Olympic 5,000 metres silver-medallist Sonia O'Sullivan made a superb start to her summer season with a win over the distance in the United States last night.
O'Sullivan claimed victory at the Cardinal Invitation meeting in Palo Alto, California, with a time of 14 minutes 58.43 seconds.
The Irish star, who has been training at altitude in the USA, will be encouraged by such a promising start. The result was a clear indication everything is going to plan in her bid to again bid for a medal at this year's Athens Games.
O'Sullivan's last race was a month ago in Dublin when, not fully fit, she suffered a surprise defeat in the BUPA Ireland Great Run.
Now the 34-year-old, whose time was less than three seconds off her 2003 best performance, will return to her west London base.
Next Saturday she is topping the bill at the Balmoral Road races where over 5,000m she faces world champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia and Benita Johnson, Australia's world cross country champion.
PA