McKiernan hangs up her racing shoes

CATHERINA McKIERNAN brought the curtain down on an enthralling career and closed one of the most exciting chapters in the history of Irish sport when she announced her retirement from competitive athletics last evening.

The 34-year-old Co Cavan woman was one of the athletes who raised women’s marathon running to the popularity level it enjoys today, but it was in cross-country running that she really excelled, and four silver medals from successive world championships have earned her a place among the legends of this discipline.

It is fitting that she should bow out as the reigning national cross-country champion having returned to competitive running in time to reclaim the title last February.

After that race in Roscommon everyone felt she was not a million miles away from her former brilliant self, but she admitted yesterday that it was a bridge too far, that she did not now have the incentive to get out training twice daily in rain, hail and snow.

“It takes tremendous mental and physical talent,” she said. “I don’t think the mental talent is there anymore but I have no regrets. I have had a great career.”

She bows out not just as national cross-country champion, she also holds the national record for the women’s marathon - an event where she never fulfilled her potential.

Before injury caused her to pull out of the team for the Sydney Olympics, she had run only a handful of marathons but had made a sensational impact on the event.

Under the guidance of her astute coach, Joe Doonan, in Berlin in September 1997 she ran the fastest debut marathon in history at 2:23:46.

The following April she went to London and won that title in 2:26:26 which, although slower than her debut, marked another milestone in her career as she beat one of he most competitive fields in the history of the race.

Then came Amsterdam in November and she set another course record, running 2:22:23 to record what was then the fifth-fastest women’s marathon of all time.

An injury in Chicago would end her career over the distance and surely deprived her of an Olympic medal in Sydney.

By the time she turned to the marathon she had already attained legendary status in cross-country running where she won four successive silver medals at world championship level when it took a different athlete to beat her each year.

After she had finished fifth in 1990 she went to Boston as one of the favourites in 1991 where defending champion, Lynn Jennings, eventually beat her in a scintillating duel on home ground.

But she won every other cross-country race available to her that year end ended up winner of the Grand Prix - an event she would also dominate for four years.

“After a long and illustrious career running I am satisfied that I have achieved all I can at the highest level,” she said. Fittingly, the runner from Cornafean will return to her native Cavan to run her last race, and that will be on Sunday when she lines up for the Annalee 10k road race.