ONE OF THE biggest names in world athletics, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, rounded off a memorable 2021 with European Cross Country gold in Dublin this afternoon.
The Norweigan superstar clocked 30:15 in the senior men’s 10km race, storming clear of Turkey’s Aras Kaya (second) and Frances Jimmy Grassier (third) in the closing stages to land his first Euro Cross senior crown.
Having set an Olympic record to claim the 1500m gold medal in Tokyo this summer, Ingebrigtsen was a massive attraction at the Sport Ireland Campus, Abbotstown.
And the 21-year-old certainly delivered, underlining his dominance as he added to his four U20 Euro Cross titles in his senior debut.
EUROPEAN XC CHAMPION
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) December 12, 2021
Jakob Ingebrigtsen adds a senior men’s European XC title to his Olympic 1500m gold medal as he wins in Dublin 🔥#FingalDublin2021 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/92FM3OTipd
His older brother, Filip, who won gold at the 2018 edition of the championships, failed to finish, while France won the team event.
Ireland’s Brian Fay produced an excellent run to finish 10th in 30:45, while Hiko Tonosa Haso was 13th and Cormac Dalton was 28th.
That wasn’t enough for a team medal, however, with Emmet Jennings in 44th, Paul O’Donnell in 56th and Ryan Forsyth finishing 58th.
- You can keep up to date with the live results here, and watch it on RTÉ Two.
There was a similar story in the women’s race, as Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal completed a double success for Norway, an Irish star produced a top-10 finish and the team fell just short of the medals.
Just a week after a 2:23.58 marathon in Valencia, Euro Cross Country stalwart Fionnuala McCormack finished ninth in 27:52.
Eilish Flanagan was next in behind the 37-year-old in 15th, with her twin, Roisín 26th. Aoibhe Richardson was in between in 23rd, with Aoife Cooke 38th and Michelle Finn 46th.
Likewise, Ireland’s mixed relay team of Ciara Mageean, Luke McCann, Síofra Cléirigh Büttner and Andrew Coscoran just missed out on a medal, falling agonisingly short in fourth.
Great Britain won in 18:01, with France second and Belgium taking bronze.
Strong legs from Mageean and McCann had Ireland in pole position after two legs, but they fell out of contention thereafter.
The hosts finish with three medals — from the men’s U23 and U20 races — falling just short of their Euro Cross record of four from Lisbon 2019.
Darragh McElhinney took silver , as the U23 team won gold across 8000m earlier, while the U20s landed team silver in the 6000m showdown.
