't end there for Sun, who insists she will also run the marathon less than 24 hours later. As crazy as that might sound, this is the athlete who has already completed 14 marathons in her short career, including two within 15 days in 1998.