Cross Country Championships: Bandon’s Fiona Everard claims first senior title

Fiona Everard of Bandon AC, Cork, on her way to winning the Women's Senior 9000m during the 123.ie National Senior & Even Age Cross Country Championships at Gowran Demesne in Kilkenny. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

On a course described as “absolutely brutal”, where strength proved the key component, Mullingar’s Cormac Dalton and Bandon’s Fiona Everard proved toughest of all, claiming their first senior titles at the National Cross Country Championships in Gowran, Kilkenny on Sunday afternoon.

Dalton utilised his track pedigree to full effect to outkick chief rival Kevin Mulcaire of Ennis Track and claim gold by two seconds, the 25-year-old Mullingar Harrier clocking 31:08 for the 9,000m course – the pedestrian time a sign of just how dour the underfoot conditions had been.