It wasn't Zurich and it certainly wasn't Sydney. But Sonia O'Sullivan was still obviously upbeat after signing off for Australia with a fluent 3,000 metres win on a dank, uninviting afternoon at Gateshead yesterday.

A stadium record of eight minutes 33.00 seconds and the comprehensive defeat of Britain's Olympic hope Paula Radcliffe represented a fine day's work for the Irish record holder. And she was not minimising the sense of achievement.

"When I sat down with my coach Alan Storey and decided to add Gateshead to my pre-Olympic programme, it was on the basis that it would be nice to win a good race before going to Australia," she said.

"To that extent, I'm very happy with my performance. I felt good, was always moving smoothly and was pretty confident that I could win the race long before we got to the bell. But there were still four of us together at that stage and I couldn't afford to take chances."

Had she decided to up the pace and take on Radcliffe earlier on a wet, unhelpful track, it is likely that O'Sullivan would have been considerably closer to her Zurich figures of 8:27.38. Instead, she was content to run at the leader's shoulder until they were approaching the last bend.

Then, in a matter of no more than 10 strides, she was gone from Radcliffe and with no more to give, the British girl capitulated under a renewed challenge by the American Libbie Hickman for second place. By that stage, however, O'Sullivan was some 15 metres clear, almost home and preparing to savour the fulfilment of it all.

"This was an important part of my preparations for the Olympics and I knew I had to concentrate, keep up with the pace and depend on finishing speed to win it. And it worked out fine for me."

"To win a race and feel good doing it was as much as I could have hoped for. To set a stadium record in the process was the icing on the cake."

O'Sullivan's time was some five seconds inside the previous stadium best, set by the Romanian Paula Ivan 11 years ago and with a little more ambition, it would have been more impressive still. Yet victory had been conclusive and Radcliffe, gracious as ever, was the first to acknowledge it.

Asked what the result told her, she replied. "I've a lot of mileage in my legs. I felt strong but when it came down to a kicking finish, I wasn't sharp enough. But I still have a lot of improvement in me."

The spectacle of an Anglo-Irish duel at the front of the field added to the occasion but O'Sullivan apart, the athlete with most to celebrate was the young English athlete, Joanne Pavey, who took 16 seconds off her previous best when finishing fourth in 8:36.70.

Now, it's off to Australia tomorrow for O'Sullivan and a final preparatory race over 2,000 metres at Runaway Bay (Gold Coast) on September 10th. On the evidence of this run, she's entitled to anticipate the prospect with some relish.

O'Sullivan's run apart, the other reassuring aspect of the meeting from an Irish viewpoint was the strong, aggressive running of James Nolan when taking third place in the 1,500 metres in career best figures of three minutes 36.30 seconds.

On a day when the winner, Ali Sief Saidi of Algeria, was in a class apart from everybody else in the race, the battle for the minor placings was absorbing. Fifth at the bell, Nolan picked off those immediately ahead of him to take second place halfway down the finishing straight.

Ultimately, the strength of Paul Bitok took him into second place just 10 metres out but it couldn't detract from the merit of the UCD man's best run of the season.

"To finish in front of some very good Africans was a great feeling," he said. "Nobody was ever going to catch the winner when he took off but from my point of view, it was still a very rewarding race."

The point was well made by a man who made his 1,500 metres debut on this track only a year ago and now he, too, leaves for Australia with enhanced self belief.

Unfortunately, Daniel Caulfield failed in his attempt to achieve a qualifying standard in the 800 metres but there was still the rich consolation of a lifetime best of 1:46.65 when finishing eighth, just a metre behind James McIlroy in the race won by Andre Bucher of Switzerland in 1:44.62. Luckily, the heavy rain had eased by the time O'Sullivan came on track but Cathy Freeman took on the elements when they were at their worst to win the 200 metres in a seasonal best of 22.57 seconds.

That was a vastly reassuring display by the woman who will hold millions of her compatriots captive in just over three weeks' time. And the manner of its achievement when she came from a long way back to beat the world champion, Inger Miller, provided one of the day's most captivating moments.

From a British perspective, there was the deep satisfaction of another splendid 100 metres run by Dwain Chambers who claimed the scalp of the Olympic favourite, Maurice Greene, in winning in 10.11 seconds.

Just to ensure the authenticity of the occasion, local boy Jonathan Edwards broke the sand at 17.48 metres on his last attempt to win the triple jump and send a saturated crowd home in happy mood.