Maria McCambridge Qualifies for Olympic 5000m in Heusden

01 August 2004

Maria McCambridge capped a marvellous weekend for Irish distance running with a massive new personal best of 15:05.86 to qualify for the Olympic Games in the GP II meeting in Heusden, Belgium on Saturday night. Running a steady race throughout, she showed a tremendous finishing burst on the last lap to move from 8th to 3rd and in the end was comfortably inside the 15:08.00 A standard. She now stands to join Sonia O'Sullivan as Ireland's representatives over 5000m in Athens.

Just a half an hour before McCambridge's heroics, Roisin McGettigan had set the scene perfectly with a superb new Irish record in the 3000m steeplechase for women. Also showing excellent closing speed, she moved up to 4th on the last lap and in the process knocked a full five seconds off her own record bringing it down to 9:45.60. With this event due to be added to the World Championship programme next year in Helsinki she may well have garnered herself a qualifier in the process; the 2005 worlds standards have not yet been published.

And in London on Friday night, recently-crowned Irish 1500m champion Alistair Cragg showed he is in great form going into Athens as he sliced 4 seconds off his personal best for 5000m with a 13:12.74 run for 5th in the Super Grand Prix in Crystal Palace. This time moves him ahead of the legendary Frank O'Mara into second on the all-time Irish 5000m list with just Mark Carroll's 13:03.93 Irish record ahead of him.