Athletics/World Indoor Championships: Three more athletes have been added to the Irish team for the World Indoor championships, which start this day week, primarily to secure entries into the 400 metre relays.
David Gillick and Michelle Carey will travel to Budapest on that basis alone, while Gary Ryan will also be entered in the 60 metres.
It brings the final Irish travelling party to 13, including high-jumper Adrian O'Dwyer, who secured his qualification on Tuesday by equalling the Irish indoor record of 2.28 metres.
James Nolan (1,500 metres) and Maria McCambridge (3,000 metres) are the only middle distance representatives, with the rest of the Irish interest in the sprint events.
Athletics Ireland (AI) was always eager to enter 400 metre relay teams, which traditionally haven't been the most competitive at World Indoor level. However, a final decision will be made only after the athletes involved have concluded their individual events, and it might be that Gillick and Carey won't even get to run.
On the men's side, the team can potentially come from Ryan, Paul Brizzel and Paul Hession (both 200 metres) and Rob Daly and Dave McCarthy (both 400 metres) - in addition to Gillick. But there are only the bare four to make up the women's team: Ciara Sheehy (200 metres), Joanne Cuddihy and Karen Shinkins (400 metres) and Carey.
It was also confirmed yesterday that AI has entered Alistair Cragg as an individual for the short course 4km race at the World Cross Country championships, which take place in Brussels two weeks later, on March 20th-21st. Cragg has had to bypass the World Indoors as he will be competing in the American collegiate indoor championships the following weekend, but as the fourth-fastest 3,000 metre runner in the world this season he is clearly a potential medallist for Brussels.
Catherina McKiernan, meanwhile, will continue her build-up to the World Cross Country by competing in this Sunday's Rás na hÉireann international, which will be staged at Dundalk racecourse. The 6km race has a 2.45 p.m. start, and a strong British contingent will provide the main opposition for McKiernan, who last won the event in 1998.
The men's race, however, won't feature new interclubs champion Séamus Power, who instead will continue his build-up to the London marathon by going in the highly-acclaimed Ballycotton 10-mile race in Cork on Sunday week, March 7th. As always the 2,400-entry limit was filled weeks ago.
