Irish out of the medals in Toro
Martin Fagan seemed in line for a podium place as he led the senior men’s race for almost three quarters of the course — providing the surge that split the field.
It was not until the final lap that Lebid, who lost his title and the chance of six in a row to Mo Farrah last year, surged clear for a seventh title since 1998.
Lebid’s winning surge left Mustafa Mohamed from Sweden, who fell but recovered, on his own in second with the Portuguese track runner, Rui Silva, taking the bronze.
“I am pretty much a strength runner,” said Fagan who broke his preparations for next month’s Houston Marathon to compete in this race.
“I lack leg speed right now because I am training for the marathon and I did not want the race to get tactical so I tried to push the pace as much as I could so I would not get passed by too many at the end.”
After fading to 10th, his strength brought him back up to seventh on the run to the line.
“I am happy with a top 10 placing because that was the target I was aiming for coming into the race,” he said. “While I wanted to make the top 10 I had a medal in mind. I would not have been at the front for so long if I did not think I could win or get a medal.”
He continued: “I felt very comfortable when I was at the front. I know my pace right now and that’s the pace I felt comfortable with. As soon as they picked up a little bit that’s when my legs lacked the speed from the heavy miles from the marathon. I was starting to come around again towards the end of the race.”
Fionnuala Britton, who won a silver medal in the U-23 race last year, impressed at senior level when she finished seventh — though her placing didn’t reflect her contribution to an enthralling contest.
It was not until the closing stages that she was out of the top six having led briefly as the race developed and was not displaced until Dominguez, who stripped Sonia O’Sullivan of her European 5,000m title in Munich in 2002, Spanish team mate, Rosa Maria Morato, and Julie Coulaud from France took control at the front.
“They went off so hard I thought I was never going to be able to keep up with the pace,” the Irish champion said. “Then it settled a little bit and I felt comfortable. I could see Kalovics coming up on the outside and I knew she was itching to go and there would be trouble. I wish I could have held on for longer. I felt they were coming up behind me and I was not going to let this go. I wanted to catch Kate Reed but I just did not have it at the end. There was always going to be a focus on me after last year when I finished second in the U-23 race and I was hoping for a bit more.
“You have to prove you have a right to be there.”
Top Irish finisher on the day was Linda Byrne who finished sixth in the U-23 women’s race which was won by Ancuta Bobocel from Romania, who outsprinted hot favourite, Adrienne Herzog from the Netherlands.
“The plan was to stick with the leading group because once they get away the race never slows down,” Byrne said. “A few broke away and I could not go with them so I got in with a group. I was hoping for a top 10 placing so I was delighted with sixth.
“At one point I thought a medal was possible because I felt very strong but once the group got away I could not go with it. Maybe next year.”
The big disappointment came in the men’s U-23 race where Andrew Ledwith, who was in bronze medal position with less that 1,000m remaining, finished 10th while Mark Christie, who was up with the leaders for two laps, faded to 46th.
When Ledwith was in third place the Irish team were also in the bronze medal position but were quickly displaced as Great Britain, who had a great day in Toro, took the gold medal from Poland and Russia. Ireland ended sixth.
“You put yourself in a position and hope for the best,” Ledwith said afterwards. “Today when the pace came on the final lap, the Russian moved away from me. We had the wind on our backs and I was desperately trying to hold onto him but it is a long finishing straight and it is very hard to just keep it together. I did as best I could on the day. I needed to have something left for when we turned the corner into the wind because once I hit the wind it was like a wall.”
David McCarthy also secured a top 10 placing in the junior men’s race underscoring the fact he has continued to progress since joining Ray Treacy at Providence College.
The Irish schools 1,500m champion finished ninth in a race in which two French runners, Mourad Amdouni and Florian Carvalho, took gold and silver.
“It has been so tough for the last few races,” the west Waterford athlete explained. “I came over here to do as well as I could and run as hard as I could and maybe make the top 10. I did just that today. I knew it was going to be hard.”
Charlotte ffrench-O’Carroll finished 14th in the junior women’s race where the Irish team finished fifth while Stephanie Twell from Great Britain made history by becoming the first junior woman to retain the title at the European championships.
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