ATHLETICS: Time became the theme of Saturday's Cork City Sports. For Derval O'Rourke, it was whether time is still on her side before next month's European Championships in Gothenburg; for Alistair Cragg it was about 13 minutes; for David Gillick it was about time running away, and for others it was simply the end of time.

And despite the timing of the meeting - a clash with certain events in Germany - there was a warm, lively atmosphere at the Mardyke Arena, helped by the weather. O'Rourke was billed as the star attraction and lived up to that, despite falling marginally short in the 100 metre hurdles.

Time can fly even when you're not having fun, and O'Rourke found herself running her first race since her World Indoor triumph exactly 16 weeks previously. For a while it seemed a pelvic injury might ruin her whole summer, so she could afford a smile after running 12.96 seconds here, just short of England's Sarah Claxton, yet just as fast as she'd ever run before.

"I was so, so rusty over the first five hurdles," explained O'Rourke, after equalling her Irish record set three years ago. "I did expect that after the long lay-off since I've raced. And ideally I'd loved to have raced just once before coming here.

"Of course I was a little nervous too, simply because I was running at home in Cork. And mentally it was very hard, not knowing what to expect.

"But I really wanted to win here. The preparation was just a little short. So when the gun went I did feel I was totally left in the blocks. But I'm happy to have finished so strong, and just ran out of a little track really."

Claxton took the win in 12.93, which clearly delighted her, but it could be the only time she'll beat O'Rourke this summer. They'll probably meet again in Gothenburg in five weeks, and by then O'Rourke expects to be running a lot quicker. In fact, she next runs in Athens this evening confident of breaking that Irish record.

"I've still only had two weeks of hurdling training, and I think another week will make a big difference. The most important thing is that the injury is behind me. It reached the stage where I couldn't sit down without feeling the pain, but now I've felt nothing for four weeks.

"I think there's a possible two or three-tenths of a second improvement when I run in Athens. If I run well there I'll probably run in Paris at the weekend. But I think I only need about five good races before Gothenburg."

Cragg was set to run over 3,000 metres, but after consulting his Mayo-born coach John McDonnell, back in the US, he switched to the 1,500 metres. That wasn't because he feared anyone over the longer distance, but because he wanted to save himself as much as possible for a crack at the 13-minute barrier over 5,000 metres at the Paris Golden League meeting next Saturday.

As expected he didn't have the legs to match the leading Kenyans, with Laban Rotich, who has a best of 3:29.91, taking the win in 3:39.98. Cragg had taken the lead with 600 metres remaining, before being passed by Rotich and Paul Korir around the final bend, finishing third in 3:40.71.

"I felt good, though I'm just not used to racing like that," said Cragg. It was his first 1,500 metres in two years. "But these two guys have both won medals at major championships, so they're not two athletes you play around with in the kick.

"But I talked with coach McDonnell on Tuesday and the first thing he said was we better rethink this 3k. We thought the weather would be a little worse, and with Craig (Mottram) not around, I didn't see the point in running 7:55. In the end we decided a 1,500 metres was more beneficial.

"So I'll do one more work-out now, rest up properly, and then throw myself on the line in Paris. It's my one shot to run fast this year, because after that I'll just turn off and focus on Gothenburg. That's still the only goal."

After O'Rourke and Cragg, Ireland really only has one other medal contender for Gothenburg, and that's Gillick. He dropped down to 200 metres from his one-lap speciality, looking to sharpen his speed, although that didn't quite go to plan as he saw the true sprinters ease away down the home stretch, including Galway's Paul Hession, who took a fine win in 20.78.

"I've just come off 10 days hard training in Barcelona," explained Gillick, who ended up sixth in 21.60, "and felt like I needed a fast time. Unfortunately it wasn't that quick. I just didn't get out fast, but I'm still happy with the way things are going.

"I'm running in Salamanca on Wednesday and I know I can improve on the 45.80 I ran in Geneva a few weeks back."

Hession provided one of only two Irish victories, with Deirdre Ryan also taking the high jump after clearing 1.88 metres, while Aoife Byrne ran a European qualifier of 4:12.47 when taking second in the 1,500 metres.

Mark Carroll was among those to realise it's the end of time as he struggled around the track to take sixth in the 3,000 metres, his time of 8:05.17 some 35 seconds short of his best, while sitting in the stands was a certain Sonia O'Sullivan, who must also have realised her great days of running on the track are probably over.

Thomas Chamney joined the lengthy list of Irish qualifiers for next month's European Championships by running a personal best of 1:46.82 for 800 metres at the Oordegen meeting in Belgium, good enough for third.