Kenneally best as Irish flop

MARK KENNEALLY had the honour of leading the Irish challenge home when he finished eighth in the senior men’s race at the SPAR European Cross-Country Championships at Santry Demesne, as the other more established members of the team flopped.

Alemayehu Bezaheh (Spain) who returned to his native Morocco to prepare for the race upstaged the pre-race favourite, Mo Farah (Great Britain) who trained in Kenya for his bid to reclaim the title he won in 2006, with the eight-time champion, Sergiy Lebid (Ukraine) adding the bronze medal to his collection.

Down the field, Martin Fagan finished 26th, Alistair Cragg was 40th, Andrew Ledwith 41st, Sean Connolly 49th and Mick Clohissey 52nd.