from RTE Sport news Sligo runner Mary Cullen scooped The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council ‘Sportswoman of the Month Award’ for December for her performance in the European Cross-Country Championships in Brussels last month where she finished fourth. Cullen took the lead in the early stage of the women’s senior race but finished just two seconds short of winning a medal. She will now battle it out against previous month’s winners, such as Katie Taylor, Olive Loughnane and Nina Carberry for the title of Sportswoman of the Year at an awards ceremony in Dublin on 23 January.
The 26-year-old, who missed almost the entire first half of the year through injury, ending her hopes of making it to Beijing, was well placed from the start of the race and seemed assured of a bronze medal on the final lap only to be overtaken by Portugal’s Inês Monteiro.
It was, though, a superb display of confident and determined running by Cullen who, although disappointed at missing out on a medal, was delighted with her form at the end of a difficult year.
‘I’ve been preparing for this since May, having got over a stress fracture at the start of the year,’ she said after the race.
She added: ‘When I knew the Olympics were gone, which was a massive disappointment; everything was then aimed at this.
‘I did a lot of tough training, and the injuries somehow make you stronger, make you hungrier. But with the European Cross-Country Championships in Dublin next year, I’m even more excited to go for the medal next time.’
