World Indoor 60m Hurdles champion Derval O'Rourke defended her 100 metres Hurdles title at the Irish National Championships in Dublin yesterday (22) despite earlier suffering a nasty fall in the flat 100m.
O'Rourke was beaten in the dash and fell heavily as she crossed the line. She nevertheless claimed second place behind Emily Maher who won in a tight finish.
Last summer's European silver medallist, despite picking up some minor bruises, then returned to win the Hurdles in a time of 13.40 seconds although on reflection she felt it was a brave decision to have competed.
O'Rourke said: "The race took place in torrential rain. When I fell in the 100 I got badly cut up, bruising my knees, hip and shoulder and also my right thigh.
"Fortunately I didn't break anything although my right ankle bone is slightly swollen."
The meeting also saw David Gillick, the reigning European indoor champion, win over 400 metres in 46.34.
The women's one-lap race saw Joanne Cuddihy, despite the slippery conditions and the rain still pouring, claim victory in a very respectable 51.86.
Paul Hession, after breaking the Irish 200m record on Saturday, was back in action and finished an easy winner over 100m in 10.45.
Alistair Cragg was an absentee from the 1500m having opted to race in Belgium on Saturday night where he ran 13:07.10 in a fast 5000m to finish second.
