Sonia O'Sullivan has been warned by the coach of a rival that she may have to finish under two hours and 20 minutes if she is to win Sunday’s New York City Marathon. Dr Gabriele Rosa is the coach of defending champion Margaret Okayo, who specialises in running the second phase at a much faster pace. Dr Rosa insists his 26-year-old charge Okayo is in the best shape of her life and will beat the course record 2:24:21 she set one year ago.
New York is seen by many as the toughest marathon course in the world, and race director Allan Steinfeld dismissed suggestions that anyone can run under 2:20. Steinfeld said: “We would love it if Sonia or anyone else could run under 2:20. But this is a difficult course. As good as the women are, I would expect the winning time to be in the region of 2:21-2:22.”
Former world 5,000m gold medallist Eamonn Coghlan emphasised the importance of victory for O’Sullivan: “Winning here is far more important for Sonia than just getting a fast time. This is a really tough course. I think Sonia has the ability to run 2:20. But despite the quality in the field I'm going for a winning time of 2:21-2:22.”
O’Sullivan is determined to rise to the occasion: “Big city marathons are big events, races you want to win. It’s something I've never done before. You just want to find out if you're good at something else - and the marathon really is something else. It's much more important for me to win than run a fast time. This is such a big race. To put your name on a list with the people who've won the New York Marathon is one of those things you want to do in your lifetime.”
Filed by Greg McKevitt
