ATHLETICS: The organisers of Saturday's Cork City Sports needed something special for this year's event given its clash with a certain game in Germany and have done as well as they could have hoped.Sixteen weeks after winning the World Indoor 60-metre hurdles, Derval O'Rourke is finally ready for her first race of the summer, and fittingly that will be in her native city.
O'Rourke will be joined at the Mardyke by Ireland's two European indoor champions - Alistair Cragg over 3,000 metres and David Gillick over 400 metres.
Sonia O'Sullivan - so long the star attraction in Cork - is ruled out of the 3,000 metres, and her absence clears the way for O'Rourke to take centre stage.
Such a lengthy lay-off since her gold medal run in Moscow in early March was never planned, yet it doesn't seem to have done O'Rourke any harm.
Her only real target for the summer remains the 100-metre hurdles at the European Championships in Gothenburg, still five weeks away, and if everything does go to plan up to then she'll probably be in the hunt for another medal.
That will require a significant improvement on her personal best of 12.96 seconds, clocked three years ago, though that's unlikely to come on Saturday.
The most important thing is simply to get racing again after being held back by a groin injury.
"We're very happy now that the injury problem is fully behind her," says coach Jim Kilty. "She's done some great hurdles sessions in the last three weeks. But then you don't open the season with a personal best. I wouldn't expect it anyway."
O'Rourke will race again in Athens next Monday and then decide if she needs to run at the Paris Golden League the following Friday. But if she does build on her indoor form - she ran 7.84 in Moscow - that outdoor best of 12.96 should easily be bettered in the weeks ahead.
Winning on Saturday will be her main target, though far from a formality with Nadine Faustin-Parker of Haiti, who has run 12.98 this year, among the opposition.
In fact Cragg looks the best bet for a home victory now the Australian Craig Mottram will miss the 3,000 metres with a foot injury (plantar fasciitis).
Cragg, who arrived in Cork from the US yesterday, has made himself favourite for the 5,000 metres in Gothenburg, thanks to the European-leading 13:08.97 he posted in New York this month.
Gillick is particularly eager for a good run over 400 metres, having missed last year's race through injury, and is in form to improve his recent best of 45.80 seconds.
America's Darold Williamson, ranked 10 in the world with 44.88 seconds, is among the starters in a quality field.
The former European indoor champion and local hero Mark Carroll is set for his last track race on home soil, and is assured of a warm send-off, when he lines up for the 3,000 metres alongside Cragg and several emerging Irish talents, including Martin Fagan and Mark Kenneally.
Despite reports he was ready to hang up his spikes, Carroll remains intent on competing in Gothenburg over 10,000 metres and is down to run the British AAA championships next month.
With most of Ireland's 40 qualifiers for Gothenburg competing on Saturday, including Joanne Cuddihy and Karen Shinkins over 400 metres, it promises to be the best track meeting in Ireland for several years.
