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Stars gather for Cork City Sports

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RTE News The 57th Cork City Sports takes place at the Mardyke on Saturday with some of the brightest stars in the athletics firmament in action. Olympic gold medallist and triple world heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft will compete in the long jump. Young Irish champion Kelly Proper from the Ferrybank club in Waterford, should benefit from competing against the Swedish superstar.

Former world indoor champion Derval O’Rourke will be centre stage in attempting to win the 100m hurdles for the first time at the Cork City Sports, having come agonisingly close in previous years.

Marina Topic of Slovenia, Andrea Bliss of Jamaica and Italy’s Michel Catteneo are sure to provide stern opposition for the local star from Douglas.

World and Olympic silver medallist James Beckford, who set a fabulous new meeting record of 8.18m for the long jump in 2006, returns to Leeside. Australia’s commonwealth medallist Fabrice Lapierre and Germany’s Nils Winter are expected to push the highly- popular Jamaican all the way.

Double European indoor champion David Gillick competes against Chris Lloyd of Dominica, Greg Nixon of the USA and Northern Ireland’s Paul McKee.

Irish 100m and 200m record holder Paul Hession was an impressive Irish winner for the last two years and is likely to attempt another sprint double.

In the women’s sprints Laurene Jones, Tahesia Harrigan, Nadine Palmer and Verena Sailer will bring the best out of Cork’s top sprinter Ailis McSweeney.

Former world champion Uriy Krimarenko of the Ukraine takes on US star Andra Manson and Dutch competitors Jan Peter Larsen and Martijn Nuijens in the high jump.

Cork’s former European indoor champion Mark Carroll will battle with leading African runners over the 3,000m.

The shot put competition was revived in Cork two years ago and proved a huge success.

Last year, world champion Reese Hoffa of the United States set a new meeting record of 21.74m.

The popular American may defend his title against other 20m+ throwers, including Dylan Armstrong, Maris Urtans, Marco Fortes and Steve Manz.

In the women’s event, defending champion and Olympic silver medallist Nadine Kleinert is expected to compete.

An outstanding field will compete in the women’s 400m, with previous winners Makelesi Batimala and Kaltouma Nadjina clashing with Joanne Cuddihy from Kilkenny.

Action at UCC gets underway at 2pm.