Sisters Fionnuala and Una’s double delight at national championships
Fionnuala and Una set to shine on Irish team
FOLLOWING their podium bossing in Abbotstown last weekend, Kilcoole AC stars and sisters Fionnuala McCormack and Una Britton will attempt to drive the Irish cross country team to a strong finish in the European Cross County Championships in Lisbon on Sunday, December 8.
Claiming first and third in a competitive field in the Irish Senior championships, the talented siblings will don the Irish singlet alongside some of the finest female athletes in the country at present to go up against the best that Europe can offer.
Undeniably it’s Fionnuala who will carry the medal hopes for the Irish in what will be her 38th international cap at the championships where she has twice won individual gold, taking the senior women’s title in 2011 and 2012. Fionnuala is Ireland’s most capped athlete.
McCormack utterly dominated the field in Sunday’s national championships, coming home close to two minutes clear in the 8,000m contest, igniting hopes that she can claim another medal at an event in which she has best exhibited her brilliance.
Joining her on the senior women’s team is younger sister Una, who finished third in Sunday’s race, along with Ciara Mageean, the 2018 national cross country champion who bypassed Sunday’s event.
The full Irish team is: Aoibhe Richardson (Kilkenny City Harriers AC), Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn AC), Fionnuala McCormack (Kilcoole AC), Fionnuala Ross (Armagh AC), Mary Mulhare (Portlaoise AC), Una Britton (Kilcoole AC).