26-year-old Ballymena and Antrim sprinter Paul Brizzel has qualified as Ireland’s 200m representative at the World Championships in Paris in a fortnight’s time, thanks to a win in the race of the day at the Irish National Track and Field Championships in Morton Stadium, Santry today.
The World Indoor semi-finalist was put under major pressure by Athenry’s 20-year-old prodigy Paul Hession, fifth in the recent European Under-23 Championships, who closed down the final straight to finish 0.01 seconds behind Brizzel. The Ulsterman clocked a relatively slow 21.01. Nenagh Olympic veteran Gary Ryan, 31, was inconsolable afterwards with his third place, 21.05, missing out on his second individual World Championships in a row.
Ryan ran 20.72 in Kassell in June to qualify for the B standard in Paris and took a new national Indoor record for 60m (6.73) back in January and felt afterwards that he chose the wrong time to run his worst race of the year. "I was well below par out there. Between 50 and 150 metres I let the two guys off the leash a little and couldn’t get back at them in the end. I’m very disappointed as I thought I could have won it but it wasn’t to be."
Elsewhere, Kerry’s Gillian O’Sullivan clocked 20:13.13 for the 5km walk title, eleven seconds off the world record, to show her excellent form as a leading medal contender in Paris.
Having been on world record schedule for half the race, O’Sullivan eased off in the final quarter mindful of the not overdoing things before the Worlds. "The key for me now is to not train too hard and that can be difficult in itself," explained the Farranfore athlete. "Next Wednesday I’m going to Lyon for some warm weather training and will head from there to Paris. I’m delighted with my form."
A seasoned Grand Prix campaigner now, the 26-year-old will celebrate her birthday in France three days before the 20km championship race. World ranked fourth, O’Sullivan’s 20:13 ranks as a national season’s best, beating Olive Loughnane’s 23:37 set at the World Youth Championships in Sherbooke, Canada.
Other strong performances came from Ciaran McDonagh in the long jump, as he managed 7.95m, two inches short of his own Irish record set at the 1999 World Championships. Newbridge athlete Karen Shinkins showed her speed with a strong 53.99 in the 400m heats, easing off in the final straight.
Filed by Johnny Proby
