O'Sullivan celebrates silver More championship photos

Gillian O'Sullivan claimed the Republic of Ireland's first medal at the World Championships for eight years as she won the silver in the women's 20km walk behind Russia's Yelena Nikolayeva.

Nikolayeva led from start to finish to take the gold in a championship record of 1 hour 26.52 minutes, 42 seconds ahead of O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan finished in 1:27:34, with Valentina Tsybulskaya of Belarus taking the bronze in 1:28.10.

O'Sullivan's medal was Ireland's first since 1995, when her namesake Sonia O'Sullivan won gold in the 5,000m.

"This is just fantastic," said the University College Cork graduate, who finished just out of the medals at last year's European Championships in Munich.

"I decided to settle for the silver rather than try and catch Nikolayeva.

"But this really sets me up for next year's Olympics in Athens and it shows what I can achieve.

"We went off hard but I was prepared for both slow and fast races so there wasn't any problem.

I pushed it hard until I was inside the stadium Gillian O'Sullivan

"There were only three of us left in it at five kilometres and though we were walking at my limits but I felt okay.

"The hardest part was around 13 to 17kms because there were constant changes behind me and I had to push all I could.

"First I thought there was an Italian behind my shoulder, then a Russian and finally the Belorussian.

"At that point I wasn't sure if I could keep my position but decided to fight and try to get a medal anyway.

"I pushed it hard until I was inside the stadium, it was just then that I let go.

"I have done a lot of competition and have got a lot of experience and finishing fourth last year give me a lot of confidence".

Nikolayeva was a heavy favourite coming into the championships after setting the best time of the season.

At 37, she had already won the 10km Olympic title at Atlanta in 1996 and gold in the 3km world indoor championship in 1993.

Nikolayeva led from start to finish

Defending champion Olimpiada Ivanova of Russia stepped out of the course early on, almost as soon as she left the stadium.

Nikolayeva, one of the oldest competitors in the race, immediately took charge with O'Sullivan and Italy's Elisabetta Perrone.

But Nikolayeva made a decisive move at 7km, building up a 20-second lead at halfway and extending her lead in the second half of the race.

Such was her domination she was smiling to her coaches and friends during the final stages.

Galway's Olive Loughnane bettered her 2001 performance by finishing 12th.

Loughnane, 13th in Edmonton, clocked 1:30.53 which was 24 seconds outside her personal best.

Ireland's other competitor on Sunday morning Karen Shinkins produced a season's best of 52.06 in the 400 metre heats to qualify for Monday's semi-finals.

The Irish record holder finished fifth in a heat won by Mexico's gold medal favourite Ana Guevara (51.14) to qualify as a fastest loser.

Shinkins, who has a personal best of 51.07, ran a steady opening 250 metres and was in last place at that stage but she picked off two of her rivals in the closing stages to qualify for the next round.

In the evening session, Cathal Lombard finished 17th in the men's 10,000m final with a time of 28:36.43 - over 30 seconds outside his personal best.

Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele took gold in 26:49.57 just ahead of his mentor, the great Haile Gebrselassie.

20km Walk Result:

1 Yelena Nikolayeva (Rus) 1:26:52
2 Gillian O'Sullivan (Ire) 1:27:34
3 Valentina Tsybulskaya (Bel) 1:28:09
4 Tatyana Gudkova (Rus) 1:28:53
5 Claudia Stef (Rom) 1:29:09
6 Rossella Giordano (Ita) 1:29:14