Fionnuala Britton of Kilcoole ran a determined race to win the women’s title at the Spar European Cross-Country Championships in Velenje, Slovenia. Last year, Britton had been outsprinted for bronze and finished just seven seconds behind the winner, so victory was especially sweet.
In the first kilometre of the race, Britton led a breakaway group that included plenty of colourful characters: former European U-23 champion Binniz Uslu of Turkey, second in 2010; Moroccan Nadia Ejjafini, who runs for Italy after a period with Bahrain; and Portugal’s Ana Dulce Felix, the woman who had beaten Britton by a stride for the bronze a year earlier.
Uslu, who has had injury problems this year, was the woman who beat Britton to the U-23 title in 2006 and later served a two-year ban for doping. She was the first to fall back and eventually dropped out.
At half way, Britton made her break, with Ejjafini’s attempts to keep with her now faltering and British athlete Gemma Steel now chasing after Britton after passing Dulce Felix. A determined effort saw Steel close the gap to about 15 metres but Britton by now was completely in control and raced home a worthy winner.
For second place, Dulce Felix chased down Steel after finding a second lease of life.
In the men’s race, there was plenty more to cheer when Joe Sweeney of Dundrum South Dublin ran the race of his life to finish a gutsy fifth. With Paul Pollock making a fine debut to finish 26th and early front runner Andrew Ledwith not too far behind in 35th place, the Irish men’s team finished a creditable sixth. Dominating up front was the Ethiopian athlete Atelaw Bekele running for Belgium.
Irish intercounty champion Sarah Louise Treacy of Moynalty produced her best ever result at this level when she finished 18th in the women’s U-23 race. In the men’s U-23 race, Michael Mulhare of North Laois, part of last year’s winning team, was spiked and lost a shoe in the opening kilometre. He finished a disappointed 31st.
Best in the junior races were Jake Byrne of Mullingar Harriers 23rd of the men and DSD’s Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, 49th in the women’s race.
* Szentendre, just outside the Hungarian capital Budapest, is the venue for the 2012 European Cross-Country; Belgrade, Serbia is the 2013 venue.
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