Athletics News: Robert Connolly saved the best Irish performance until last at the European Under-23 championships, which concluded in Bydgoszcz, Poland, yesterday.

The Dundrum athlete produced the best race of his career to date to take the bronze medal in a high quality final of the 5,000 metres, and with it confirmed his potential as one of the best distance runners in the country.

Always in contention for a leading finish, Connolly did have to give way to the British duo on the last lap, with victory going to Chris Thompson in 13 minutes, 58.62 seconds, just ahead of Mohammed Farah (13:58.88).

Yet Connolly was well clear in third, clocking 14:03.75 - just a little short of his lifetime best - ahead of fourth-placed Vasil Matviychuk of the Ukraine (14:10.19).

Mark Kenneally of Raheny also produced a creditable run to take sixth in 14:13.24.

Earlier in the afternoon, Derval O'Rourke ran a national senior record on the 100 metre hurdles - finally eclipsing the mark of Susan Smith - and yet still found herself in fourth place. Yet her time of 12.96 does qualify her for the World Championships in Paris later this year.

Victory went to Susanna Kallur of Sweden in 12.88, with the Russian Mariya Koroteyeve just denying O'Rourke the bronze medal by running 12.95.

David McCarthy also had hopes of a medal in the 400 metres but ended up finishing sixth. Having run a lifetime best of 46.06 seconds to qualify, the Celbridge athlete was outclassed on the day by Leslie Djhone of France in a world-class 45.05 seconds, with McCarthy finishing in 46.26. Paul Hession also did well to finish fifth in the 200 metres in 20.86.

Meanwhile, victory came easily for Seamus Power in yesterday's adidas/Irish Runner Five-mile Challenge in the Phoenix Park.

The Clare athlete simply eased in front in the opening mile to leave a half-dozen elite athletes in the chase, and arrived home uncontested in 24 minutes, six seconds.

It meant that Noel Berkeley, last year's winner, had to be satisfied with the runner-up position, although the battle for third was a little more hotly contested. Eventually Donegal's Gary Crossan pulled clear of Peter Mathews to complete the top three places.

The tough course, which included two testing hills, didn't allow for the swiftest of running but Catherina McKiernan was still satisfied with her time of 27 minutes flat while winning the women's race.

For Pauline Curley, the runner-up position was, as with Berkeley, a one-place demotion on last year.

With over 1,500 finishers, many running for charity, the race is fast becoming one of the most popular of its kind in the Dublin area, and is the first of three adidas countdown races ahead of the Dublin marathon in October.

Power, however, admitted afterwards that his plan to run the Dublin marathon this year has been shelved, and instead he will concentrate on another cross-country season.

McKiernan is still a little unsure about her plans to revisit the marathon, but for the time being her training is progressing the way she wants.

"It would have been nice to break 27 minutes out there," she said, "but I have to be happy with that and I'm still moving in the right direction."

For Sonia O'Sullivan, the track season is now clearly going in the wrong direction. It's no secret that her first three races fell well short of expectations and she went to the Madrid Grand Prix on Saturday night hoping for a more positive run over 1,500 metres.

Instead, she trailed home second-last of the 16 finishers in what was one of her slowest times ever, four minutes 19.44 seconds. Victory on the night went to United States athlete Suzy Favor Hamilton, who led over the last lap-and-a-half to win in 4:02.89.

The field itself was hardly the most daunting, yet O'Sullivan found the pace not at all to her liking. Britain's Joanne Pavey, an athlete rarely in O'Sullivan's class, took second in 4:03.91 and the little-known Russian Yuliya Kosenkova was third in a time of 4:04.38.

The only athlete behind O'Sullivan was the Spaniard Rocio Rodriguez.

It is known that O'Sullivan had suffered from food poisoning earlier in the week and, having never been in contention of victory, her effort over the last lap was far from flat out.

Yet with the World Championships in Paris less than five weeks away, she is now coming under real pressure to turn her season around.

What makes the run even more puzzling is that Australia's Benita Johnson, who trains with O'Sullivan in London, won the 3,000 metres in 8:38.45.

In fact O'Sullivan has been finishing ahead of Johnson in recent sessions, so there is some hope that things can improve in the weeks ahead.