O’Hare gears up for bid to win American Collegiate title

O’Hare, who took the silver medal for Tulsa University in the NCAA Championship race in College Station, Texas last time, faces a formidable field every one of whom has broken four minutes indoors. They include the holder Miles Batty (Brigham Young), who clocked a remarkable 3:54.54 in the Wannamaker Mile in New York last month (when O’Hare was just outside his best with a time of 3:56.63), Irishman David McCarthy (Providence), whom O’Hare beat in New York but who has run 3:55.75 this season and Erik Van Ingen (Binghamton), best of 3:56.37, who was fifth last year. O’Hare had to run almost under four minutes (4:00.87) just to qualify last time and has drawn Batty in his heat tomorrow while McCarthy and Van Ingen go in the other heat.

But 21-year-old Edinburgh AC member O’Hare believes he is the right shape for the task, having completed an impressive double in his conference qualifier in Birmingham, Alabama.

O’Hare ran a 1:49.98 800m only 45 minutes after winning the mile in 4:07.81. “I’m feeling good and ready to roll,” said O’Hare before leaving from Arizona.

Emma Nuttall (EAC) is hoping that the Canadian National college indoor finals in Winnipeg tomorrow will spur her to a new best in the high jump.

“Training has been going well,” she commented from Trinity Western University in Vancouver where she is based.