Lizzie Lee was in action for the Irish women’s at today’s World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The step up from European to World standard was very evident as European champion, Fionnuala Britton trailed off the Kenyan and Ethiopian leaders around the half way mark. She battled on nonetheless and was still the top European finisher in 14th place. Mary Cullen and Linda Byrne also put in strong performances to finish 27th and 32nd respectively. Ava Hutchinson in 42nd overall had a great run to swap 4th and 5th positions on the Irish team with Lizzie, who had finished ahead of her in the Europeans. Lizzie found the going a bit tougher today, finishing in 70th overall, but said afterwards that it was a “great learning experience” for her. This year has been Lizzie’s most successful season in her running career.
It was a really strong performance from the Irish team today, their combined total of 115 points meant they took 5th place overall. Once again, they were the first European team, ahead of Britain, France and Spain.