ATHLETICS:IT WAS never going to be easy for an Irish runner to follow in the footsteps of Catherina McKiernan which might explain why no one has managed to repeat her success of 1994 in the SPAR European cross-country championships.

Apart from McKiernan’s gold, the only other individual medals won by the Irish came from Gareth Turnbull, a junior bronze in 1998 and Fionnuala Britton’s silver in the under-23 grade in 2006 before the under-23 men’s team came up with a thrilling victory 12 months ago.

The Irish will be represented in all six events when the championships are staged in Velenje, Slovenia tomorrow but once more Irish optimism is tempered by a sense of reality in the face of such strong opposition from the ever-increasing number of participants.

But now there is every reason to feel that we have a woman that can follow in McKiernan’s footsteps as Britton has steadily matured and grown into a strong and experienced runner. Britton gives the Irish a real sense of optimism that she will challenge for outright honours when it comes to the crunch.

Last year it was impressive to see how Britton simply refused to give in during her ferocious battle for the medals as she closed down on silver and bronze with every stride, eventually crossing the line fourth, but in the same time as the bronze medallist, Anna Dulce Felix of Portugal.

Two more strides and it could have been silver for the 27-year-old DCU graduate who has now targeted the women’s title as if her very life depended on it.

“Fionnuala has done everything I’ve asked of her and a lot more,” is how her coach, Chris Jones, described her preparations yesterday.

“There is just nothing more that she could have done and her form suggests to me that she can get a podium finish,” added Jones, director of high performance with the Irish Triathlon Association.

“In the time that I’ve been involved with her I’ve found that Fionnuala is exceptional in terms of her dedication and how she can put herself through any discomfort in training. She wants to be a winner and I know how well she has prepared for these championships.

“We both appreciate there are going to tough opponents out there for her to deal with but very often that is when she is at her strongest and I have the greatest confidence in her to be in an attacking position going out for the last lap. She skipped the inter-counties to get a good race in France and that can make a difference.”

The women’s race looks wide open, moreover, as the defending champion, Jessica Augusto, is not running but the second (Uslu) and third (Felix) will be there and locals are suggesting that the Moroccan-born Italian, Nadia Ejjafini, will take all the beating.

Ejjafini is a clear dark horse but with a lot going for her, having qualified to compete for Italy through marriage.

There are also strong vibes about Adrienne Herzog of the Netherlands, the bronze medallist in Dublin two years ago. She won in Tilburg recently but a virtual unknown, Sophie Duarte of France, has come into strong reckoning with a big win in Cross de Libre in France and seems very confident.

Britton is likely to run a very big race and has every chance of a medal, but what colour it will be will depend on what she left in her legs going into the last lap.

One of the big attractions over the entire weekend surrounds the participation of the amazing Ukraine, Serhiy Lebid, who has competed in every championship to date and lines up for the 18th time tomorrow.

Joe Sweeney carries Ireland’s main hope in the men’s 10,000 metres and, having finished 20th last year, will be looking to make the top 12 tomorrow.

Sarah Louise Tracey can have a good run in the women’s under-23 championship, having won the national title impressively for a third successive year.

The Irish champion, Siofra Clerigh Buttner, will also run well in the junior women’s event.