Fionnuala McCormack qualifies for record fifth Olympics

Marathon runner Fionnuala McCormack has become the first Irishwoman to qualify for five Olympic games after running 2:26.19 at the Valencia Marathon.

The 39-year-old Wicklow woman was over half a minute inside the Olympic qualifying time of 2:26.50 which will allow her line up in Paris next summer.

McCormack competed in her first Games in Beijing in 2008 where she was 10th in the 3,000m. She followed that up in London four years later whee she competed in the 10,000m and 5,000m, before then taking on the marathon at Rio in 2016 and Japan at the Covid-delayed 2021 Games.

McCormack, who gave birth to her third child earlier this year, will next week compete at her 18th European Cross Country Championships in Brussels.

Hiko Tonosa recorded a strong time of 2:15.01 in the Men's section in Valencia.