Women’s team provide highlights with bronze performance

It’s hard to get thoroughly enraptured about a European Cross Country Championships that are so easily dominated by African-born runners, although at least the Irish women provided some proper cheer. The only pity is that there wasn’t a little more of it.

In winning bronze medals for the second successive year the quartet of Irish women proved that success at this level is certainly both attainable and repeatable: indeed Fionnuala McCormack was the only returning member of last year’s bronze-winning team, joined this time by Lizzie Lee, Irish debutant Caroline Crowley, and Ciara Durkan.

However, the rest of the Irish teams that made the journey to Hyères in the south of France struggled to make any sort of impact. Mick Clohisey was the best of the senior men, finishing 37th, but the team ended up in 11th and last position.

Adopted Europeans

Part of the reasoning for this may well be the fact the race up front was dominated by African-born runners, now running under the guises of their adopted European nations.

Kenyan-born Ali Kaya, running for Turkey although still living and training in his native land, was the outright winner ahead of Alemayu Bebezah, the Ethiopian-born runner now representing Spain (and also not long back from a two-year doping ban).

Bebezah also led Spain to a comfortable team victory, although none of their scoring runners are actually European born: Adel Mechaal took third (and he’s Moroccan), Ayed Lamdassem finished fourth (he’s also Moroccan), and Fifa Ilias Fifa finished fifth (and yes he’s Moroccan born too). It meant the first European-born finisher was actually Florian Carvalho from France, who ended up sixth.

The senior women’s race wasn’t quite as bad on the African influx, although outright winner there was Sifan Hassan, now running in the Dutch colours, who finished the 8km course in 25:57; second place went to Britain’s Kate Avery, with Karoline Grovdal from Norway just holding off McCormack for third by three seconds, 25:57 to 26:00.

Backing up McCormack with excellent runs were Lee in 13th, Crowley in 23rd, and Durkan in 43rd – bringing the Irish team total to 83 points, well ahead of Spain (95) and Italy (118), who finished fourth and fifth. Great Britain won gold with 33 points, ahead of France with 78.

The fact the Irish women managed to beat Spain into fourth was all the more impressive given the fact Spain’s top finisher Trihas Gebre is also Ethiopian born, although finished just two spots ahead of Lee, in 11th.

For Lee – who like McCormack has qualified for the Rio Olympic marathon next summer – that 13th place was perfectly satisfying: she was part of the Irish team that won gold in 2012, but took time out last year after giving birth to daughter Lucy. Her tactic of going out hard and hanging on certainly paid dividends.

“Well I’ve never come through in a race in my life,” said Lee. “I just went out as hard as I could, and hung on. I’m a marathon runner, and hanging in there is what we do. But we knew we were in a medal position, and the countries we had to beat, so I think we were always in control. But I’ve never sprinted as fast for the line in my life, because I knew every point was going to count.”

“This is just the icing on the cake of an amazing post-baby comeback. Hopefully I’m off to Rio next summer, and to finish the year with a medal around your neck with the nicest, loveliest girls from the most amazing country ever is just brilliant.”

Fourth scorer

Durkan too was well satisfied with her 43rd place: “Yeah, I knew as the fourth scorer I couldn’t let them down. The last sprint took a lot longer than I thought but still I’m delighted with my run.”

Also winning bronze medals were the two non-scoring finishers Michelle Finn from Cork (54th) and Kerry O’Flaherty from Down (55th)

No such joy on the men’s side, although Clohisey was reasonably satisfied as top Irish men’s finisher: “I got out fast but the pace is relentless,” said Clohisey. “You’re competing against guys with great track times and I’ve been focusing on the marathon which is completely different. It was tough but I’ll be back.”

Best of the junior men was Jack O’Leary who finished 23rd.

In the men’s Under-23 race Brandon Hargreaves ended up 31st, while Sophie Murphy was the top finisher in the junior women in 54th. Shona Heaslip also finished 33rd in the Under-23 women.