Ava Crean in action for Crescent Comprehensive, Limerick against Coláiste Chiaráin, Leixlip during the U-16 A Girls Schools Cup basketball final at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin. Photo: Sportsfile
She’s an underdog. A newcomer. An unknown quantity. But ahead of Sunday’s Irish Life Dublin Marathon and the race for the national title, that’s what makes Ava Crean dangerous.
At 19, she’s defying conventional wisdom just by toeing the line – the marathon traditionally a distance that athletes come to late in their careers, having maxed out their potential on the track. But Crean has never raced on a track and never knew any other distance in the sport before her competitive debut in Manchester over 26.2 miles back in April.
