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Fionnuala McCormack finished fifth behind Nancy Jelagat at the Valencia Marathon (file photo). Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Flying Fionnuala

Fionnuala McCormack smashes her personal best to finish 5th at Valencia Marathon

McCormack’s time of 2:23:58 is second only to Catherina McKiernan’s national record.

IRELAND’S FIONNUALA MCCORMACK smashed her best-ever marathon time by nearly three minutes to finish fifth at the Valencia Marathon on Sunday morning.

The four-time Olympian ran a time of 2:23:58, the second-fastest time ever run by an Irish woman behind Catherina McKiernan’s 2:22:23 national record which has stood for over 23 years.

McCormack’s previous best over the distance was 2:26:47 in Chicago in 2019.

Up next for the 37-year-old is next Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships, which take place on the Sport Ireland campus in Dublin.

Kenya’s Nancy Jelagat won Sunday’s race in 2:19:31 ahead of Etagegne Woldu in second (2:20:16), with the pair finishing comfortably clear of Woldu’s Ethiopian team-mate Beyenu Degefa in third (2:23:04).

It was a Kenyan double after Lawrence Cherono won the men’s race in 2:05:12, holding off Chalu Deso (2:05:16) in the final sprint to the line.

– First posted 10.18, 5 December

BTL 5

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