Fionnuala Britton and Joe Sweeney, fresh from impressive performances over the weekend, form a strong backbone to the Irish team for the European Cross-Country Championships to be held near Budapest on Sunday week.

Derval O’Rourke had a grin of satisfaction after reclaiming her 60m hurdles title at the Woodies DIY Irish indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast yesterday in 8.21 secs — modest by her standards.