This weekend…. – DERVAL O’ROURKE KEEN TO GET SEASON BACK ON TRACK
– JAMIE NIETO AIMING HIGH IN CORK
– PAUL HESSION READY FOR CORK TEST DERVAL O’ROURKE KEEN TO GET SEASON BACK ON TRACK
Derval O’Rourke, former World Indoor champion over the 60m. hurdles is very determined to deliver a quality performance before her home fans at next Saturday’s 57th, Cork City Sports at the Mardyke.
Following a few inconsistent early competitions she is now rounding into the type of form which saw her strike silver at the 2006 European Championship and a victory at the weekend would be the perfect boost for the Douglas star just a month before the Beijing Olympics.
The high flying Polish athlete, Aurelia Trywianska who is at thirty two in the form of her life must be a warm favourite but competing on her home track, Derval is sure to to be really up for this race. Ensuring that the 100m hurdles event will be of the highest quality are other sub 13 second performers Toyin Augustin (Nigeria), Andrea Bliss (Jamaica) and Marina Tomic (Slovenia).
JAMIE NIETO AIMING HIGH IN CORK
Holder of the high jump event in Cork, Jamie Nieto, from USA was first overseas athlete to arrive in the southern capital last tuesday to signal his intent to claim victory for a second time at next Saturday’s Cork City Sports..
Nieto who finished 4th.in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens will duel with the bronze medallist from Athens, Jaroslav Baba (Cze) who has a personal best jump of 2.37m and also Poland’s Grzegorz Sposob who has jumped 2.34m. Nieto has also jumped 2.34m
The 2005 World champion from the Ukraine , Yuriy Krimarenko will also be in a star line-up for an event which is sure to keep spectators highly entertained. The Dutch national champion Jan Peter Larsen having recently cleared 2.25m is also in the field with Ireland’s Europa Cup representative Chris Crowley from Cork heading the home challenge.
PAUL HESSION READY FOR CORK TEST
A very much in form Paul Hession goes for a sprint double at the 57th. Cork City Sports at the Mardyke this Saturday (2.00pm start) following a new personal best time in Greece of 20.26 secs.though unfortunately his time was marginally over the permitted limit. His season now moves from Thessalonika to Cork where former Cork winner Dwight Thomas of Jamaica will provide a stern challenge.
Evergreen Chris Williams also from Jamaica who ran 20.20 last week to make the rostrum and qualify for Beijing at his national championships will also make his presence felt in both 100m and 200m events and Americans, Chris Johnson, Demetrious McCloud and the Pole, Krzyaztof Jablonski will not be too far of the pace either.
However in his current form it is difficult to oppose the Athenry man recording a sprint double on the fast Mardyke surface where he has won the longer sprint for past two years.
