Olympics: Ireland's director of coaching Max Jones believes it would be an "outstanding achievement" for any Irish track and field athlete to make a final at the Beijing Olympics, but holds out hope for Paul Hession, David Gillick and, in particular, Robert Heffernan.
Jones rates a dozen of the current crop of Irish athletes as world class performers but has no intention of branding any of them as definite medal winners in Beijing.
Since Ronnie Delaney's 1,500metre success at the Melbourne Games of 1956, there have been only silver medals from John Treacy — in the 1984 Los Angeles marathon - and Sonia O'Sullivan over 5,000m eight years ago in Sydney.
"The standard of competition which we witnessed at last summer's World Championships will be even more fierce," said Jones.
"Just for anyone to make a final will be an outstanding achievement given the opposition they will be up against — but once you are in it anything can happen."
Heffernan, he feels, is the best bet for a top-three finish in the 20kilometres walk after his sixth place finish at lat year's world championships.
Heffernan has also cut 53 seconds from his Irish record with a time of one hour 19 mins 22 seconds.
"Robert's proved time and again he is a world class performer and given how easy it can be to get disqualified for lifting, he needs to keep his concentration and particularly any yellow cards early in the race.
"That will make it a lot easier for him in the closing stages and it is such an unpredictable event, I feel he might just be an outside bet for a medal."
After breaking the Irish 200m record twice last summer Hession is another contender for a final appearance, says Jones. "He's going ever so well and remember last year he wasn't that far away from making the worlds' final in Osaka."
The Athenry sprinter has restricted his programme this summer, mindful perhaps he peaked a little too early last year when running his national record of 20.30secs at the European Cup in June.
Jones is also impressed by Gillick who has twice shattered the Irish 400m record this season and now sits at the top of the European ranking lists.
At the end of May Gillick eclipsed Paul McKee's five-year-old figure by 0.35sec with a time of 45.23sec in Geneva then recently lowered it to 45.12sec in Lille, France.
"He's putting everything together really well and he's broken a tough record."
But despite Gillick's stature in Europe, he is only ranked 17th in the world and is well short of defending Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner's leading figure of 43.98sec - achieved at the beginning of June.
Jones will be looking to hammer thrower Eileen O'Keeffe, who was sixth at the worlds, to again qualify for the final — although she will need to produce something really special to win a medal.
Likewise he is confident Roisin McGettigan and Fionnuala Britton — who made the 3000m steeplechase final in Osaka, to match those achievements.
He is hoping Derval O'Rourke — plagued by injury since winning the World Indoor 60m hurdles gold medal in 2006 — can again find the sharpness which also makes her a top exponent over the 100m hurdles.
Jones said: "She's slowly getting back to some decent form and is a great competitor, but again it is a very tough event."
Joanne Cuddihy is another struggling with injury and effectively the 400m runner is in a race against the clock to get herself to Beijing.
"If fully fit I have no doubt she could make the final and push 50seconds which is what will be required," added Jones. "But she's got back and knee problems."
Cuddihy who set an Irish record of 50.73sec in Osaka, ran in just the 4x400mrelay at the recent European Cup after a knee cartilage problem flared up travelling to the competition in Portugal.