Kenneally the surprise package in the Park

Mark Kenneally of Raheny Shamrocks was the somewhat surprise winner of the Oman and De Loughrey Cups four-mile road race in the Phoenix Park yesterday. Kenneally had some 20 metres to spare over his Raheny team-mate Vinnie Mulvey, the current national half-marathon champion and a member of the Irish team at the recent European Cross Country Championships in Switzerland.

Though Mulvey did most of the early running and always looked the man to beat, Kenneally had the greater finishing kick and came home in just over 19 minutes.

Former Irish Olympian Niall Bruton came through for third place in what was one of his first tests of form in his recent effort to return to competitive running.

Carlow's Geraldine Hendricken of the St Laurence O'Toole club maintained her consistent form on the roads to win the women's division ahead of UCC's Louise Kavanagh and the veteran Mags Greenan of Dublin City Harriers.

Elsewhere, there was a perfect end to the perfect year for Ethiopia's Tesfaye Jifar in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when he won the 77th edition of the men's New Year's Eve "corrida" race over 15km. Competing in one of the oldest road races in the world, Jifar's task was made easier by the absence of five-time winner Paul Tergat of Kenya, and the Ethiopian duly lived up to expectations to claim a winner's cheque of $5,500.

In November, Jifar became the first Ethiopian to win the New York City Marathon in a course record two hours 7.43 minutes. On this occasion he had 17 seconds to spare over Kenya's Guilbert Okari by recording 44.15. Tanzania's John Yudda came in third another five seconds back.

Maria Zeferina Baldaia gave the Brazilian crowd a home winner in the women's event as the 29-year-old timed 52.12 to hold off Kenyan favourite Margaret Okayo by just 11 seconds. Baldaia won a car for her efforts, in addition to the race prize of $5,500.