Catherina McKiernan's eventful year was rendered complete yesterday after she was rated the top women's marathon runner in the world by US Track and Field magazine.
Coupled with the earlier number one rating for Sonia O'Sullivan in the 10,000 metres, it means that for the first time, Ireland has two top-ranked women in international athletics.
The marathon rankings, traditionally the last to be issued in the calendar year, are given additional importance by the clout they carry in contractual arrangements, so McKiernan can look forward to an another highly lucrative year.
Asian champion Naoko Takahashi of Japan is ranked number two with world record holder Tegla Loroupe in third place, just ahead of another Kenyan, Joyce Chepchumba. Scotland's Liz McColgan is in eighth place, an indication of her decline in form.
Despite Loroupe's remarkable run in Holland last April when she lowered the world record to two hours 20 minutes 27 seconds, it was always in prospect that the Cavan runner, with a 100 per cent record in her three marathon runs, would head the list. Yet she was delighted to have it confirmed officially yesterday.
"It depended on how much importance the selectors attached to Loroupe's world record, but in the end they obviously decided that consistency counted for more," she said.
McKiernan, who became engaged to RTE journalist Damien O'Reilly at Christmas, misses Saturday's big race in Durham because of a knee injury sustained in training a fortnight ago.
The damage is understood to be only superficial however and the expectation is that she will be fit run in Ras na hEireann at Dunleer on January 17th. After that she plans to run a half marathon before applying herself to the task of winning the London Marathon for a second time in April.
The injury has already cost her a fortnight's training but after another medical examination she hopes to be given the all clear to resume her build-up programme next week.
"If there is never a good time to pick up an injury, the consolation is that it happened now rather than in the run-up to the marathon in London. It means that I will now run one race less than I had planned, but hopefully it won't interfere too much with my programme," said McKiernan.
