Maureen Harrington has withdrawn from the Irish team for the World Cross Country championships on March 24th-25th over her disappointment at not being selected for the short course 4km race. Five athletes were chosen to join Sonia O'Sullivan in the women's senior team for the trip to Ostend, while Harrington was entered as the only individual in the longer 8km race.

That, says the Kerry athlete, goes against all the form she has shown this season, and after learning of her absence from the short course team, she felt that she had no option but to withdraw from the championships altogether.

"This is nothing against the athletes that were chosen ahead of me," she says. "But I am really disappointed with the selectors. I made it quite clear all season that I wanted to run the short course race with the Irish team, and they have obviously put me in the longer race as some sort of consolation. I wouldn't stoop so low as to accept that decision."

Part of Harrington's complaint, however, is that she has beaten a number of athletes chosen ahead of her on a series of occasions this season. Anne Keenan-Buckley finished well behind her in the Belfast International in January, and Maria McCambridge was behind her at the National Championships (which also served as the trials). Una English hasn't run a cross country race of any sort this season, while Freda Davoran was concentrating on the indoor season and had also skipped the cross country trials.

"The selectors knew very well my interest in this year's cross country championships and never before have I trained as hard as the last couple of months. I thought I had proved myself in more than enough races. But now I will have to question my future in the sport."

Harrington was twice Irish cross country champion. She has also been part of the Irish team for the world championships on eight times, and in Turin in 1997 she was part of the team that brought home bronze medals.