TEAM IRELAND GEARS UP FOR SPAR EUROPEAN XC
The SPAR European Cross Country Championships will take place this Sunday, 12th December 2021 at the Sport Ireland Campus.
Team Ireland athletes, Michelle Finn and Darragh McElhinney, were on hand to speak to media earlier today to kick start a huge week for Irish athletics which will culminate with a historic day of competition on the purpose-built cross country course at the Sport Ireland Campus.
The 2021 edition of these Championships will mark the second occasion that the event has taken place in Dublin, following on from a hugely successful hosting in 2009.
To mark this special occasion, SPAR Ireland have sponsored the planting of oak tree saplings at the cross country venue, with a tree being planted in honour of each national federation competing, as well as for all of the athletes, volunteers, and officials who are making Sunday’s prestigious event possible.
A special certificate will be presented to each of the participating countries upon their arrival in Dublin to detail the tree which will forever be associated with the event, as will all those who are involved in Fingal-Dublin 2021.
Liam Hennessy, Chairperson of the Fingal-Dublin 2021 Local Organising Committee, commented, “We’re delighted to have SPAR support us in recognising all of the work that athletes, coaches, volunteers, and everyone associated with the event have put in to make this week possible. The trees which will be planted on site will be forever associated with this event, as will all those who the trees have been planted in recognition of”.
Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director said, “We’re really excited and proud to be the sponsor of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships on December 12th. Ireland has such a proud tradition when it comes to cross country running and we are delighted to mark this historic occasion in dedicating the planting of these trees to all those who are involved in the event.
There are SPAR stores in over 400 communities throughout Ireland and we know they will be giving their full support to our Irish athletes as they take on the best in Europe in just a few days’ time.”
SPAR European Cross Country Championships
The 2021 SPAR European Cross Country Championships will take place at the Sport Ireland Campus on Sunday 12th December.
This will be the second time the prestigious event visits Irish shores following the successful hosting of the event in Santry in 2009.
For up-to-date information on the SPAR European Cross Country Championships please follow Athletics Ireland's Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and the event website www.fingal-dublin2021.ie. Please note this is a fully ticketed event.
Ireland has enjoyed a rich history of success at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships from Catherina McKiernan’s gold winning performance at the inaugural Championships to the most recent medal haul in Lisbon (2019) which saw Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers) and Stephanie Cotter (West Muskerry) won individual bronze medals in the U20 men and U23 women’s races respectively.
Tickets for the 2021 SPAR European Cross Country Championships are available through the Championship website www.fingal-dublin2021.ie .
Those who can’t make it to Fingal on December 12th can tune into RTÉ 2 for all 7 races, or watch live via the European Athletics Youtube Channel or website.
The SPAR European Cross Country Championships Fingal-Dublin 2021 is proudly supported nationally by SPAR, Sport Ireland, Fingal Country Council, Athletics Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, RTÉ, Joma Sport, KIA, Clayton Hotels, Irish Runner Magazine, DCU, and nTrai.
Find all the latest event news:
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/AthleticsIreland
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/irishathletics
- TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@athleticsireland
- Website: www.fingal-dublin2021.ie