Sonia O'Sullivan is the sole Irish competitor at tonight's Weltklasse Grand Prix in Zurich, even though Susan Smith is a confirmed entry in the 400 metres hurdles. That's because the organisers at Weltklasse - the biggest one-day meeting on the athletics calendar - have listed Smith as representing the US in the official programme.
That will be corrected immediately, according to the meeting office in Zurich yesterday, as the Waterford athlete heads into her final event before the European Championships in Budapest next week. The race has been set up as a serious attack on the world record, with holder Kim Batten of the US hoping to improve on her 52.61 seconds she set almost exactly three years ago in Gothenburg.
The line-up includes Tatyana Tereshchuk of the Ukraine and Ionela Tirlea from Romania, the two most likely to challenge for the gold in Budapest. Tereshchuk, fourth at last year's World Championships, is the fastest European this season, running 53.40 seconds last month. Smith ran her best this season of 54.93 two weeks ago in Hechtel - equalling her third fastest ever - and has hinted that the best is yet to come.
The Weltklasse (meaning world class) prides itself on bringing together the world's best. With Olympic champion Deon Hem mings of Jamaica and world champion Nezha Bidouane of Morocco also down to run, it may well live up to its record billing. Smith looked superb three days ago, breaking her Irish record with 13.12 seconds for the 100 metres hurdles, and could improve the 400 metres hurdle record of 54.61 for the eighth time in three years.
O'Sullivan faces an equally strong challenge by taking on a 1,500 metres field which includes world champion Carla Sacramento of Portugal, Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova of Russia and Romanian Gabriela Szabo, the fastest in the world this year, with her three minutes 56.97 seconds at Monaco over the weekend. This will also be O'Sullivan's last outing before making her 10,000 metres debut in Budapest a week from today. "Just half an hour out of my life," is how O'Sullivan describes that venture, and this final tune-up should provide whatever speed is necessary in moving up to the longer distance.
Zurich is the fourth stop in the inaugural IAAF Golden League, which has a $1 million jackpot for athletes winning their event in all seven meetings. At this stage only five contenders remain, with American sprinter Marion Jones, Nigeria's Charity Opara in the 400 metres, Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj in the 1,500 metres, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia in the 5,000 metres and American Bryan Bronson in the 400 metres hurdles all hoping to remain unbeaten up to the Grand Prix final in Moscow next month for a share in the jackpot.
The all-star 100 metres will be without world champion Maurice Greene of the US and Ato Boldon of Trinidad, whose demands for a "substantial" appearance fee was not met by the Zurich organisers. It still leaves Canada's Olympic champion Donovan Bailey and Frankie Fredericks of Namibia to battle for the $15,000 prize money. The organisers are also putting up a $50,000 bonus for any athlete who breaks a world record this evening. Last year, the 800 metres, 5,000 metres, and 3,000 metres steeplechase records all fell, and El Guerrouj and Gebrselassie have stated their intentions to improve on the marks they have already set this year.
The 21,000-seater Letzigrund stadium is a sell-out, and with no world championships this year, this is without doubt the next best thing.
The world 1,500 metres record of 3:26.0 set by El Guerrouj in Rome on July 14th has been ratified by the IAAF.
El Guerrouj took more than a second off the previous mark set by Algerian Noureddine Morceli in Nice three years ago.
In a statement released yesterday from its Monaco headquarters, the IAAF said it had also ratified the world women's hammer mark of 73.14 metres, set by Romanian Mihaela Melinte in Poina Brasov on July 16th.
