Britton Delights with Bronze on Final Day of the European Indoor Track and Field Championships

Fionnuala Britton (Kilcoole AC) ran a superb race to claim the bronze medal in the women's 3,000m on the final day of the European Indoor Track and Field Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Wicklow athlete showed incredible grit and determination as she bagged the bronze medal in a dramatic last lap dust up.

The race began at a pedestrian pace with Portuguese athlete Sarah Moreira taking the pack through the 1,000m point in 3:13.85. Britton at this point was content to sit in eight position as all 12 athletes were still in contention. The next 1,000m saw Moreira and Belgium athlete Belete dictate the pace as the leaders passed the 2,000m point in 6.13.16. The last kilometre of the race was one to remember as the battle for the medals intensified and Britton produced the performance of her life.

The leaders took the bell with 200m remaining and Britton was lying in fourth place, however she was beginning to motor and eating up the ground on the athletes ahead of her. As the athletes raced around the final bend a gap opened up on the inside and Britton seized her opportunity. She drove for the line and passed the Russian athlete to claim a well deserved bronze medal in a time of 9:00.54. Sarah Moreira won the race in a time of 8:58.50.

Commenting afterwards Britton said "I'm so happy I didn't come fourth as it was so close between us and the danger people were all amongst the medals. "It's a good confidence boost (ahead of the World Cross-Country Championships in Poland later this month) and it's good preparation."

Ciara Everard (UCD AC) placed sixth in the women's 800m final after attacking the race courageously from the offset. The British athlete Jennifer Meadows brought the field through the 400m point in 59.29 with Everard back in fourth place. Everard was still in fourth place as the athletes reached the bell and was running excellently on her debut at these championships.

Everard lost a bit of momentum on the final lap and finished in sixth place in a time of 2:02.55. It was a superb achievement by Everard to make the final and going forward into the outdoor season, quicker times are certainly on the horizon for the UCD student. The race was won by Nataliya Lupu of the Ukraine in a time of 2:00.26