Cork in running for 2005 Euro cross-country

CORK is among the front-runners to host the European Cross-Country Championships in 2005 — the year the City will hold the status of European Capital of Culture.

The application was confirmed yesterday by Liam Hennessy, International Secretary of the Athletics Association of Ireland, who said he was confident their package was comparable to anything submitted by the other applicant nations and better than most.

Also pushing for the event will be Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria and The Netherlands. The applications were submitted before the end of February but it will be next October before the successful candidate is announced at the annual Calendar Congress. Mr Hennessy said: "But I'm pretty confident that we will figure prominently in the running and the event will be held in Cork fitting in nicely with the synergies of the European Capital of Culture.