A SPECTACULAR Irish challenge in the inaugural Indoor World Championships was suitably embellished in Indianapolis yesterday when Frank O’Mara raced across the finish line just ahead of his team-mate Paul Donovan to claim the 3,000 metres championship in a time of eight minutes 03.32 seconds.

O’Mara and Donovan, inseparable friends for years at the University of Arkansas, were divided on this occasion by just 57 hundredths of a second as the championship built to a thrilling climax in the Hoosier Dome.

Donovan, who concealed his disappointment to extend his hand in congratulation to O’Mara after the Limerick man completed his lap of honour in the huge stadium, had just four hundredths of a second to spare over the big American hope Terry Brahm in taking the silver medal.

The two Irishmen, coached by John McDonnell from Crossmolina in Co Mayo, were then joined by another Arkansas graduate Mike Conley, the world triple jump champion, as they celebrated a remarkable triumph.

“I’ve run some pretty stupid races in my time,” said the 26-year-old O’Mara. “But this was the turning point. I reckon I got it right in just about every important detail out there today – from now on it’s all systems go.

“Paul Donovan should not be too disappointed. At 23, he has it all in front of him and in two years time I believe that he can be the best 5,000 metres runner in the world.”

Donovan, from Galway city, had made the tactical mistake of allowing himself to be caught on the inside lane when the decisive charge materialised at the bell and at one point he was back in sixth place on the final lap. He was still only fourth coming off the final curve but then, motivated by the spectacle of O’Mara just yards ahead of him, striding into history, he searched for extra pace and duly overtook Brahm and England’s Mark Rowland over the last 30 metres.

“I am annoyed in that I ran a stupid race but happy for Frank that he won,” he said. “For a guy who is not supposed to be too smart tactically, I thought he was razor-sharp.

“Going out on the track, we shook hands and expressed the hope that the better man would win. My plan was to go 300 metres out but at that stage, unfortunately, I was surrounded by bodies.”

Tactically, the race revolved around an incident 200 metres out as the two Irishmen and the Americans, Brahm and Doug Padilla , gathered for the decisive swoop. Padilla came marginally off a straight line as Brahm moved on the outside and, for a moment, the anxious O’Mara was cut off. Padilla’s move appeared to open a gap for Donovan now on the inside track, but O’Mara, for once wholly decisive, spread his arms and separated the American pair.

Once in front he bolted for home and with a lead of some five metres, he was gone, irrevocably gone as far as the pursuit was concerned, with 100 metres still to go. At that point, secure in the knowledge that Ireland would take a gold medal, we searched for the hapless Donovan and were duly rewarded when he delivered that explosive late run to finish in second place.

It was, without question, one of the most memorable days in the history of Irish athletics and, taken in conjunction with Marcus O’Sullivan’s 1,500 metres success on Saturday, it augurs well for the world outdoor championship in Rome in September.

O’Mara, who confessed to being uncommonly nervous 20 minutes before the start, had reason to suspect his tactical plan might go astray yet again as early as the first lap. The first 400 metres in fact took just over 70 seconds and O’Mara seemed unsure whether to push the pace himself or allow somebody else to cut out the work up front. It was not until the 1,100-metre mark that Donovan gave him some respite by taking over the lead but the real pace did not materialise until Rowland hit the front and began to stretch the field at the halfway point.

At 1,700 metres the two Americans had moved, ominously, into the leading group and, as the buzz of excitement around the stadium monitored the progress of the local representatives , some pertinent questions were asked of the Irishmen.

Fortunately, the response of both O’Mara and Donovan was positive and, once O’Mara had accelerated into the lead, we knew that a page of Irish athletic history was in the making.

“In view of the fact that we came out here with just four athletes, our achievement in winning three medals is little short of astounding,” said team manager Ronnie Long. “But for the unfortunate fall by Eamonn Coghlan in the 1,500 metres I believe that we would have had a double one-two.”

Before these championships Coghlan had been bracketed with Greg Foster as the warmest favourite for a gold medal. But just as Coghlan came to grief on Friday, Foster, the world record holder in the 60 metres hurdles, fell midway through yesterday’s race.

The American appeared to collide with the Canadian, Mark McKoy, but surprisingly, it was McKoy who was made to take the blame. Foster seemed to move into the lane alongside him in the final, won by another American, Toni Camp bell, in 7.51 seconds and, later, the Canadian camp lodged an official appeal.