Anna Gardiner who is the current Irish Cross Country Champion at both U18 and U20 levels produced a superb run to finish seventh in the U20 European Cross-Country championships in Brussels on Sunday running for Team Ireland. She placed first in the Irish team and helped the team place fifth in the overall team standings. From the start of the race she was well up the field and once she got into the top ten she stayed there. The conditions were similar to those at Gowran where she gained her All-Ireland title with the ground heavy and boggy from a week of rain. In fact after the race she said ’it was muddy and tough but not half as bad as Gowran so the team were well prepared for it’.

Her progression by the results she is continuously producing shows how gifted a runner she is. Anna now handles runs on bigger stages with apparent ease. This was her second outing at the European Cross Country Championships improving from 59th last year to seventh this year with still another two years in this age category.

Huge congratulations Anna from all at EDAC. We are all so proud of you.