Michael Mulhare leads Irish charge in Serbia

What an achievement, a superb race for these boys, Micheal and Dan Mulhare, who are now off to the Europeans now, flying the flag for club and country.
Michael Mulhare was the first Irishman to cross the line at the European Cross Country Championships in Serbia on Sunday.

Michael Mulhare was the first Irishman to cross the line at the European Cross Country Championships in Serbia on Sunday.

The Clonad man improved a massive 29 places on his performance from last year, as claimed 15th place in the 10k race in a time of 30.07. His older brother Dan was the fourth member of the Irish team across the line in 31st place with a time of 30.29.

They duo had made history by becoming the first brothers to represent Ireland at the championships.

The races themselves were shrouded in controversy, as both the senior and junior mens race were won by African born athletes. The winner of the senior mens race, Alemayehu Bezabah, only recently returned from a doping ban also.

Speaking to the Irish Times afterwards, Michael admitted it was disappointing to see country’s recruiting runners from Africa. “I think they do need to look into why so many Kenyans and Ethiopians are now running for places like Turkey and Belgium. Because I’m sure their own athletes wouldn’t be happy.”