In-form Britton and Sweeney head Irish hopes for Euros

Fionnuala Britton and Joe Sweeney, fresh from impressive performances over the weekend, form a strong backbone to the Irish team for the European Cross-Country Championships to be held near Budapest on Sunday week.

Britton travels as defending champion and will be confident of winning another gold medal after being denied victory by two top Ethiopians in the Cross de L’Acier in northern France on Sunday.

Sweeney comes back a stronger and better equipped runner than when he came so close to winning a medal in Slovenia last year when he was a closing fifth place finisher, just two seconds off the bronze medal.