Second Irish woman finisher Ann-Marie McGlynn, left, with first Irish woman finisher Ava Crean. Bryan Keane/INPHO

Daniel Mesfin and Eebbissee Addunyaa win Dublin marathon

19-year-old Ava Crean is the first Irish woman to finish while David McGlynn is the first Irishman home.

LAST UPDATE | 26 Oct

US ATHLETE DANIEL MESFIN has won the men’s race of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon. 

He finished in a time of 2:08.51, 18 seconds ahead of Manazot Siyum of Ethiopia. Samuel Tsegaye from Sweden was third.

David McGlynn was the first Irish Athlete to finish. He crossed the line in sixth place, in a time of 2:11.01.

Eebbissee Addunyaa of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 2:26.28.

19-year-old Ava Crean was the first Irish woman to finish, in 2:34.11. Ann-Marie McGlynn was the second Irish woman to cross the line, in 2:36.24.

irish-life-dublin-marathon-2025 Ava Crean crosses the line. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE

Limerick’s Crean, a 19-year-old student, was sixth overall and caused a massive shock by winning the Irish title in a personal best ahead of eighth-placed defending champion Ann Marie McGlynn.

Nichola Sheridan of Meath finished ninth overall in a 2:39.56 PB to take bronze in the national championships which are incorporated in the event.

Crean and McGlynn, a contrast in youth and experience with 26 years between them, were together until the 21km mark in a fascinating tussle.

Crean stuck to Ann-Marie McGlynn like glue in the opening half, coming through the 21.1km split in 1:17.12 with the two-time national champion just once second behind.

By the 35km mark, Crean extended her lead, creating a 70-second gap to the defending champion and looked set to take the national title comfortably.

The Limerick native crossed the line in sixth place overall, running a nine-minute personal best.

“I can’t believe it,” Crean said afterwards. “I couldn’t have done it without my coach, family and friends. When I first started training for Dublin, I was aiming for 2:40 or 2:39 and to be able to do that today, I honestly couldn’t have done it without my coach (John Kinsella).”

McGlynn who was going for three national titles in a row had a grade two hamstring tear just six weeks ago but she had no complaints at being beaten by the sensational teenager.

“Honestly I really love to see that, and I hope to see her year on year now. We’ve had it before (talented youngsters) but they go away. Ava needs to be nurtured now because she is really talented. She’s got it,” McGlynn said.

ava-crean-and-ann-marie-mcglynn Ava Crean, right, with Ann-Marie McGlynn after the race. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

A shell-shocked Crean said: “I honestly can’t believe this. I only started running during Covid and began on a treadmill. I was too embarrassed to run outdoors because I kept stopping every 500m. To beat someone like Ann Marie and in that time, I never dreamed I could do this.”

The hotly contested men’s national championship saw three Irish men go with the lead group in the early stages. Hiko Tonosa was joined by fellow DSD athlete Paul O’Donnell and Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) in the lead elite group.

Tonosa, who confirmed his participation late, sat at the back of the elite leading group taking shelter from the damp conditions and came through the halfway mark in 64 minutes.

With just over ten kilometres left to run David McGlynn moved up to eighth overall, coming through 30 kilometres in one hour, 32 minutes.

The 26-year-old made his marathon debut in Dublin last year clocking 2:15.26 on that occasion.

Tonosa, who was unable to finish the marathon event in last month’s World Championships in Tokyo in tough conditions, stepped aside in Dublin before the 35km mark.

David McGlynn took the national title and crossed the line in sixth position overall in a five-minute personal best.

“It’s hard to put into words,” McGlynn said. “Training had gone really well; I’d been training the best I’ve ever been in the last few months. I had a big breakthrough over the half marathon in February . . . I’m over the moon to put a marathon on the board today that I’m really proud of. This a day you dream of.”

irish-life-dublin-marathon-2025 David McGlynn. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE

Creech was just one place behind, taking second place in the national championship race for the third time in 2:11.46.

O’Donnell was seventh overall and third in the national race with a 2:12.11 clocking.

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