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Derval O'Rourke at last year's European Indoor Championships (file photo). ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Cool Runnings

Season's greetings: O'Rourke kicks off Olympic year in Vienna

Derval O’Rourke finished second in the 60m hurdles final at the Indoor Classic Meet in Vienna last night.

DERVAL O’ROURKE LAUNCHED her Olympic year last night with an impressive seasonal debut at the Indoor Classic Meet in Vienna.

O’Rourke ran a time of 8.16 seconds to finish second in the 60m hurdles final at the Dusika-Hallen-Stadion, 0.05 behind race winner Yvette Lewis of America.

She will continue to compete on the indoor circuit as she prepares for her first major engagement of the season, the World Indoor Championships which take place in Istanbul from 9-11 March.

O’Rourke, winner of world indoor gold at Moscow in 2006, has already qualified for the 100m hurdles at this summer’s London Olympics.

Irish athletes Claire Bergin, Orla Drumm and Sara Louise Tracy were also in action in Vienna last night.

Bergin, a member of the women’s 4x400m team who are still bidding for Olympic qualification, set personal bests with runs in both the 200m and the 400m. The Dundrum South Dublin runner finished second in the 200m with a time of 24.50 seconds, and fourth in the 400m in 54.57 seconds.

Drumm also set a new personal best, shaving 0.4 seconds off her previous record to finish second in the women’s 1500m in a time 4:18.61.

Ciarán O’Lionáird will take to the track for his first indoor race this Saturday when he competes in the Men’s Mile in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. He will line up against his Nike Oregon Project training partners, world 5000m champion Mo Farah and America’s Galen Rupp.

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