Athletics World CahmpionshipsSo much of championship running is about peaking at the right time and Karen Shinkins did just that when progressing from the heats of the women's 400m yesterday morning.
After several weeks of confidence-testing form she produced her best race this year to run 52.06 seconds, good enough for fifth place and the right to contest the semi-finals later this evening.
The early-morning start and the presence of race favourite Ana Guevara of Mexico also added to the air of uncertainty that surrounded Shinkins's prospects, yet she delivered a controlled and almost cautious race that ultimately allowed her known talent for championship running to shine.
Only the first three in each heat were assured of qualification, so there was an anxious wait before the full outcome of her effort was realised.
Guevara's winning time of 51.14 seconds hadn't been anything special, but with nine athletes in total also progressing on the basis of times there was reason for hope.
As it turned out Shinkins comfortably qualified, with three of the other successful fastest finishers coming in with slower times. "To be honest, I have felt that things were sort of clicking into place in the last few weeks," said Shinkins afterwards.
"And I knew I had to come out here and put myself in the pressure situation, and get back to experiencing everything that comes with the World Championships. And that all helps in dealing better with the Olympics next year. You do need to step out of your comfort zone and do these things. So I'm happy with the way I responded."
While it was clearly her best race of the season time-wise, the Newbridge athlete reckons a sub-52 clocking could now be on the cards.
Shinkins knows deep down, though, that progressing beyond the three semi-finals will take something truly special.
And Gareth Turnbull shares the same sentiment. On Saturday evening, he was on the track for the 1,500m heats, and as pointless as they turned out to be, they did remind Turnbull of what it takes to be truly competitive at this level - serious acceleration over the last lap.
Running in the last of the three heats, and with only five athletes overall set to be eliminated, Turnbull knew only a disastrous run would see him denied.
In fact his task was made even easier when Kenya's Bernard Lagat withdrew from heat one through illness So the Belfast athlete set off in front with a fast time on his mind, and was still leading as the bell was sounded for the last lap. He was forced to battle hard around the final bend and was somewhat drowned by the faster finishers, eventually taking seventh in 3:41.84.
But his effort was well rewarded and he was also the seventh-fastest of the three heats. He too returns to the track this evening for only two semi-finals, and where only the first five in each race and the two fastest losers go through to Wednesday's final.
For company this time he'll have Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco's three-time champion who looked as smooth as a French TGV train in his heat. France, though, have a genuine challenger to El Guerrouj in Mehdi Baala, the European champion who also came through his heat without breaking sweat.
Derval O'Rourke, the last of the Irish in action today, goes in the fourth of five heats of the 100m hurdles, and the cancellation of the first round will ensure that progression to the semi-finals certainly won't come easy. Yet the 22-year-old set a national record of 12.96 seconds this season, which ranks her fourth-fastest of the seven starters in her race, and if she can reproduce that sort of time then another day out could be within her reach.
