ATHLETICS: Ending a productive week for Sonia O'Sullivan was her second-place finish in Saturday's Balmoral, Scotland, 5km road race. World 10,000 metre champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia looked a little sharper in taking the win in 15 minutes, four seconds, but it was O'Sullivan who did all the front running, and she finished just seven seconds back.
It followed her encouraging 5,000 metres win on the track a week previously, and also her mile victory in Oxford on Thursday, and has left O'Sullivan in fine spirits as the Athens Olympics loom closer.
Her next race will be a road 10km in Manchester in two weeks' time and from there to Athens the track will take full priority.
"I always hoped I could break her," said O'Sullivan of Adere's challenge. "But it was as if she was waiting for me to make the move and immediately responded. But then a month ago I couldn't have even thought of a run like that."
The 34-year-old O'Sullivan hit the front from the gun and did her best to burn off Adere, but some 500 metres from the line the Ethiopian made one decisive surge to the front. The talented Canadian Emilie Mondor was third (15:22), with the other Irish runner, Maria McCambridge, taking eighth in 16:04.
Some consolation for O'Sullivan was the confirmation that Adere will only contest the 10,000 metres in Athens - and not attempt a double over 5,000 metres, the event O'Sullivan is solely targeting.
The women's mile race was won by England's Kelly Holmes in 4:19, with Ireland's Freda Davoren fourth in 4:37.
