While Fionnuala Britton heads to tomorrow’s 20th European-Cross Country Championships in Belgrade in search of a hat-trick of titles with customary quiet steely resolve, her bigger ambition is to ultimately join the likes of Sonia O’Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan as Ireland’s greatest distance runners.

By Will Downing

Robert Heffernan crowned a fairytale season when he was named Athlete of the Year at the National Athletics Awards at the Crowne Plaza in Dublin yesterday.

An Irish team of eight, headed by double European Cross-Country Champion Fionnuala Britton and Europe’s fastest man over 400m this year so far, Brian Gregan, have been pre-selected for next week’s European Indoor Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.

The Woodie’s DIY National Senior Indoor Championships are set for a major facelift this weekend in Athlone with some of Ireland’s top class athletes set to compete alongside the country’s leading club athletes.

Irish record holders Deirdre Ryan and Derval O’Rourke will not compete in the European Track and Field Championships in Helsinki at the end of the month.

NEWLY crowned European Cross Country champion Fionnuala Britton arrived in Dublin Airport yesterday evening to a rapturous reception.

Ireland's Fionnuala Britton has taken gold in the women's senior race at the European Cross Country Championships in Slovenia.

WORLD youth racewalking champion Kate Veale (West Waterford), finished third in the junior women’s race at the prestigious McCain UK Cross Challenge in Bristol over the weekend.

DEIRDRE RYAN (Dundrum South Dublin) was named Athlete of the Year at the National Athletics Awards in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry on Saturday night.

JOANNE CUDDIHY was in distinguished company at the world championships in Daegu yesterday when she false-started in her semi-final of the women’s 400m less than an hour before reigning Olympic and world champion, Usain Bolt, made a similar exit from the men’s 100m final.

DERVAL O’ROURKE (Leevale) bounced back from a disastrous run in Crystal Palace the previous day to win her ninth title at the Woodies DIY National Senior Championships at Morton Stadium yesterday.