Rosemary Ryan warmed up for the European Cross Country Championships in a fortnight with a record-breaking run in the Irish Universities Indoor Championships at Nenagh on Saturday.

Ryan, now studying at the University of Limerick after graduating from Boston University, won the 3,000 metres in nine minutes 21.4 seconds to improve by almost 11 seconds on the old mark set by Una English in 1991.

Gordon Kennedy, representing the Athlone Institute of Technology, also set a record, running a national Junior best of 22.37 seconds in winning the 200 metres. Kennedy became the first athlete to complete the 200-400 metres double when winning the longer distance in a time of 50.36 seconds.

Gary Ryan, one of the senior internationals in action at the meeting, won the 60 metres dash in 6.7 seconds.