SONIA O'Sullivan, Ireland's world championship 1500 metres silver

medal winner, is the latest defector from the women's 5000m event in

tomorrow's County Durham Cross Country International. O'Sullivan, who

has injured her back in training, was matched originally in a classic

head-to-head with Lynn Jennings, the three-times world champion. The

American had already been forced out, being replaced 24 hours earlier by

Zola Budd-Pieterse.

In all, 10 of the original

34-strong field have withdrawn. Last night, organiser John Caine was

trying to find a further replacement.

''We will have the required number of runners to qualify as a

WorldCross grand prix event, but we have lost out on the quality

confrontation that I wanted,'' said Caine.

Catherina McKiernan, O'Sullivan's main Irish rival, is saving herself

for next weekend's race on home soil, at Mallusk, and phone calls

yesterday to world champion Albertina Dias found her committed to a race

in Brazil.

But the race still retains Olga Bondarenko, world No.4 at 10,000m,

Britain's former world junior champion, Paula Radcliffe, and world 3000m

finalist Alison Wyeth. Vikki McPherson, the world championship 10,000m

runner from City of Glasgow, former national 800m champion Carol Sharp,

Scottish 3000m runner-up Sue Ridley (Edinburgh Woollen Mill), and

Kirsten Scobie of Shettleston, are among the Scots who will start in the

televised meeting.

The opening event (1.20pm) is a 3600m event for middle distance track

runners. Matthew Yates, the UK No.1 at 1500m last year, has pulled out

to train in Spain, as has Scot Gary Brown, who is there preparing with

Tom McKean.

But several members of the Scottish endurance group will run,

including Ian Campbell (Dundee Hawkhill), Grant Graham (Clydesdale) and

Robert Cameron (Falkirk). Martin Steele, who upstaged McKean as the UK's

fastest last year at 800m, will make a rare appearance on the country.

The main event, the men's 9000m, is unaffected. The world 10,000m

champion, Haile Gebreselassie heads a star field which includes the

Kenyan, Joseph Kibor, who will be out to avenge the incident which saw

Gebreselassie stamp on the heal of his compatriot, Moses Tanui, removing

his spike, en route to his victory in the Stuttgart world final.

Greenock's Tommy Murray, the Scottish champion, has the chance to show

what he can do at the highest level, along with his Spango clubmate

Chris Robison and Glenpark's Allan Puckrin.