ATHLETICS:It may come as a surprise that Derval O'Rourke has yet to record a victory at the Cork City Sports, despite several attempts and the minor benefit of home advantage - but that's something she intends putting right at the Mardyke tomorrow afternoon. Ian O'Riordanreports

O'Rourke joins most of Ireland's leading athletes at the event, now in its 56th year, and there's the typically strong international flavour as well. Yet her victory in the 100-metre hurdles will be far from a formality; England's Sarah Claxton, who beat O'Rourke last year, also toes the line, along with Nadine Faustin of Haiti, Andrea Bliss of Jamaica and Kelly Wells of the USA.

But having beaten Claxton at the European Cup last weekend, running a season's best of 13 seconds, O'Rourke is gradually regaining her best form ahead of the World Championships in Osaka in late August and should prove the most popular winner of the afternoon.

Paul Hession, David Gillick and Joanne Cuddihy are also using Cork as part of their build-up to the World Championships, and Hession will have another national record on his mind when he lines up for the 200 metres, having lowered the 100-metre mark to 10.18 seconds last Sunday. He managed to eclipse Paul Brizzel's seven-year-old 200-metre mark of 20.54 by running 20.53 in Oslo earlier this month, though that went unratified because the following wind was 2.5, whereas for ratification purposes the limit is 2.

Gillick will be happy just to get back to winning ways in the 400 metres after being surprisingly beaten in last weekend's European Cup, his 46.24 seconds well down on the 45.23 Irish record he ran earlier this month.

He was, however, suffering from a cold (hardly surprising given the weather), and the two-time European indoor champion also has what it takes to record a home victory.

Cuddihy faces extremely tough opposition in her 400 metres, the field including Monique Hennagan, a member of US gold-medal-winning relay teams at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Former Commonwealth champion Aliann Pompey from Guyana, Olympic fourth-placer Donna Fraser of England and Russia's Elena Migunova will also bring the best out of Cuddihy as she closes in on the Irish record of 51.07 seconds, set by Karen Shinkins back in 1999.

The distance races don't boast quite the same level of Irish interest, and for first time in recent years the popular Australian Craig Mottram won't be present. Instead it's up to local favourite Mark Carroll, at the age of 35, to try to turn back the clock and secure an Irish win over 3,000 metres.

Another Cork favourite, Sonia O'Sullivan, will also be present but only as a spectator.

The first event gets underway at 2pm, and the programme concludes at 4.30pm with the men's 200 metres.