In-form McCormack turns on the power

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.

Winner of the Dublin Championship, it was a first national title for the 24 year old UCD student whose previous best in this race was 10th last year, although as a junior he was runner up to Mark Christie from Mullingar.

This time Christie, who added this title to his CV in 2006 and finished second last year, could only watch from behind as McCormack dominated the second half of the race.

The leading pack was split when Cork’s Mark Hanrahan surged clear on the second lap and a five-man group was established — Hanrahan, Christie, McCormack, under-23 winner Michael Clohisey (Dublin) and defending champion, Gary Murray (Donegal) who fought his way back up after taking a heavy fall at the end of the first lap. This group would eventually disintegrate when DSD clubman McCormack made his move and went on to stamp his authority on the race with every stride. “The tough course suited me grand because I have been training on hills. The wind could have been a problem but it was the same for everyone and I saved effort for the end of the race.”

The bronze medal went to Gary Murray with Mick Clohisey claiming the under-23 title in fourth place ahead of Joe McAllister (Antrim) who battled his way up to overtake Mark Hanrahan.

Craig Murphy (Cork) lost a shoe just 150 metres into the junior men’s race and ended up behind the field before discarding it and battling his way back up to the front to eventually claim the title for the first time.

It was a performance hallmarked in courage by the teak tough Togher athlete — a student at DCU — who is a grandson of the legendary Kerry All-Ireland footballer Jas Murphy.

Early this year he finished second to Michael Mulhare from Portlaoise in the junior inter-clubs championship in Belfast and came out a week later to turn the tables on the Laois athlete in the Irish schools championships.

Yesterday’s race develop into another contest between the two top juniors in the country and when it did the remainder of the field just fell apart as Murphy and Mulhare battled it out in a bitterly cold wind.

Eventually the Corkman, who finished 48th in the world championships last year and was coming off a fourth place in the big junior race in Gateshead a week earlier, escaped to take the title. Dubliner David Flynn was closing on Mulhare at the finish with Waterford’s Patrick Flynn fourth and Ian Ward from Donegal fifth.

With defending champion Fionnuala Britton (Wicklow) missing through injury Linda Byrne (Dublin) made it a double for Dublin and DSD coach Eddie McDonagh when she led every step of the way to win the senior women’s title — her first ever national senior title.

Last year she won the under-23 title and, as first under-23 again, she will lead that team in the European junior championships next month.

Sara Treacy (Meath), who won the junior inter-club title as a 17 year old two years ago and finished fourth in this race behind Charlotte and Rebecca ffrench O’Carroll and Suzanne Huet last year turned the tables on the ffrench O’Carroll twins with Huet on scholarship at Providence College.

The Birmingham University medical student — her mother, Siobhan, was a former international athlete and her father, Liam, was also a prominent athlete — took on the ffrench O’Carroll twins at an early stage, tracked Charlotte when she tried to get away and then took a lead she would never relinquish.

Charlotte ffrench O’Carroll finished second ahead of her sister with Lorraine McCarthy (Waterford), sister of David McCarthy who competes in the NCAA championships in Indiana today, fourth.