Eight athletes from Ireland have been selected to compete in the 45th World Cross-Country Championships taking place in Belgrade later this month. The group is spearheaded by the national champion Fiona Everard who will participate in the senior women’s event. Fionnuala McCormack, another noteworthy athlete, had shown interest in this championship, but decided to focus on road races as she had qualified for her fifth consecutive Olympics last December, and will also participate in her third Olympic marathon in Paris.
Everard surprised everyone by winning the national title last year. Danielle Donegan, a prominent athlete from Tullamore Harriers, will run alongside her in the senior women’s race. As the national men’s champion Cormac Dalton had to drop out due to an injury, the only representatives in the senior men’s event will be Keelan Kilrehill and Hugh Armstrong.
For the Under-20 race, Anna Gardiner from East Down AC is partnered with Kirsty Maher from Moy Valley AC. Last Saturday, Gardiner clinched her second All-Ireland Schools senior title. In this same under-20 category, both Séamus Robinson and Harry Colbert will represent Ireland, building on their victory in the European Cross-Country Championships held in Brussels in December.
Last year, the championship took place in Bathurst, located roughly 200km northwest of Sydney. Athletics Ireland had decided not to send any Irish athletes for that competition due to its distance. Athletics Ireland Performance Endurance Lead, Mark Kenneally, expressed his satisfaction at seeing Irish athletes return to the World Cross-Country Championships. He commented that the Brussels event had been a success and believes that the current championship will provide the athletes with the opportunity to enhance their racing skills at a top-tier level and offer valuable experience.