A team of eight Irish athletes have been selected for the 45th World Cross-Country Championships in Belgrade later this month, led by national champion Fiona Everard in the senior women’s race.
Although Fionnuala McCormack had originally expressed some interest in the event, set for March 30th, she’s keeping her focus on the roads, having qualified for her fifth successive Olympics last December, and with that will run her third Olympic marathon in Paris.
Everard caused some surprise when she won the national title last December, the Cork athlete joined in the senior women’s race by Danielle Donegan from Tullamore Harriers. With national men’s champion Cormac Dalton unavailable due to injury, Keelan Kilrehill and Hugh Armstrong are the sole representatives in the senior men’s race.
Anna Gardiner (East Down AC), who last Saturday won a second All-Ireland Schools senior title, is joined in the Under-20 race by Kirsty Maher (Moy Valley AC).
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Both Séamus Robinson and Harry Colbert, who were part of the Irish Under-20 team that struck gold at the European Cross-Country in Brussels in December, will race that event in Serbia.
Last year’s event was staged in Bathurst, about 200km northwest of Sydney, and in part given that distance Athletics Ireland made the decision to select no Irish athlete.
“I am delighted to see Irish athletes returning to the World Cross-Country Championships,” said Mark Kenneally, Athletics Ireland performance endurance lead.
“Following a very successful European Cross-Country Championships in December in Brussels I think this represents a great opportunity for some of our athletes to further develop their racing skills at the highest level and will undoubtedly serve as valuable experience in this regard.”
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