Athletics Ireland is pleased to announce that Alistair Cragg will lead the Irish teams for the forthcoming IAAF World Cross Country Championships, in Saint-Etienne/Saint-Galmier, France, on 19th - 20th March.

Cragg, the fastest man in the world this year over 3,000m (7.39.89) indoors, has declared for both the long (12k) and short course (4k) events and will be joined in the long course by recently crowned National Champion Gary Murray from Donegal. Cragg, who beat Kenenisa Bekele at Boston Indoor Games will be competing at the upcoming European Indoor Athletics Championships in Madrid on 4th - 6th March.

Iona College boasts two recent graduates still under Coach Mick Byrne's tuteladge in Vinny Mulvey and Joe McAlister on the men's long course team. Mulvey, 25 is the reigning Inter County Cross Country Champion winning the title in Dungarvan, Co Waterford in November. He was also the first Irishman home (27th place) at the 2004 European Championships in Heringsdorf, Germany in December. Joe McAlister placed fourth at Sunday's Irish Champsionships in Santry and is the reigning Irish 10,000m Champion. McAlister is currently the top Irish entrant for this weekend's Rás na hÉireann race.

The women's team will be lead by Jolene Byrne and Maria McCambridge but will be without the services of 1998 double World Cross Country Champion Sonia O'Sullivan, who is on the comeback from injury but feels she would not be in a position to do herself justice by the time of the Championships. Last weekend, O'Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC) finished a distant 13th at the Chiba International Cross Country in Chiba, Japan.

National Junior Champions Danny Darcy and Rose-Anne Galligan lead their respective junior teams. Galligan ran 9.28.67 on 14th February in Sheffield eclipsing the 17 Year-Old Indoor Junior 3,000 Record held by Anita Philpott (9.32.0).

Men's Long Course
Gary Murray (St Malachy's AC)
Mark Kenneally (Clonliffe Harriers)
Paul McNamara (Athenry AC)
Joe McAlister (St Malachy's AC)
Vinny Mulvey (Raheny Shamrock)
Alistair Cragg (Clonliffe Harriers)

Men's Short Course
Alistair Cragg (Clonliffe Harriers)

Women's Short Course
Jolene Byrne (Donore Harriers)
Maria McCambridge (Dundrum South Dublin)
Fionnuala Britton (Sli Chulainn)
Pauline Curley (Tullamore Harriers)
Mary Margaret Meade (North Belfast Harriers)
subject to fitness - Niamh O'Sullivan (Riocht AC)

Junior Men
Danny Darcy (St Laurence O'Toole AC)
Paul Pollock (Abbey AC)

Junior Women
Roseanne Galligan (Newbridge AC)
Linda Byrne (Dundrum South Dublin)

Team Management
Patsy McGonagle (Finn Valley AC) Team Manager
Jim Davis (Liffey Valley AC) Team Coach
Teresa McDaid (Letterkenny Ac) Team Coach
Angela O'Sullivan physio

Athletics Association of Ireland Website