Hughes helps Irish team finish sixth in Europe
Swinford AC runner Caitlin Hughes in action at last Sunday's U20 Women's race at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Pictures: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Athletics: Two of Mayo’s top athletics clubs were represented at the European Cross Country Championships which were held in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya last Sunday. National cross country champion Keelan Kilrehill of Moy Valley AC was competing for Ireland in the senior men’s race while Caitlin Hughes of Swinford was on the start line for the U20 women’s race.
It'll probably come as a course of some frustration to Kilrehill that his Irish teammates Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers) and Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers), who finished third and fourth behind him when he won the Irish senior men’s title in Co Fermanagh just last month, crossed the line in 21st and 26th positions respectively in Turkey on Sunday whereas Kilrehill finished in 53rd, which was also behind another of the Irish competitors, Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers), who was 41st overall. One place behind Keelan Kilrehill on Sunday was fellow Connacht runner William Fitzgerald (Craughwell AC) while last of the Irish contingent, in 63rd position, was Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC), which saw the national team finish eighth overall. The senior men’s race was won by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Meanwhile, Swinford AC’s Caitlin Hughes could be quite pleased with her performance in the European U20 Women’s race over 4,500m as having finished behind both Avril Millerick (Youghal AC) and Eva Bartlett (Lagan Valley AC) to finish fifth in the recent national championships, she crossed the line in 52nd position ahead of Millerick (66th) and Bartlett (86th) in what was an excellent display by the Mayo runner last Sunday. The first three Irish U20 finishers were Anna Gardiner (East Down AC) in 19th, Lucy Foster (Willowfield Harriers) in 20th and Annabell Morrison (Enniskillen RC) in 32nd position. Combined, the team’s results were good enough to see them place sixth in the overall standings.
Ireland’s big news on the day was that Co Tyrone’s Nick Griggs (Candour Track Club) won silver in the U23 men’s race having taken bronze in the same race the year before. The 19-year-old made a decisive late surge to narrowly miss out on gold behind Will Barnicoat (GBR) who successfully defended his title.
