Hehir and Curley lead Irish home as Gemechu and Lehonkova rule Dublin

Sean Hehir and Pauline Curley stole the headlines winning the national titles at the SSE Airtricity Dublin marathon as Alemu Gemechu and Nataliya Lehonkova took overall glory ahead of a record entry of more than 15,000.

Wet and windy conditions greeted the runners at the start line of Fitzwilliam Square as they prepared for their marathon voyage of 26.2 miles around Dublin.

Hehir (Rathfarham WSAF), who had a quick turnaround from the Berlin marathon on September 27, led the field around the first turn but from there on it was an African procession at the head of proceedings.