Britton in exalted company

IRELAND has a rich tradition in cross-country running stretching back to the 1930s and Tim Smyth’s world dominance, through John Treacy’s back-to-back world titles in 1978 an 1979, Catherina McKiernan’s European title in 1994 and then Sonia O’Sullivan’s two world titles on successive days in Marrakech in 1998.

Yesterday, Fionnuala Britton added her name to the list of legends when she claimed the gold medal in a sensational senior women’s race at the SPAR European championships in Velenje, Slovenia.

The 27 year-old Wicklow athlete set out to banish the disappointment of last year’s race in Albufeira when she had the bronze medal snatched from her in the closing stages and she did it in emphatic fashion.