MARK CARROLL yesterday withdrew from Ireland's team for the European Cup meeting in Santry Stadium at the weekend.
When they named Carroll for the 3,000 metres the selectors were aware that the Leevale runner could pull out because of uncertainty about his programme in the US. As it transpired Carroll, a contender for a place in the World Championship squad, will not return to Ireland for at least another couple of weeks.
The effect is to force the selectors to implement plan B with Cormac Finnerty switching events to run in the 3,000 metres and Noel Cullen of Clonliffe filling the ensuing vacancy at 5,000 metres.
There is also a risk, admittedly small, of a change in the 1,500 metres in which Niall Bruton, one of the more realistic hopes of recording a home success, is required to prove his recovery from a thigh strain.
Bruton, who won at the corresponding meeting at Lisbon last year, is due to test his fitness today and unless he has a bad reaction, the likelihood is that he will be pronounced fit enough to run on Saturday.
A definite starter is David Matthews, the UCD 800 metres athlete who held off a strong challenge from James Nolan to make the squad. His training was earlier restricted by a troublesome hamstring, but that problem has disappeared.
Annamari Sandell, the former European 3,000 metres champion who leads the Finnish women's team, was the first of the big overseas athletes to arrive in Dublin yesterday.
Over the next 24 hours she will be joined by several more, including Sweden's Ludmila Engqvist who meets Brigita Bukovec of Slovenia in a repeat of their memorable duel in the Olympic 100 metres hurdles final.
One of the unfortunate features of the opening stage of the European Cup fixture is that it clashes with the Irish schools championships at Tullamore on Saturday.
Ulster will again have a strong hand to play, not least in the senior boys 1,500 metres championship in which the talented Gareth Turnbull is all set to build on his earlier successes in the junior and intermediate grades.
No less interesting and almost certainly more competitive will be the 5,000 metres final in which Vincent Mulvey (Belvedere) takes on the two formidable Munster challengers, Dermot Galvin (St Joseph's, Kilkee) and Kieran Lynch (St Enda's, Limerick).
Ann Marie Lynch (Killina Secondary School) is likely to generate a lot of local interest when she runs in the senior girls' 3,000 metres race and others expected to enhance their reputations include Fiona Norwood (Presentation, Kilkenny), Ciara Sheehy and Michelle Carey (St McDara's), Conor McPhillips (Templeogue College) and the two javelin throwers, Michael Allen (Dalriada) and Sean Breathnach (Rosmuc).
