News

Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers AC) has finished fourth in the Half Marathon at the inaugural European Running Championships in Leuven, Belgium.

The 24-year-old agonisingly missed out on a place on the podium by just one second, following an epic sprint finish with French athlete Valentin Gondouin, who claimed the bronze medal.

Gidey, who is the joint Irish record holder for the distance, went through the first 5k in a blazing 13:54, just behind eventual winner Jimmy Gressier of France and Norway’s Awet Nftalem Kibrab who ultimately won silver.

The early pace soon began to bite for Gidey, but he valiantly fought on, and it was only with less than 5k to go that Gondouin managed to reel him in. The battle for bronze went right down to the wire with the French athlete only pulling slightly ahead in the final 100 metres.

Gidey’s finishing time was 1:01:55, just over a minute down on his national record which was set in Copenhagen last year.

Ann-Marie McGlynn (Letterkenny AC) was also in action in the women’s elite race, finishing 26^th in 1:15:53.

The remainder of the Irish team race tomorrow over 10k. Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers), Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC) and Keelan Kilrehill (Moy Valley AC) go in the men’s elite race, while Niamh Allen (Leevale AC) and Emily Haggard-Kearney (North Belfast Harriers AC) will run in the women’s elite race.

Results can be found HERE.