Irish out of the medals in Toro

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.

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.