Gemma Steel denied Fionnuala Britton a maiden victory in a fascinating duel in blustery conditions in the Phoenix Park at the SPAR Great Ireland Run 10km on Saturday.

Fionnuala Britton produced the best road race of her career to finish second at today’s Spar Great Ireland run.

Athletics: Fionnuala Britton was first woman across the line in the Autumn Cross-Country open 8km race at the Phoenix Park yesterday.

Ciaran O’Lionard shot to victory at today’s Glo Health national senior track and field championships taking 1500-metre gold and a European championship slot.

Mary Cullen stormed to a course record of 25 minutes and 37 seconds in windy conditions at the Axa Raheny five-mile race yesterday while there was also plenty of action in the Woodie’s DIY National Junior and U23 Championships in Athlone.

Kelly Proper took athlete of the championships after taking four gold medals at the Woodies DIY national track and field championships.

The Woodie’s DIY AAI Games in the new Athlone IT indoor arena produced a long list of new personal bests and one new record.

Olympic team manager, Patsy McGonagle, predicts Ireland could have 24 athletes at the London Olympics.

Ciara Everard and Laura Crowe combined to produce the most exciting race of the domestic indoor season when they clashed in the 800m at the recent Universities Championships in Nenagh, breaking the U23 record set by Sonia O’Sullivan all of 22 years ago.

THE Irish Sports Council last night insisted the country “does not have a particular problem with doping” in the wake of the latest drugs scandal to hit athletics.

DISMISS him at your peril was the clear message from Ireland’s Alastair Cragg as he put the pieces back together after dropping out of the record breaking Boston Marathon with a badly blistered left foot.

MARIAN HEFFERNAN has been added to the Irish team for next week’s European indoor championships in Paris.

CIARA MAGEEAN has secured the most lucrative sponsorship deal in the history of Irish junior athletics after signing a six-figure deal with sportswear giants New Balance.

THE icy weather conditions failed to deter some of Ireland’s top athletes from competing at the Woodie’s DIY cross country championships at Gransha Park in Derry yesterday.

WHEN Steven Colvert, a relative newcomer to the sport of athletics, develops the strength to see the race out, he is going to be a formidable force in 200m running.

Alistair Cragg had a nervous wait before his qualification for Saturday's 5000m final at the European Athletics Championships was confirmed.

DAVID McCARTHY and Ailís McSweeney qualified for the semi-finals of their respective 800m and 100m events on an exciting, and controversial, morning for Irish athletes at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.

ROBERT Heffernan put weeks of frustration behind him when he retained his 10,000m walk title at the Woodies DIY National track and field championships at Morton Stadium yesterday where he beat his Olympic team mate, Jamie Costin, who claimed his 3,000m record in Cork a week earlier and, to cap it all, picked up the Athlete of the Meet Award and the €1,000 that went with it.

THE stars turned up and performed and the others all exceeded what was expected of them as Ireland not only retained First League status but reinforced their position in the table at the European Team Championships in Budapest over the weekend.

Team manager Patsy McGonagle hailed the efforts of Ireland's top track and field stars as they finished a very credible eighth in the European Team Championships 1st League event in Budapest.

Two-time European indoor champion David Gillick equalled his season's best of 45.32 when finishing second in tonight's 400 metres at the European Team Championships 1st League competition in Budapest.

PAUL HESSION will open what he has described as his “big year” in an unusual setting for a sprinter when he lines up for the 100m at the Great City Games on a specially laid track on the streets of Manchester’s Deansgate on Sunday week.

OVER 3,000 runners will go to the starting line for tomorrow’s “Ballycotton 10”, Ireland’s most enduring and successful road race.

DERVAL O’ROURKE is out of next weekend’s World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar with a hamstring injury.

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.

THE Irish teams for the next month’s Spar European Cross-Country Championships in Dublin are due to be announced today. But team manager, Anne Keenan-Buckley confirmed yesterday the senior men’s team will not be finalised until after Thursday.

Many of Ireland’s top cross country runners will be in action on Sunday at the Woodie’s DIY Inter County Cross Country Championships looking to secure their place on the Irish team for the European Cross Country Championships.

MARK CARROLL, who held national records from 3,000m to 10,000m and represented Ireland on the track at every level up to and including two Olympic Games, will make a belated European cross-country championship debut in Brussels next month.

ALAN McCORMACK gave another sensational performance in yesterday’s Woodies DIY national inter-counties cross-country championships at Tramore Racecourse when leading Dublin to the team honours.

A knee injury has robbed Irish hammer champion Eileen O'Keeffe of the chance to compete in the strongest ever throwing event held in Ireland.

MARK CARROLL has been appointed the US Athlete Manager for Athletics Ireland.

Irish 10,000 metre runner Mark Carroll has been named as Athletics Ireland's new US Athlete Manager.

DERVAL O’ROURKE’S defence of her world indoor 60m hurdles title was in jeopardy last night after she withdrew from next weekend’s Woodies DIY Irish indoor athletic championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast with a foot injury.

MARTIN FAGAN’S hopes of a quick return to the US to complete his preparations for next month’s Houston Marathon were dashed yesterday when he failed to get a quick visa to re-enter the country.

ATHLETICS Ireland have been in touch with the Department of Foreign Affairs asking them for assistance in getting Martin Fagan’s status rectified so that he can re-enter the US and pursue his Olympic dream.

SERGEY LEBID claimed his seventh title but Spaniard, Marta Dominguez, deprived the Ukraine of a double by stripping Tetyana Holovchenko of the senior women’s crown as Ireland claimed plenty of top 10 placings but no medals at the European cross-country championships in Toro, Spain, yesterday.

GARETH TURNBULL, Mary Cullen and Maria McCambridge will not contest Sunday’s European cross-country championships in Toro, Spain.

MARTIN FAGAN and Mary Cullen are named in the Irish senior teams for the European cross-country championships in Toro, near Madrid, on Sunday week.

Athletics Ireland today announced a 36-strong team for the European Cross Country Championships which take place on December 9 in Toro, Spain.

LAST summer Gary Murray was told by the renowned Munich sports injury specialist, Dr Hans Mueller, that his back was in such bad shape that he should not be running at all.

The inaugural National Athletics Awards 2007 were launched today by Athletics Ireland.

A man was being questioned today about a brutal machete killing in the North.

MARK CHRISTIE who was the victim of a harsh disqualification in the final of the 5,000m at the European under-23 championships in Debrecen on Thursday night was reinstated in the early hours of yesterday morning and the records now show that the Mullingar man finished sixth in 13 mins 58.83 secs.

Athletics Ireland have announced their team for the upcoming European Under-23 Championships in Hungary.