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World champion Hellen Obiri stormed to an expected victory in the Northern Ireland International Cross Country meeting in Dundonald on Saturday.
The Kenyan was the star attraction at the Billy Neill MBE Country Park and didn’t disappoint as she clocked an 8km winning time of 26 minutes 44 seconds.
NI’s Hannah Irwin overtook Scottish runner Mhairi MacLennan in a sprint to the line to finish second.
The men’s senior race, over 10km, was won by England’s Zak Mahamed.
The event was part of a World Athletics Silver Cross Country Tour and also incorporated the Celtic Games, Home Countries and British Cross Challenge.
Obiri, who is better known for her track achievements, which include two world 5,000m titles and two Olympic silver medals, led from the opening lap and only increased her lead.
The 32-year-old will now look ahead to a summer where she will attempt to defend her 5,000m World and Commonwealth titles.
Irwin would like to join Obiri at the Commonwealth Games. Although she grew up near Cambridge, her father is originally from Cookstown, and Irwin hopes to knock the 10 seconds off her personal best at both 5,000m and 10,000m in order to get the nomination time required to race in Birmingham.
She was delighted with her second place finish in a time off 27:04 on Saturday.
Mahamed continued his recent good form, which saw him finish 9th in the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin before Christmas.
He was challenged by Italian Iliass Aouani and Stuart McCallum from Scotland before breaking clear over the final lap to win in a time of 29:49.
