Mary Cullen was delighted to claim Ireland's second bronze medal of the European Indoor Championships in the 3,000m in Turin.
Cullen hit the front with five laps to go at the Oval Lingotto as she tried to shake off the attentions of the chasing pack, but was eventually passed by winner Almitu Bekele of Turkey and Portugal's Sara Moreira.
After a slow start, Cullen's front-running helped Bekele set a new national record of eight minutes 46.50 seconds with 26-year-old Cullen recording a time of 8:48.47.
‘I went for the win and got a bronze and I'm very happy with that,’ she said. ‘I thought there were five of us who could get a medal and I've beaten two of them.
‘It's great after missing all of 2008 and the Olympic Games in Beijing. I had a calf injury that we couldn't diagnose at first and watching the Games on television was very frustrating.’
Dundrum South Dublin runner Deirdre Byrne finished 11th in a time of 9.08.89.
The Irish 4x400m women’s relay team put in a fantastic performance in their final this evening.
The team of Marian Andrews, Bronagh Furlong, Gemma Hynes and Claire Bergin were in third position for most of the race before being edged out for a medal in the last lap by Belarus.
They finished in a time of 3.36.82 which was just two seconds off the Irish record. The race was won by Russia in a time of 3.29.12, with Great Britain second.
Overall it has been an excellent Championship for the Irish team, which saw two bronze medals, five finalists, four personal bests, two seasonal bests and an Irish record.
Team manager Patsy McGonagale is delighted with how the team performed: 'From start until finish it has been a great performance from everyone involved. Every athlete out there gave there best and on certain occasions we may have even come back with more medals if you look at how close Roisin and the relay team were. All in all this has been a great success and we can all look positively towards the World Championships in August now,' McGonagle said.
