Irish senior teams have one thing on their minds

ATHLETICS EUROPEAN CROSS COUNTRY:THEY'VE HAD some financial problems and the weather hasn't been too kind, but there is now a real sense of anticipation about Sunday's European Cross Country Championships in Santry.

It remains to be seen just how much home advantage works in favour of the Irish teams, although one thing is certain: the senior men and women are gunning for medals, and it will be fairly disappointing if they both fall short.

Some of the Irish athletes were in Santry yesterday to talk about their prospects, along with team manager Anne Keenan-Buckley. It was a little worrying that three of the leading medal hopes – Mary Cullen, Martin Fagan and Alistair Cragg – were all absent, albeit for good reasons. Cragg and Fagan have been training at high altitude in the US to maximise their chances for Sunday. Cragg won’t fly in until this evening, and Fagan tomorrow. Cullen has been finishing off her preparations at home in Sligo, but travels down this evening with every intention of making the top three.

“I think the senior men and women are among the strongest teams we’ve had for this event,” said Keenan-Buckley, who was part of the women’s team that won silver in 2003.

“Portugal are very strong in the senior women, but Mary Cullen is running extremely well at the moment. We’re all used to the course, and with the home support there then fingers crossed, I think that will make the difference.

“Athletes are usually highly motivated as it is, highly enthusiastic, but to compete at home like this on Sunday will definitely give that added bit of incentive.”

It’s the first time the European Cross Country has been staged on home soil, and Ireland has a decent record in the event since the inaugural year in 1994, when Catherina McKiernan won the title; Ireland have won seven medals, three individual and four team.

Athletics Ireland have done an excellent job in readying Santry, even though the course will inevitably be wet and muddy given all the rainfall of recent weeks.

There is an element of risk to Fagan and Cragg flying in so close to the event, but Keenan-Buckley trusts their judgment: “No, I think they’re both very experienced, and know what they’re doing. There are a few different ways of dealing with altitude, and when best to come down, but Martin has done this a few times, and is confident it works best for him. And the same with Alistair.”

With Cullen aiming for a place in the top three (at least), the women’s prospects will hinge of how close the next three team’s scorers get to her. In other words, Deirdre Byrne, Linda Byrne and Fionnuala Britton will all need to run well if Ireland are to get into the team medals.

Fagan is talking a more conservative race plan to better the chances of the men finishing in the medals. The fourth scorer may prove crucial, and Mark Kenneally, who has run the event six times, reckoned the key is getting out well, and staying there.

“Martin tends to go out hard anyway,” said Kenneally. “You have to be aggressive anyway. If you’re not close to where you want to be after five or six minutes you’re not going to come through. You have to get out, hopefully as a team, with all of us in the top 15 or 20 after the first 2km. Once it spreads out it’s not the sort of race where you just pick people off. You’re hanging on, anyway. That’s what it is. Everyone is hanging on.”

IRISH TEAMS – Senior Men: Andrew Ledwith, Seán Connolly, Mark Kenneally, Martin Fagan, Alistair Cragg, Mick Clohissey.

Senior Women: Mary Cullen, Deirdre Byrne, Linda Byrne, Fionnuala Britton, Ava Hutchinson, Orla O'Mahony.

U-23 Men: Michael Mulhare, John Coghlan, Stephen Scullion, David Flynn, David Rooney, Brendan O'Neill.

U-23 Women: Sara Treacy, Bryony Treston, Maria Walsh, Roseanne Galligan, Breffni Twohig, Laura Huet.

Junior Men: Michael McKillop, Liam Tremble, Ryan Creech, Emmett Jennings, Noel Collins, Ian Ward.

Junior Women: Ciara Mageean, Laura Shaughnessy, Emma Mitchell, Mary Mulhare Eimear Black, Charlotte Ffrench-O'Carroll.

Home advantage What it means

Mark Kenneally (Senior men):"It's a massive advantage. I'm at home Friday night, whereas usually you'd be travelling all day, eating whatever you can get on the go. We'll all be well rested. We all know the course. I've run the Inter-clubs here three times, was second every time. So I think we have a great chance of winning medals. And the course looks great out there."

Brendan O'Neill (Under-23 men)"The big thing is for all the juveniles in our club, Dundrum South Dublin, to come out and see us run at international level. That's important for fostering the growth in our sport.

“With the London Olympics coming up, this is a great platform for the under-23 runners. And once you start running on the day, the adrenaline will take over. The negative thoughts won’t enter the head as much as they would if you were running in the middle of nowhere. Especially on the last lap.”

Mick Clohissey (Senior men):"Living in Clontarf, it's only down the road from me. It makes it very special, having all the friends and family there to watch. And I think this men's team is definitely strong enough to win medals. It's just really exciting, to have raced here so many times before, and hopefully we can make the home advantage count. I'm looking forward to it, big time."

Linda Byrne (Senior women):"It will be an extra advantage, if we all run smart at the start, don't get carried away, and then let the crowd bring us home over the second half of the race. But it's just brilliant to be part of this. I love cross country, and don't mind the mud if it happens to be that way on Sunday. I feel the women's team is very strong this year.

“Obviously everyone has to perform to their best on the day, but running at home is brilliant and bound to give us all that extra drive and motivation.”