16-year-old Wexford athlete, who became Ireland’s first female to medal at the European Cross Country Championships, lost her mother Olive to cancer on Christmas Day last year
14 December 2025; Emma Hickey of Ireland celebrates finishing third in the U20 women’s race at the 2025 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, Portugal. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Wexford teenager Emma Hickey made Irish athletics history at the weekend, becoming the country’s first female U-20 medallist at the European Cross Country Championships. However, behind the podium finish lies a year the New Ross athlete and her family describe as “bittersweet”, marked by personal loss, resilience and quiet determination.
Speaking exclusively from the principal’s office at St Mary’s Secondary School in New Ross, Emma, who took home the bronze medal from the European Cross Country Championships in Portugal over the weekend, described the response from her friends and family as “unbelievable”.