Medal mania for Irish at European Cross Country

For the Irish, this was their best-ever medal haul at the European Cross Country, but it was also so much more. For so many years, they had come to this event with hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of Fionnuala McCormack alone.

Medal mania for Irish at European Cross Country

For the Irish, this was their best-ever medal haul at the European Cross Country, but it was also so much more. For so many years, they had come to this event with hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of Fionnuala McCormack alone.

But this was different. Medal mania on the slopes of Bela Vista Park in Lisbon – athlete after athlete standing proud on the podium, glistening in green. Four medals in all: two bronze through the individual brilliance of Efrem Gidey and Stephanie Cotter; two silver through the superb collective courage of the senior and U23 women’s teams.

And there at the heart of it all, pouring herself into each stride, attacking each hill with a wrought-iron will, was McCormack.

The two-time former champion finished fourth in the senior women’s race, out-gunned on the final lap by Sweden’s Samrawit Mengsteab.

And for all that the team medal provided an antidote to her agony, she was far too ambitious to be anything less than upset. “It’s brilliant to win a team medal but I am gutted,” she said. “I don’t want a record for coming fourth at the European Championships. I don’t want to be here for the 16th time without an individual medal.”

McCormack launched herself into contention on the first lap but given the marathon has been her focus in recent years, she found the wheels turning a little too fast for her liking up front. Norway’s Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal towed things along until the three-time champion Yasemin Can surged to the lead. Grovdal went off in pursuit, leaving McCormack battling a horde of athletes for the bronze medal.

On the penultimate lap it seemed she had it within reach as her rivals dropped away like bowling pins, but stuck in her slipstream, clinging to McCormack like a limpet, was Mengsteab. On the downhill run to the finish the Swede made her move and though McCormack responded it wasn’t enough. “I tried hard, I had to try hard,” said McCormack. “I don’t know what else I could do, I just wish it worked out differently.”

Can took her fourth straight title with ease in 26:52, with McCormack touched off for bronze by just two seconds. Further back, Aoibhe Richardson had the race of her life to finish 17th, with Ciara Mageean rounding out the Irish scoring, the 1500m specialist running herself to a standstill as she crossed the line in 20th. Britain took the team title with 26 points with the Irish second with 41, two points clear of hosts Portugal.

“If anybody wants to see how tough athletics is, they just have to watch Euro Cross - I thought I could have died,” said Mageean. “This is the most positive Euro Cross Irish athletics has ever had and it’s a testament to our governing body and the coaches in Ireland because they don’t get paid for it. They do it out of the love of their own and most of these athletes aren’t making anything out of this sport but they go out and put their bodies on the line.”

Sean Tobin led the Irish in the senior men’s race, the Clonmel man taking his third straight top-20 finish by coming home 18th despite running the entire race in severe pain because of blisters. “I lost four or five spots on the last lap, part of it was fatigue but my feet are just f***ed,” he said. “I’m disappointed because a top 10 was there.”

In the U23 women’s race, Stephanie Cotter announced herself as a potential star by winning a brilliant bronze medal, the Cork athlete running a fearless race that saw her challenge favourite Anna Moller of Denmark for much of the race, but she was out-kicked for silver in the end by Dutch athlete Jasmijn Lau.

“I did go out to try and win it and that might have cost me the second place because I was definitely dead on my legs the last 200 metres,” said Cotter. “I believed in myself and if it didn’t pay off that was fine, but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t go for it.”

Backed up by sisters Eilish Flanagan in ninth and Róisín Flanagan in 17th – both college teammates of hers at Adams State in Colorado – the Irish claimed silver in the team event behind the Netherlands.

Brian Fay was the leading Irish finisher in the U23 men’s race in 22nd, Jodie McCann led the U-20 women in 46th, while the mixed relay team of Nadia Power, John Travers, Amy O’Donoghue and Eoin Pierce finished seventh.

Irish Results European Cross Country Championships, Lisbon

Women: U20 4,225m: Jodie McCann (Dublin City Harriers) 46th, Aoife O’Cuill (St. Coca’s AC) 62nd, Sarah Kelly (Inishowen AC) 77th, Danielle Donegan (Tullamore Harriers AC) 84th, Eimear Maher (Dundrum South Dublin AC) 85th, Maeve Gallagher (Swinford AC) 93rd. Team: 11th.

U23 6,225m: Stephanie Cotter (West Muskerry) 3rd, Eilish Flanagan (Carmen Runners) 9th, Roisin Flanagan (Carmen Runners) 17th, Fian Sweeney (Dublin City Harriers) 38th, Claire Fagan (Mullingar Harriers) 47th Sorcha McAlister (Westport) 57th. Team: 2nd.

Senior 8,225m: Fionnuala McCormack (Kilcoole) 4th, Aoibhe Richardson (Kilkenny City Harriers) 17th, Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn) 20th, Mary Mulhare (Portlaoise) 35th, Una Britton (Kilcoole) 37th, Fionnnuala Ross (Armagh) 47th. Team: 2nd.

Men: U20 6,225m: Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers) 3rd, Darragh McElhinney (UCD) 12th, Thomas McStay (Galway City Harriers) 24th, Keelan Kilrehill (Moy Valley) 25th, Jamie Battle (Mullingar Harriers) 28th, Shay McEvoy (Kilkenny City Harriers) 76th. Team: 4th.

U23 8,225m: Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock) 22nd, Jack O’Leary (Mullingar Harriers) 25th, Peter Lynch (Kilkenny City Harriers) 26th, Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers) 49th, Cathal Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers) 71st, David McGlynn (Waterford) 72nd. Team: 7th.

Senior 10,225m: Sean Tobin (Clonmel) 18th, Conor Bradley (City of Derry) 52nd, Eoin Everard (Kilkenny City Harriers) 61st, Liam Brady (Tullamore Harriers) 64th, Damien Landers (Ennis Track) 71st, Kevin Maunsell (Clonmel) DNF. Team: 13th.

Mixed Relay 4 x 1500m Team: 7th – Nadia Power (Dublin City Harriers), John Travers (Donore Harriers), Amy O’Donoghue (Emerald), Eoin Pierce (Clonliffe Harriers) Placing table overall: Ireland 4th.

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