No need to panic. Sonia O'Sullivan had to be content with third place at the Paris Grand Prix last night after the fastest 3,000 metres race in the world this year - with a strong Chinese element - proved a little too hot to handle for this stage of the season.
It was by all means a major step up from her opening European track race in Helsinki just over a week ago. This first Golden League meeting of the season, held in the grand setting of the Stade de France, attracted a large contingent of medal contenders for Sydney, and the experience is sure to prove a valuable lesson in O'Sullivan's Olympic preparations. Victory eventually went to Poland's Lidia Chojecka in eight minutes 33.35 seconds, a national record, although perhaps more significant was the second place finish of China's Dong Yanmei, three seconds back, who had led for almost the entire race.
Just inches behind her was O'Sullivan, and her time of 8:36.96 was some nine seconds faster than her victory in Helsinki.
Tactically, O'Sullivan did fall into momentary lapses. After just two laps the Chinese runner took off, closely followed by team-mate Lili Yin, and for a while it looked like a rerun of Stuttgart '93.
O'Sullivan dropped back and forth at various stages before moving from fifth to third during the final lap.
"I was up and down a lot," she admitted. "In Helsinki I was a bit nervous, but here I think was a bit too relaxed about the whole thing. I didn't make a commitment at the start, and I should have. I think if I did that I probably would have been alright."
Yanmei - a former world record holder over 5,000 metres and part of the controversial training school of Chinese coach Ma Junren - continued to press the pace, quickly thinning out the field, and was a couple of metres clear when reaching the bell in 7:26.
It was only the final bend that she faded, allowing the fast-finishing Polish runner to storm past for her first major Grand Prix victory.
O'Sullivan can still be content with both her time and her strong finish, considering that at one point, around half-way, she appeared to be struggling in seventh place.
"I'm always afraid of not getting out fast so I got out okay, but then I don't what happened, I just let all these people go past me and I shouldn't have done that.
"But it was a lot like a real race, a championship type thing, so in that sense it was good in that you have to get used to it. It's still going to take a bit of time to be sure about yourself in these meetings, but I am feeling better about them all the time."
There were also some useful runners behind her. World championship silver medallist Zahra Ouaziz of Morocco was back in seventh (8:47.18) and the other Chinese runner - also part of Ma's Army - was fifth (8:41.05).
"It was under 8:40, which is what I should be doing, although I could have done it a little more evenly," added O'Sullivan.
"But I didn't really have any sort of set plan going in there and maybe I need to be more precise in what I want to do. I'll need to get more 1,500 metres as well, at least to get myself keeping up a bit better."
O'Sullivan will in fact have a low-key outing over the shorter distance tomorrow as part of an Irish 4 x 1,500 team in a British Miler's meeting in Bedford.
Among the other Olympic hopefuls entertaining the 50,000-strong attendance in the World Cup stadium was the new name in American sprinting, Brian Lewis. Fresh from his victory in Helsinki over world record holder Maurice Greene, Lewis again laid down his marker for Sydney with victory in 10.10 seconds, which was enough to leave Canada's Bruny Surin in second (10.18) Trinidad's Ato Boldon in third (10.20).
But if you had to start talking about putting medals around necks, then look no further than Hicham El Guerrouj. The slick Moroccan destroyed yet another quality 1,500 metre field with a time of 3:30.76 - also the fastest of the season.
The Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) yesterday released a statement saying that Asics, their gear sponsors, will not be penalising the organisation should their brand of clothing not be worn at the Sydney Olympics in September. This, in effect, ends the gear dispute which has plagued relationships with the Olympic Council of Ireland since the Atlanta Games four years ago.
The AAI have also revealed that they have renegotiated their contract with Asics from January 2001 to December 2004, worth around £1 million, which is believed to be one of the largest sporting sponsorships in the country.
