Britton leads Irish to bronze in Bulgaria

A surprise, but welcome, women’s team bronze medal brightened up a mixed day of Irish performances in Borovets as Fionnuala Britton battled to a sixth place finish at the European Cross Country Championships yesterday.

The expected mud bath never materialised as the temperatures dropped over the last couple of nights hardening the course. It still provided a very tricky challenge and one that should have suited Britton.

“For me it felt like a bit of a disaster,” agreed Britton of her own performance. The Kilcoole athlete led briefly after the first big lap in the Bulgarian mountains in Samokov but never got into a comfortable rhythm.