Sport Ireland Campus Hosts a Memorable SPAR European Cross-Country Championships

Yesterday, athletics fans had a day to remember at the Sport Ireland Campus with top-class racing on show.  

The Sport Ireland Campus team was delighted to welcome over 7,000 spectators for the SPAR European Cross-Country Championships, who created a memorable atmosphere full of roars of support and celebrations for the athletes. National and international TV coverage was also available throughout the day for fans to enjoy.

Cross country holds a special place in Irish athletics. Successful editions of the World Cross Country were held in 1979 ( Limerick ) and  2002 ( Dublin ) as well as the European Cross Country in 2009 ( Dublin ). Iconic figures in the sport such as John Treacy, Sonia O’Sullivan, Catherina McKiernan achieved notable successes at World and European levels. They were joined in the recent past by Fionnuala McCormack who won European gold on two occasions. 

This year, there was another outstanding performance from Fionnuala McCormack, coming home ninth in 27:52 in a race won by Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal of Norway (26:34). In the senior men’s race Brian Fay produced an outstanding performance to finish 10th.

The Ireland team won gold in the Men's U23 race. Darragh McELhinney took silver in the Men's U23 8,000m, while the Irish men’s U20 also secured a superb team silver medal.  

Well done to all athletes for making us all proud and making the 2021 SPAR European Cross-Country Championships a memorable occasion for Irish sport.

For all SPAR European Cross-Country Championships results visit https://dublin21results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm