O'Sullivan to face rival Dominguez
European 5,000 metres gold and silver medallists Marta Dominguez and Sonia O’Sullivan will renew their rivalry tomorrow in the Flora Light Challenge in London’s Hyde Park.
The surface will be totally different from Munich’s Olympic Stadium where the Spaniard beat the Irish woman by only 0.09 seconds but the race should be equally as tight.
The pair will be joined by a string of international-class athletes led by former London Marathon champions Joyce Chepchumba and Tegla Loroupe of Kenya. Both have the credentials to beat the current world-best performance of 14 minutes 54 seconds.
That time was set in April by Deena Brossin in the warmth of Carlsbad, California, when the American number one lowered by three seconds the time set in the London event 12 months ago by Paula Radcliffe.
Radcliffe is absent on this occasion, concentrating on her preparations for the Chicago Marathon on October 13.
O’Sullivan admitted: "Paula set new standards last year and that’s a hard act to follow."
Heading the British challenge will be Commonwealth Games 5,000m and 10,000m finalists Catherine Berry and Hayley Yelling.
The race has attracted a record entry of 25,000 women - an increase of 5,000 over 2001 - will be started by Cherie Booth, QC, and the Lord Mayor of Westminster, councillor Frances Blois.
