Sonia O'Sullivan is ready to put her reputation on the line again and return to the Olympic stadium for the heats of the 10,000 metres championship tomorrow.

A final decision on whether to go back to the well so soon after leaving much of her strength on the track in that breathtaking finish to the 5000 metres will not be taken until she has consulted with her coach, Alan Storey this morning.

All the indications are, however, that O'Sullivan will seek to add the Olympic title to the European 10,000 metres title she won in her first competitive run over the distance at Budapest two years ago.

"I think I'm now running enough to give it a real shot," she said. "After running so well today, I'd be very relaxed if I came back to the track on Wednesday because now, I've nothing to lose."

After building her reputation in 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres competition, O'Sullivan astounded many with her decision to undertake the feared 5000/10,000 metres double in Budapest.

Yet, she handled the longer distance so comfortably that even at that stage, she was thinking in terms of challenging for double gold in Sydney.

As late as July, O'Sullivan was stating privately that the longer distance offered her the better chance of success here, and while she later announced that she intended to concentrate on the 5,000 metres, many suspected that the 10,000 metres was, in fact, her primary event in the Games. Now that theory is about to be put to the test.

Expectations are increased by her impressive rate of recovery from yesterday's race. Despite her huge expenditure of energy just minutes earlier, she came to the mixed zone to talk with the media with no visible sign of distress.

Then, after talking briefly with her partner Nick Bideau and kissing their daughter Ciara, she was off to the warm-up track to reflect on the drama of the evening and, doubtless, to envisage the two races ahead of her in the 10,000 metres.

There, she is almost certain to renew rivalry with Gete Wami who had originally planned on concentrating on the 10,000 metres before yielding to the temptation of going for what she perceived as an easier title at the shorter distance.

Having seen off Wami with some authority yesterday, O'Sullivan may now switch her focus to the other redoubtable Ethiopian, Derartu Tulu, who goes into tomorrow's heats with no obvious baggage.

When the world cross country championship in the Algarve in March ended in a kicking finish between the Ethiopian team-mates, it was Wami who emerged with the greater pace.

Now, in the light of the evidence of the last lap in the 5,000 metres final, the Irish woman can have little doubt that if the 10,000 metres championship comes down to a test of speed, she is also capable of dismissing Tulu.