THE world indoor championships in Paris on March 7th-9th are already attracting some of the biggest names in track and field athletics. And for two of the Irish title contenders, Niall Bruton and David Matthews, it will mean vastly different journeys to the first big event in the year, building to the corresponding outdoor championships in Athens in August.
Bruton, a thoroughbred of the sport throughout his chequered career, has abandoned the sophistication of the track to make ready for the indoor tests through cross-country competition.
Mathhews's preparations, by contrast, will take him to the sunshine of Australia for a second consecutive year and an intensive outdoor programme which, he hopes, will enable him to reach Paris in prime condition for the 800 metres championship.
After negotiating the hazards of the American university scene with varying degrees of success in the last four years, Bruton has arrived back in Dublin to rebuild his career under the tutelage of a man who can identify precisely with his dilemma.
Eamonn Coghlan's prolific talent ensured that for all the complexities and demands of inter-collegiate competition in America, he was never blown off course. But he understands the problems of the less fortunate.
"When you're just one of hundreds, it's very easy for a young athlete to lose his way - very difficult to stay fully focused throughout the year, says Coghlan.
"Niall probably experienced that problem in Arkansas but I don't think anybody ever seriously doubted that he has what it takes to reach the top. In a sense, he's never really delivered on that ability. And that's a shame when you consider that back in 1991, he won a world university title on the same day as Sonia O'Sullivan made her big breakthrough.
"Most people are of the opinion that their careers should have paralleled in the years which followed but whereas Sonia went on to even bigger things Niall didn't develop as quickly. But he's still young enough to make it and I, for one, believe that he can. The basic talent is still there and with proper programming, which this year includes cross-country running, he can come good."
Matthews plans to join Sonia O'Sullivan in Australia on December 16th and among his targets is a prestigious 800 metres run in the Melbourne Grand Prix meeting on February 24th.
Last year's experiment, in which he joined a troupe of elite Kenyan athletes. in training Down Under, was not wholly successful but now he plans to benefit from that experience.
"For one thing, I aim to run more races there than was the case 12 months ago. And on this occasion, the mix should be better with many American athletes of my own standard coming to join the Kenyans."
