O'Sullivan clocks 8:44.72 to place behind Aschal at Palio Cittá della Quercia in Rovereto and eclipse Irish Under-23 mark of 8:46.14 achieved last year by Healy, trails only Villanova’s Huber among NCAA all-dates outdoor 3,000 efforts; Fisher prevails in men’s 3,000 in 7:33.32, ahead of Fay and Lumb

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by David Hicks and Getty Images

The summer of Sophie O’Sullivan continues.

After elevating to the No. 2 all-dates collegiate competitor in the women’s 1,500 meters with her 4:02.15 performance Aug. 19 in the opening round of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the Irish standout representing the University of Washington ascended among the elite NCAA all-time performers in the 3,000 meters Wednesday at the Palio Cittá della Quercia in Rovereto, Italy.

O’Sullivan, 21, ran 8:44.72 to finish second behind Ethiopia’s Wubrist Aschal, 18, in 8:44.13, with former Washington athlete Amy-Eloise Markovc taking third in 8:45.23 and fellow British competitor Hannah Nuttall, a New Mexico graduate, finishing fourth in 8:45.63. Italy’s Sintayehu Vissa, an NCAA Division 1 champion at Ole Miss now competing for On Athletics, secured sixth in 8:47.40.

Not only did O’Sullivan achieve an Irish Under-23 national record, but she climbed to the No. 5 all-dates collegiate 3,000 competitor, trailing only the 8:37.25 outdoor effort by Villanova’s Vicki Huber at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

Including indoor collegiate 3,000 performances, only North Carolina State’s Katelyn Tuohy, Missouri’s Karissa Schweizer, Colorado’s Jenny Simpson and Huber have ever run faster on any surface as an NCAA competitor than O’Sullivan.

Only Sonia O’Sullivan, Sophie’s mother, has achieved a faster time by an Irish female athlete in an outdoor 3,000 with her national record 8:21.64 in 1994 in London.

Mary Cullen clocked 8:43.74 in 2009 in Boston in an indoor 3,000, the only additional faster absolute performance by an Irish competitor.

Sophie O’Sullivan eclipsed the Irish Under-23 all-time mark of 8:46.14 produced last year by Sarah Healy at the Cork City Sports International meet.

American athlete Grant Fisher prevailed in the men’s 3,000 in 7:33.32, with Washington standout and Irish competitor Brian Fay finishing second in 7:36.89 and Canadian performer Kieran Lumb, also representing the Huskies, taking third in 7:38.92.

Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts triumphed in the women’s triple jump with a 48-11.50 (14.92m) performance.

Jamaica also swept the men’s and women’s 100-meter dash competitions. Oblique Seville ran a wind-legal 10.00 in the men’s race, with Natasha Morrison clocking a wind-legal 11.00 in the women’s event, holding off American sprinter TeeTee Terry in 11.06.

And Jamaica also added a victory in the men’s 400 meters, with Rusheen McDonald running 45.46 and Germany’s Manuel Sanders placing second in 45.53.

Italy’s Andy Diaz Hernandez was victorious in the men’s triple jump with a 55-10.50 (17.03m) effort.

Italy also took the top two spots in the men’s shot put, with Zane Weir securing the win with a mark of 71-9.50 (21.88m), ahead of World Championships silver medalist Leonardo Fabbri at 70-0.50 (21.35m) and Budapest bronze medalist Joe Kovacs of the U.S. at 70-0.25 (21.34m).

Another Italian competitor, Catalin Tecuceanu, edged Spain’s Javier Miron by a 1:45.25 to 1:45.29 margin in the men’s 800 meters.

British athlete Laviai Nielsen won the women’s 400 in 51.51, with France’s Amandine Brossier finishing second in 51.76.

Tom Gale of Great Britain cleared 7-4 (2.23m) in the men’s high jump, earning the win against Mexico’s Edgar Rivera based on fewer attempts.

Molly Caudery, a British pole vaulter, cleared 15-0.25 (4.58m) to capture the victory against Switzerland’s Angelica Moser at 14-10 (4.52m).

Kenya’s Vivian Chebet Kiprotich triumphed in the women’s 800 in 1:59.56.

Louis Francois Mendy of Senegal prevailed in the men’s 110-meter hurdles in a wind-legal 13.40.