SONIA O'SULLIVAN was yesterday attempting to distance herself from preOlympic pressures, internal and external, after arriving in Philadelphia from London on Tuesday.

In an oblique reference to the controversy over the carrying of the Tricolour in tomorrow's opening ceremony, she said that the basic purpose of her visit to America was to win medals.

More importantly, she is still coming to terms with the news, disturbing but not wholly unexpected, that China's Wang Junxia is among those likely to be lining up with her in the 5,000 metres.

For all her train of triumph since winning her first major title in the European championships at Helsinki in 1994, she has never lost sight of the mishaps which overtook her in the world championships at Stuttgart a year earlier.

Then, she was ensnared in a web of Oriental intrigue in missing out on titles at 1,500 and 3,000 metres and the lessons have never been lost on her.

"It taught me that championship running is about looking after yourself on the day what goes before and after doesn't really matter," she said.

You may have won Grand Prix races on the way to the championships, but that counts for nothing when it comes to head to head running. That's a whole lot different from time trialing.

But I've enough self belief to know that if I perform as I should, I'll be OK. Sure I'll take note of the people in there with me, but I aim to concentrate on my own performance rather than start worrying about others.

"A lot of people will be playing a lot of games during racing and my job is to be well enough placed to cover them. Three years down the road, I think I'm better prepared to handle those kind of situations."

In the relative quiet of Philadelphia, O'Sullivan has chosen the company of her namesake, Marcus, to prepare for the most critical challenge of her career. She will travel to Atlanta next Wednesday.

There, she will find that her Irish team mates are acclimatising well to the city's notorious heat and humidity problems, problems which threaten to turn the Centennial Games into a test of endurance for many athletes.

True, the weather here has been uncommonly hospitable to visitors since their arrival on Monday although that picture is likely to change tomorrow with Met officials promising temperatures in the mid 90s, with a relative humidity reading of 80.

Yet, the Irish have settled n well and yesterday Dermot Sherlock, the chef equipe, was able to report that preparations are proceeding on schedule.

"By home standards, the conditions are oppressive, but they're not quite as bad as many had feared," he said. "It's not going to be a picnic, but I reckon that will be a ready as and of the other northern European teams here."

Michelle Smith, one of Ireland's more realistic contenders for a medal, will be among the first of our competitors in action on Saturday, competing in the heats of 400 metres individual medley in the morning, before progressing, hopefully, to the final later in the day.

The weigh in and draw for the boxing championships takes place at 2.00 p.m. (local time) tomorrow and the likelihood is that heavyweight, Cathal O'Grady will be the first of our four representatives in action on Sunday.

Yesterday, Atlanta was a city in waiting after the final touches had been put in place for the opening ceremony which, officials assure us, will be as colourful and moving as any in the past.

In all, more than a million visitors are expected here, but to judge from local reaction, it is not proving the financial bonanza some had expected.

Taxi drivers, for example, are complaining that business is down on normal with many visitors preferring to eat in their hotels on the outskirts of the city rather than risk the hazards of downtown traffic.

For the black marketeers, too, the mountainous expectations of Olympic trade have suddenly dwindled. From a situation in which scalpers" were asking, and getting, £1,500 for a £400 ticket for the opening ceremony hack in January, the price has now tumbled.

The predictable exception is the market for tickets for the basketball final. The prospect of watching the Dream Team in action is still persuading Americans to part with £450 for tickets with a face value of £175.

Nor does the griping stop there. Even the most optimistic forecasts predict that the casualty rate among spectators at the Games will be high with an abnormal incidence of heart failure, sun stroke and dehydration.

To cover this eventuality, organisers have put in place an elaborate first aid system staffed by doctors, nurses and a huge corps of voluntary workers who, ominously will be wearing red armbands to distinguish themselves in crowds.

But the arrangements were called into question yesterday by a local private ambulance company who contend that the system in wholly inadequate for the crowds expected in the Olympic complex.

Swimming's governing body FINA meeting in Atlanta last night voted to impose two year suspensions on member federations if four anabolic steroid offences were committed within 12 months by swimmers under their jurisdiction. The move is unprecedented among major sports' bodies and could have major ramifications if they follow suit.