Euro Stars

Carn athlete Helena Crossan and Illies boxer William McLaughlin completed a remarkable European medal double for the peninsula at the weekend. Ultradistance runner Helena Crossan secured a bronze medal in the European 100km Championships in Belgium on Saturday, while on the same day local welterweight star William McLaughlin claimed a silver medal at the EU Boxing Championships in Denmark. Crossan’s European medal is the latest achievement in the glittering career of the distance runner who holds the county record for the marathan and half marathan. The Carndonagh woman ran a brilliant tactical race to overtake her German rival Branka Hajek with ten miles remaining and secure her podium finish. Crossan’s finish time of 8:04:30 was outside her own Irish record of 7:52:47 but her medal represents a huge milestone not only for local athletics but for Irish ultra distance running. The race also incorporated the World 100km championships in which she finished an outstanding sixth overall. The Irish 100km record holder and 2009 Anglo Celtic Plate Home Nations Champion ran quicker than all her European and global rivals over the final quarter of the 62.1 mile event and will now take time to assess what her next targets will be. Illies Golden Gloves boxer McLaughlin added a European medal to his national senior title when three impressive victories at the EU Championships saw him reach Saturday’s welterweight final against World Junior Champion Balaza Bacskai of Hungary. McLaughlin went into the final with damage to his ribs and lost 12-4 against his fresher opponent who was fighting for only the third time in the competition and was named boxer of the tournament. His silver medal represents a remarkable achievement in a tournament where Irish olympic silver medalist Kenny Egan won a bronze and it means the local boxer will now be eligible for the next series of sports council grants to be announced later in the summer. William will have the damage to his ribs assessed in the coming days before deciding if he will take part in the box offs for the World Championships which will take place in Dublin next month. In the long term he will be hoping that the Sports Council Funding he receives is adequete enough for him to continue to travel to Dublin for intensive training which would allow him to aim for a place in the 2012 Olympics in London.