night, Marcus O'Sullivan was walking along Reid Street when he was encircled by a gang of youths.

Muggers? Hardly.

Just your typical autograph-seeking fans. From high school. In New York.

Moments later, walking up Queen Street, he acknowledged shouts -- and the occasional car horn -- of recognition.

Even, or should that be especially, in Bermuda, O'Sullivan's popularity knows no bounds.

A cheering throng that lined Front Street greeted him like a returning hero as he roared past Tony Whiteman and Glen Stewart down the stretch to kick off International Race Weekend in grand style.

So what if he didn't break the record (set by Joe Falcon in 1993). So what if he didn't break four minutes (meaning the bank's $10,000 bonus remains locked up for another year). He's still Marcus O'Sullivan and, at 36, he showed there's still plenty of life left in those old legs.

His time was four minutes and 4.9 seconds, quite fast all things considered, and he finished nearly five yards ahead of the new kid on the block, Tony Whiteman, who clocked 4:06, and Scotland's Glen Stewart (4:06.7).

Bermuda's own Terrance Armstrong showed he belonged in this elite company by finishing fourth in 4:10.4 No one was more surprised at the result than O'Sullivan, who a day earlier had tipped Whiteman, a rising start for England and a dozen years O'Sullivan's junior, as the one to watch.

But Whiteman lacked his customary zip and admitted afterwards he lost most of his incentive at the half-way point, when he saw four minutes was out of reach.

"The record is what it's all about,'' he maintained afterwards. "Forget who wins the race.'' O'Sullivan, too, admitted he was "very discouraged'' by the 59 second time through the first quarter and the 2:03 at the half. But he kept plugging away, hanging on to third as Stewart and Whiteman battled it out front.

You might think that this was O'Sullivan's strategy, the guile of an Olympic veteran and savvy of a three-time world indoor champion.

In fact, O'Sullivan was dying.

"It's a good thing none of them knew how bad I felt,'' the personable Irishman joked afterwards.

O'Sullivan said he would have been quite happy with third; he was just waiting for Stewart and Whiteman to turn on the jets and that would be that.

Except they didn't -- and O'Sullivan did.

"The whole time, I was like, `Someone's going to get me, someone's going to get me','' he said.

"The crowd was screaming so hard, I thought (Whiteman and Stewart) were right on me. I was running scared.'' By that time, of course, the four minute barrier had long elapsed, giving further impetus for next year's gathering -- of which O'Sullivan is almost certain to be part.

Most top runners insist four minutes is possible, despite the momentum-busting course that O'Sullivan calls a "detriment'' to the event.

Whiteman said all it takes is some "stiff English upper lip'' -- in other words someone with the guts, and lungs -- to go out front and stay there.

O'Sullivan says it all comes down to timing. Most runners, he said, aren't in four-minute condition for what is generally considered the first race of the outdoor season.

"Even on the track no one runs four minutes this early,'' he said.

Photos by Tony Cordeiro STILL NO.1 -- Irishman Marcus O'Sullivan successfully defended his Front Street Mile title last night, surging home in four minutes and four seconds.