Fionnuala Britton bounced back from her recent sixth place at the European Cross Country Championships to finish second today at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country behind Great Britain’s Emilia Gorecka. Britton crossed the line in 21:33 just six seconds off Gorecka.  Spain’s Trihas Gebre was third in 21:50 with reigning European Cross Country Champion, Gemma Steele (GBR) having to settle for 11th place.

In a top class International race, Britton was back to her dominant front running style pushing the pace throughout and spreading the field.  The eventual top three finishers broke away from the leading pack  at the mid-way point dropping Steele. Although Britton injected pace at various points, she was unable to shake off Gorecka who eventually moved away in closing stages to take the race.

Britton as Team Captain led Europe to victory from the USA with Great Britain in third.

Sara Treacy (Dunboyne AC) placed in 16th pace and Michelle Finn (Leevale AC) finished in 22nd, both athletes were representing team Europe following their strong performances at the European Cross Country Championships in Samokov in December.

In the newly introduced Invitational Team Relay (2 x 1km), Danny Mooney (Letterkenny AC) and Maria McCambridge (DSD) represented Ireland placing eighth in 7 minutes.