Irish Team Ready for World Cross Country Sunday

18 Mar 2011


The Irish Team for Punta Umbria is:

  • Junior Men - Shane Quinn (Ferrybank AC)
  • Senior Women - Fionnuala Britton (Kilcoole AC)
  • Ava Hutchinson (Dundrum South Dublin AC)


18 year old Shane Quinn has been in excellent form this winter over the country. Quinn claimed the Aviva All Ireland Schools Cross Country Senior Boys title last Saturday, and took the Junior men Inter Clubs gold medal in Santry three weeks ago. He also won the Junior Inter Counties title back in November. Shane is the son of former Irish International and current Irish 3000m Steeplechase record holder Brendan Quinn, and is heading to Providence College in the US in September.


Kenya's Isaiah Koech will start the favorite for the junior men's title on Sunday. The 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships 3000m gold medalist ran a 5000m World Junior indoor best of 12:53.29 in Dusseldorf last month.


26 year old Fionnuala Britton finished in 4th place at the European Cross Country Championships in Portugal last December, and was second in the Almond Blossom cross country invitational also in Portugal two weeks ago. Britton finished an excellent 14th place in the World Cross Country in 2007 and won a silver medal in the European U23 event in 2006.


Britton's coach Chris Jones is confident that the Wicklow athlete can make a strong impression in the senior women's race on Sunday: "Fionnuala is now in the position where she can run fast in the early stages without getting into oxygen debt."


27 year old Ava Hutchinson is based at Loughborough in England and won the Woodie's DIY Inter Clubs XC is style in February in Santry. She represented Ireland in the U23 race at the European championships over the same course two years ago and has competed in the world junior championships twice.


Keyna's Linet Masai will start favorite for the senior's women's race, and will want to add the World Cross Country title to the 10,000 meters gold she won from Berlin 2009.


Championship Timetable:

11:30 Junior Women (6km)
12:00 Junior Men (8km)
12:45 Senior Women (8km)
13:40 Senior Men (12km)


Anne-Keenan Buckley, Irish Team Manager for Punta Umbria: "The World Cross Country Championships is being moved to a biennial fixture from 2011. The dominance of the Kenyan and East African runners has lead to a decline in the number of European teams being entered in this event, and some historically strong countries are sending no athletes. I feel it is important that we continue to have representation at these championships and this year we are sending three athletes who I feel will be very competitive in their respective event, and I am confident that they will lead the European challenge."