James McIlroy underlined his breakthrough in international athletics with a comfortable victory over 800 metres at the BUPA Games in Gateshead yesterday. His time of 1 minute 46.87 seconds was more than a second slower than his fourth place in Nice last Thursday but it was still enough to leave some top names in his wake.

After sitting back in the early stages, McIlroy had little trouble out-sprinting David Krummenacker of the USA, who finished second in 1:47.47, with the Australian Brendon Hanigan third in 1:47.60. McIlroy's 1:45.32 in Nice placed him fourth in a field of 10 Africans and with two leading Italians also behind him yesterday, he appears capable of making a strong impression at the European Championships in Budapest next month.

Hicham El Guerrouj failed again to claim a second world record in the space of a week when his 2000 metres attempt fell just short. The wet and windy conditions didn't help and although he was on target early in the race, he finished in 4:48.36, less than half a second outside Noureddine Morceli's 4:47.88.

The 23-year-old Moroccan has to be content with the 1500 metres record of 3:26.00 he claimed in Rome last Tuesday.

In the second round of the National Track and Field League, Paul Brizzell scored an impressive sprint double at Santry yesterday, taking the 100 metres in 10.83 seconds and the 200 metres in 21.50.

David Matthews and James Nolan, both from UCD, avoided an 800 metres clash when Matthews won in 1:50.3 but Nolan decided on the 1500 metres. He looked most impressive over the last lap to win in 3:51.2. The eight best men's and women's teams from Division 1 and 2 will now compete for the overall club award at the League final in Tullamore on August 9th. Catherina McKiernan had an easy victory in a 10-kilometre road race in Amsterdam yesterday in 32:53. Today she announces plans for her next marathon, in Amsterdam on November 1st.

Teenage Kenyan Japheth Kimutai ran the fastest 800 metres of the year to win in Stuttgart. Kimutai won in 1:42.76 at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, shattering Sebastian Coe's record for the stadium by two seconds.