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Ireland's Fionnuala Britton running in the Women's 10,000m Final. INPHO/Morgan Treacy

'It started off perfect and then just fell apart,' admits Fionnuala Britton

Things didn’t go to plan for the 27-year-old in tonight’s 10,000m final in London.

IRISH RUNNER Fionnuala Britton has vowed to return to the Olympic Stadium and attempt to ‘fix’ her Games hopes after disappointment in London tonight.

The European Cross-Country champion finished well behind the pack in the Women’s 10,000m final and was ultimately lapped by eventual winner Tirunesh Dibaba among others before the finish. Dibaba thus becomes the first track and field Olympic medal winner in these Games.

“It wasn’t what I’d hoped for or planned at all,” Britton told TheScore afterwards. “The race started off fine and I suppose it was nice to let someone else do the work for once.

“I mean in Europeans I had to go to the front and lead it and it didn’t pay off. This time I even got to sit in and it still didn’t work. But I suppose I can appreciate what the three girls tried to do — I was glad they tried to do because it suited me… even if I could have kept going the way I was it would have been a really good race for me. It started off perfect and then just fell apart.”

The 27-year-old has, at least, the consolation of more events to come: the 5,000m and the 3,000m steeplechase.

“Yeah but that was one… that was my chance to do really well,” she told Will Downing in London. “And yeah I definitely want to come back out and try and do better than I now have done but I suppose I have to go back and plan for Tuesday. And it’s nice to think that I can actually come back out and fix it.”

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    Mute Eileen Gabbett
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    Aug 4th 2012, 1:00 AM

    Fionnuala , well done for getting to the Olympics final. You did your best and you did us proud.

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    Mute Jason Naughton
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    Aug 4th 2012, 1:53 AM

    There was no semi final stage given the nature of the event.
    She got a great look at the final lap for the leaders.
    What would Roy Keane say?

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    Mute Eileen Gabbett
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    Aug 4th 2012, 3:34 AM

    She still made the final ……
    I am not a mind reader . What would Roy Keane say , Jason ?
    I can’t say I saw your name up for any sport in the Olympics , correct me if I am wrong . I still believe Fionnuala did well.

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    Mute Niall
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:15 AM

    She was a joke last night. She tried to run in a way that her body was never going to back up come the latter stages and so it proved. To be lapped 3 times when you talk like a contender is beyond embarrassing. You did your best is just not acceptable.

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    Mute Tara Connolly
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    Aug 4th 2012, 10:51 AM

    She was lapped once not three times.

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    Mute Niall
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    Aug 4th 2012, 4:51 PM

    Tara you know what I meant, she was lapped by three people.

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    Mute Tara Connolly
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    Aug 4th 2012, 5:25 PM

    They lapped at least half the competitors on the field. So being lapped by Dibaba, Kipyego and Cheruiyot, 3 of the best runners in the world, is no shame.

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    Mute Les Rock
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    Aug 4th 2012, 12:54 AM

    Chin up Fionula you did your best.

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    Mute Derek Larney
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    Aug 4th 2012, 2:08 AM

    Sad to see her getting lapped at the end. But competing against the Kenyans and Ethiopians who live at altitude year round is always going to be tough, they were unbeatable tonight,

    Regardless of there being no semi-final she still would’ve had to qualify by having one of the fastest times this year. To run 10k in under 30 minutes is some achievement, sure that’s a whole 13 minutes quicker than Ireland’s Fastest Model, Rosanna Davidson ran it for charidee.

    Roy Keane would say well done Fionnuala, take a rest after the Olympics and then start preparing for Rio 2016. Get back up and running, train, improve, compete, rinse, wash, repeat.

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    Mute Jason Naughton
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    Aug 4th 2012, 2:44 AM

    Roy Keane would say find a new day job Miss Britton.

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    Mute Niall
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:19 AM

    But she didn’t run under 30 mins. She has never done and never will and missed her own pb by something like 17 seconds. Which means she has run better at lesser championships or race meets. She was tactically naive and paid the price.

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    Mute Tara Connolly
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    Aug 4th 2012, 6:41 PM

    “She has never done”. Steady on there, this is only her third professional 10,000m race.

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    Mute Ray Dempsey
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:20 AM

    @NIALL….. Another armchair expert. You get off ur arse and run 10000m

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    Mute Karl O' Neill
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    Aug 4th 2012, 9:13 AM

    She qualified and gave it her best and was just under the irish national record. No white or asian runners came within an asses roar of the somalians and ethiopians. Even two of them couldn’t keep the pace and dropped out. Fair play Fionnula, the country is proud of you. Any athlete would recognise the effort she put in, so to her detractors, get off your fat arses and try to run 10km and ypu might get a hint of what she did.

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    Mute Colm O'Cúirce
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    Aug 4th 2012, 12:40 AM

    ‘Leona Smullen’ likes this (as she polishes her gold medal) lol

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    Mute Robert Coonan
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    Aug 4th 2012, 5:17 AM

    We should send Leona Smullen next time!

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    Mute Colm O'Cúirce
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:54 AM

    Amen to that, proper athlete

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    Mute Michael Collins
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    Aug 4th 2012, 9:51 AM

    great effort by an honest fund starved runner.

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    Mute rodrigo detriano
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:06 AM

    God gave us Jesus Christ! Haven’t an effing clue who bestowed Leona Smullen upon us though!!

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    Mute Dave O'Shea
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:47 AM

    At least Leona is real

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    Mute Dave O'Shea
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:48 AM

    If we come out of this games with three medals will we will doing good.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Aug 4th 2012, 11:52 AM

    Doing well.

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    Mute john g mcgrath
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    Aug 4th 2012, 10:33 AM

    Perhaps we should not send athletes that can not get within 30 seconds of these runners it’s a bit embarrassing over all

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    Mute Vinny Healy
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    Aug 4th 2012, 7:09 PM

    She had a bad day, nowhere near her best but then she’s the only one ever to have a bad day at the office.

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    Mute anita o'sullivan
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    Aug 4th 2012, 12:18 PM

    She might not have won or been in the leading pack, but for cryn out loud, can every not just be proud that we have so many athletics representing Ireland and proud to do so!
    Winning is surely a bonus!!! To get there an qualify is a massive achievement!
    Certain people should stop being so negative an get off yere ass and support our athletes !

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    Mute Sean Slevin
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    Aug 4th 2012, 4:45 PM

    Who cares what Roy Keane would have to say. What has Roy Keane got to do with this?

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