Olympian Ciaran O’Lionaird returns to competition today 3,000m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in the Reggie Lewis Centre in Boston.

Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia yesterday smashed the course record when he cruised to victory in the SPAR Great Ireland Run in Dublin’s Phoenix Park yesterday.

Eddie McGinley (Annadale Striders) yesterday won his first Irish senior cross country title after leading from the gun in the Woodie’s DIY Inter Clubs Cross Country Championships in Santry.

EUROPE’S top cross-country runner, Fionnuala Britton will be one of the favourites for the gold medal when she leads the Irish women’s team into next month’s 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.

CAITRIONA JENNINGS, Sportsworld Running Club, Terenure, yesterday led home a field of over 40,000 in the Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon in Dublin.

AFTER big runs over 1,500m (3:41.02) at the weekend and 10,000m (28:32.30) two weeks ago, Ciaran Ó Lionáird is all set for a return to Stanford on May 1 to tackle 5,000m.

MARTIN FAGAN is ready to take on all comers when he defends his title in tomorrow’s Spar Great Ireland Run.

THE winners of the senior men’s and senior women’s titles at Saturday’s Woodies DIY national inter-clubs cross-country championships at Santry Demesne are not interested in going to the world cross-country championships in Punta Unbria, Spain, on March 20.

WHEN David McCarthy finished third in the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day, medal hopes for Ireland’s U23 men’s team at Sunday’s European cross-country championships in Albufeira shot through the roof.

DICK HOOPER, Ireland’s Marathon Man, will be at his old stomping ground, St Anne’s Park in Raheny, tomorrow to present the prizes for the Dublin City Council/BHAA road races when the programme will be comprised of a men’s four-mile race and women’s two mile race.

ALISTAIR CRAGG will get his place on the Irish senior men’s team for the SPAR European cross-country championships if he proves his fitness in tomorrow’s 5k road race in San Jose.

NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa finished within five seconds of the course record when winning the Lifestyle Sports adidas Dublin Marathon on his debut over the distance.

SPRINTERS Paul Hession (Athenry AC) and Derval O’Rourke (Leevale AC) will captain the Irish team to compete in the European Team championships in Slovakia this weekend.

UKRAINE’S Andriy Naumov led home a record 11,700 runner entry yesterday in the Lifestyle Sports adidas Dublin Marathon — the 29th running of the event.

MICHAEL QUINLAN could be poised for a dramatic return to athletics’ top table at the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) annual congress in Dublin at the weekend.

CATHAL LOMBARD claimed his place on the Irish team for next month’s world championships in Paris with a spectacular performance at the British Milers Club meet in Watford at the weekend, finishing fourth in the 10,000m in 28:05.27 — comfortably inside the B standard of 28:06.00.