clarinews@clarinet.com (JOE ILLUZZI, UPI Sports Writer) (02/04/90)
NEW YORK (UPI) -- Eamonn Coghlan came out of retirement just long enough to pass Marcus O'Sullivan the scepter with which Irish middle distance runners have ruled indoor track the last generation. Coghlan bowed to the new king of the boards Friday night when O'Sullivan won his third straight Wanamaker Mile at the Panasonic Millrose Games. But he bowed knowing Irish tradition will continue. Coghlan, 37, has won a record seven Wanamaker miles and is still the only man to run a sub-3:50 mile indoors. O'Sullivan, 28, already has won four Wanamaker titles and is the two-time world indoor champion at 1,500 meters. ``Why is Marcus a good runner? Because he's an Irishman,'' Coghlan said. ``In Ireland we have heroes we look up to. That's something that's missing in the United States. It's almost like a chain. Marcus looked up to me and I looked up to Ron Devany and Noel Carroll. Now there are kids looking up to Marcus.'' The Irish connection of Devany, who won four straight Wanamaker miles in the `70s, Coghlan and O'Sullivan had another thing in common. All trained under Jumbo Elliott, the legendary track coach at Villanova, and developed into champions. Coghlan had no intention of running this season until changing his mind last month. He originally entered the 3,000 meters in the Millrose Games because his training was geared for distance instead of spped. When he noticed the slow mile times being turned in this season, Coghlan switched races. Speed, however, was the determining factor in the Wanamaker. Once O'Sullivan took the lead, Coghlan didn't stand a chance and was left behind to finish fifth. Jens-Peter Herold, the Olympic bronze medalist from East Germany, was the only runner to keep up with O'Sullivan, but the Irishman outraced him over the final three laps. ``My long term goal is win seven Wanamaker miles,'' O'Sullivan said. ``If Eamonn had won, he would have had eight, I would have had three. That can be a tough gap to make up.''