THE 800 metres promises to hold much of the attention when the first major fixture of the track and field season, GV Ryan and Louis Vandendries incorporating BLE Games, take place in Santry tomorrow.

National record holder David Matthews will have his first serious outing and may well find that he will have a thorough searching of his fitness, with Derek O'Connor listed to take his place on the starting line.

O'Connor, national record holder at all three distances below 800 metres, has raced sparingly in recent seasons since completing his studies in Iona College in USA. He returned to Ireland late last year and has been training consistently in the last few months with a view to a serious return to competition. Indeed, last season in the United States and without a proper foundation for the distance, he competed over 800 metres and returned a time of one minute 47 seconds, an indication of his potential.

For the last two weeks he has been warm weather training and tomorrow's race will be his first outing for some time. He may prove to be a handful for Matthews, particularly if he can remain in contact as the finishing straight beckons.

Terry McHugh always produces something special in this competition and with the Olympics a mere 10 weeks away the event will assume greater urgency for the big thrower who has yet to achieve the `A' standard in his speciality, the javelin.

The sprints are also likely to see some interesting confrontations. Stuart McQuade burst like a bullet from the blocks early last year before his season went into decline and may feel that he has a point to prove. Indeed, he has already gone some way to doing that, when he posted a time of 10.6 seconds for 100 metres in foul windy conditions in Santry 10 days ago. With McQuade out, Nenagh's Gary Ryan assumed the mantle of the country's top sprinter last season and their meeting is certain to see some fast times with his club mate Neil Ryan also in the field.

Training partners TJ Kearns and Sean Cahill will clash in the 110 metres hurdles and with both already certain of tickets to the US, fast times and crisp hurdling will be the priority as well as domestic supremacy.

Much interest will also centre on Brian Liddy's rate of development since he moved to Dublin to become part of the UCD scholarship, but he may have to wait a few weeks to test his mettle against 400 metre hurdle record holder Tom McGuirk who is not expected in Ireland for some weeks.

For more years than he may care to remember, Philip Conway will don the red and white of the host club Crusaders to compete in the discus. It will be a history making day for the former Olympian with his daughter Karen also competing for the club in the women's equivalent.

Dublin City Harriers will, as ever, galvanise their forces in a serious bid to maintain their domination of the domestic scene, which should prove successful, while the women's event may rest between Dundrum South Dublin and Nenagh.

. Linford Christie sets out to put some fun back into his racing tomorrow but will it all turn serious when the Olympics come around? That is the big question hanging over the 36 year old sprinter when he opens what will almost certainly be his final season with a low key 100 metres in Arnsberg, Germany.

Christie is booked for a news conference for his sponsors at a hotel in Nuremberg the following night. And there is speculation that he may announce then whether he plans to defend the 100 metres title won in Barcelona four years ago at the Atlanta Games.