Athletics: Hurdler Derval O'Rourke seems to be feeding off the countdown to Gothenburg, writes Ian O'Riordan.

If Derval O'Rourke wasn't already feeling the pressure ahead of next week's European championships she must be feeling it now. With the Irish team departing for Gothenburg tomorrow, O'Rourke staged a farewell press conference in Dublin yesterday, and was promptly hounded by around 30 newspaper, TV and radio hacks all asking how confident she was of winning a medal in the 100 metre hurdles.

Some of us were getting nervous just listening to her.

There probably hasn't been as much pressure on an Irish athlete since Sonia O'Sullivan was running a major championship at her peak - and definitely not on an Irish sprinter.

Yet O'Rourke seems to embrace the pressure, turn it into positive energy. And she sure wasn't dodging the hard questions: Can she deliver when it counts? Can she win gold? Could any of her opponents be on drugs?

"I don't feel any of this as pressure," she says. "To me it's all supportive. People just want me to do well, and want a medal. But not in a pressure way, just in a nice way. The fact that they just want me to do well, I think actually helps.

"And just recently there was a lady who came in to me in Mahon Point, a big shopping centre in Cork. She was sick - I think she had cancer.

"She said she saw me run recently and really enjoyed it. To me that was a huge deal, and made me realise that compared to any illness like that, how quick you can run on the track is totally irrelevant anyway."

O'Rourke will also divert some of the pressure by delaying her departure to Gothenburg. With her heats not taking place until next Thursday (and the semi-final and final the following day) she'll continue to train in Dublin over the weekend and fly out to Sweden next Tuesday.

"I want to arrive there as close as possible to racing," she explains, "and not be hanging around. It's a really big Irish team, which is superb, but I want to stick to my own routine as much as possible. I don't need to be over there six days before, getting any more nervous.

"When I ran the Europeans four years ago I didn't even get out of my heat. So I'll just make sure I get out of the heat first. The semi-final is the next challenge. But if I do make the final I know exactly what I have to do.

"You don't run sprint-hurdles finals not to win. You don't hope to sneak a silver or bronze, although any medal would be superb."

It's clear now exactly what O'Rourke has going for her assuming she does make the final next Friday. Her gold-medal run in Moscow at the World Indoor championships in March proves she can deliver when it most counts; her recent Irish record of 12.85 seconds ranks her seventh-fastest in Europe; and most of all she hasn't yet hit her peak.

"I have got consistent, first of all at 12.9, and now at 12.8. But I still feel there is more improvement there. Before running in Nuremberg last Sunday, I got stuck in Frankfurt the night before. I ended up getting three hours' sleep and was absolutely hanging. So I was very happy to come out and run two 12.8s in the space of an hour. I was hoping to run 12.7 that day, but not coming off three hours' sleep.

"Anyway, all my bests from every year have come at major championships. I love to go to championships and pull it out, so it's good to get a little nervous and a little excited.

"I've looked at the rankings a little bit, but you can't go on times. You can only go on who runs well at the major championships.

"Championships don't go to the top three in the world. It's never worked like that.

"I actually think there's four people to watch: Susanna Kallur of Sweden, Kirsten Bolm of Germany, Glory Alozie of Spain, and myself.

"And obviously there are only three medals. That should make it interesting. I just know if I give it everything on that day then hopefully I can beat them."

Given the news this week that the Olympic 100-metre champion Justin Gatlin had failed a drugs test it was inevitable O'Rourke would be asked if she thought she was running against possible cheats next week.

"I wouldn't look at any of the girls in Europe and think they're on something, honestly.

"Maybe I'm still a bit naïve. But the fact is I think I can beat them, and I know I'm not on drugs. So I don't think it's necessary for them to be on drugs.

"I think it would be different if I were a male 100-metre sprinter. I mean 9.77, if you're a man, must be pretty tough to watch."