News

Irish clubs secured SIX top ten finishes at today’s European Cross Country Championships (ECCC) in Oropesa del Mar in Spain this Sunday (Feb 5th).

Efrem Gidey led home a superb Clonliffe Harriers team performance in the senior men’s race which would ultimately see them finish in 8th place in a race filled with quality athletes, while East Cork AC packed well to come home in 18th.

Nakita Burke was first home for Ireland in the senior women’s race, crossing in 24th which helped Letterkenny AC to an impressive 10th place in the team standings. Dublin City Harriers were also right in contention for a top 10 finish but would ultimately settle for 12th.

The performances from the men’s and women’s U20 teams were outstanding, with all 4 clubs finishing inside the top 8.

Youghal AC got the ball rolling in the first race of the day to secure 6th place overall, Avril Millerick racing superbly to finish 11th. Donegal’s Eimear McCarroll crossed just to places later in 13th to help Finn Valley AC to a brilliant 8th place finish.

Nenagh Olympic provided one of the team performances of the day with 3 of their athletes finishing inside the top 17 places, missing out on bronze by just 10 points to finish 5th.

Niall Murphy was one of the standout individual highlights on the day, crossing in 10th place to lead home defending champions Ennis Track in a brave attempt at defending their title (6th).

Senior Men’s Teams:

Clonliffe Harriers 8th

• Efrem Gidey 7th
• Ian Guiden 50th
•  Seán O’Leary 41st
•  Jayme Rossiter 45th
• Stephen Cashin

East Cork AC 18th

• Paul Hartnett 66th
• Frank O’Brien 72nd
•  Kevin O’Brien 85th
• Tim O’Donoghue 42nd

Senior Women’s Teams:

Letterkenny AC 10th

• Natasha Adams 47th
• Nakita Burke 24th
• Shauna McGeehan 79th
• Noeleen Scanlan 44th

Dublin City Harriers 12th

• Edel Monaghan 40th
• Cliona Murphy 32nd
• Avril Deegan 51st
• Faye Dervan 66th
• Eimear Fitzpatrick
• Sinead Cronin

U20 Men’s Teams:

Nenagh Olympic AC 5th

• Daniel Ryan Ellis 17th
•  Luke Purcell 15th
• Cian Hodgins 13th
• Thomas Bergin 53rd
• Jamie Moloney
• Sean Hayes

Ennis Track AC 6th

• Barry Conway 22nd
• Peter Farrell 41st
• Niall Murphy 10th
• Cian O’Boyle 28th
• Colin Ryan

U20 Women’s Teams:

Youghal AC 6th

• Alex Cashman 16th
• Avril Cashman 25th
• Emma Landers 27th
• Avril Millerick 11th
• Robyn Buckley

Finn Valley AC 8th

• Nuala Bose 60th
• Sarah Bradley 35th
•  Amy Greene 24th
• Eimear McCarroll 13th
• Sally McMenamin

Qualifying and competing at these championships was a huge achievement for each of the Irish clubs, especially given the depth in Irish cross country running at present. Congratulations to all involved.

Full Results: HERE