Testing conditions should suit Britton

Cold and muddy conditions will greet the Irish athletes when they arrive to the Bulgarian mountain resort of Borovets this evening for the 21st European Cross-Country Championships.

Samokov is the official host city but it is in Borovets at an altitude of 1,350m that Fionnuala Britton will look to add her third European cross-country title.

Twenty years ago, on the December 10, Catherina McKiernan won the inaugural European Cross-Country Championships, held at Alnwick in England. Only 4.5km in distance, McKiernan triumphed in the final 50m to fend off Spain’s Julia Vaquero.