by Stuart WeirIn our weekly podcast on Monday, Stuart Weir, joyous over the five gold medals won by Great Britain at the 2021 SPAR European Athletics Cross Country Championships in Dublin-Fingal on Sunday, December 12, 2021. Stuart mentioned the five gold medals FIVE times in the podcast on Athletics Chat 80! This is his first piece on the EA Cross Country Champs for 2021!
Charles Hicks takes EA U23, photo by British Athletics
Megan Keith wins the EA U20! photo by British Athletics
Team GB U 20 women took bronze with individual gold too! photo by British Athletics
Great Britain topped the medal table
Great Britain topped the medal table at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin with eight medals including five golds. Megan Keith won the women’s Under 20 title and Charles Hicks the men’s Under 23. Britain also won gold in the mixed relay and took team gold in Under 20 men and senior women.
Megan Keith, EA U20 Champion, photo by British Athletics
Megan Keith, from Scotland, said of her victory: “To be honest I don’t know what happened out there. I was leading when I didn’t necessarily want to lead it. I knew I had a massive group behind me so I never thought I would win it. The best I hoped for was top five and coming away with a team medal – winning wasn’t in the game plan. It was amazing when I crossed the line. I don’t think I’ve ever run so quickly to a finish line in my life. Now was the time to do it!”
GB Senior Women’s team, photo by British Athletics
Charles Hicks, born in London but based in USA for several years, assessed his performance: “It is an unbelievable feeling. I am beyond amazed. I’m incredibly proud of myself, my coaches and my teammates, and my teammates in Stanford. We’ve put a lot of work in the last couple of years to get here. It was such a hard-fought race and I think that contributes to this amazing feeling. There wasn’t a single meter there where I wasn’t fighting. To win means the world to me”.
GB U20 Men’s team took gold, photo by British Athletics
The GB team of Hannah Nuttall, Luke Duffy, Alex Bell and Ben West won the mixed relay. Alex Bell, a finalist in the 800m in Tokyo commented: “I am so happy for this team, to win gold is a great achievement for this young squad. Everyone played their part in making this happen today so I’m very proud of them. The Euro Cross is a key part of my winter season – only the relay I should say, I’m not running 8km! So I have a lot of experience in these teams now and it is great to be a part of this team and race in the relay. I’m very proud to have being part of a gold-medal winning team”.
Charles Hicks takes EA U23, photo by British Athletics
The senior women won gold, led by Jess Judd who finished fourth, with Jenny Nesbitt tenth and Jess Gibbon eleventh. Judd commented: “I wasn’t expecting that at all. I did everything right and tried to put myself into a position to win it. In Lisbon (2019) I did really well coming 6th, but I was never in it, I just felt like I was coming through. But today I could see the leaders and I could feel I was nearly there.
Jenny Nesbitt, Team GB Senior women took team gold at EA! photo by British Athletics
“This event is so special to me. It’s always a smaller team, so more close-knit. Sometimes people say the seniors inspire the juniors, but it can be the other way around. I watched them this morning before I left the hotel and they inspired me. You want to get out there on the course and do as well as them”.
Team GB, lead by Jess Judd’s 4th, took gold at the EA Cross Country Championships on Sunday! photo by British Athletics
The men’s Under 20 took team gold with Will Barnicoat ninth, Hamish Armitt tenth and Henry McLuckie fifteenth.
The Team GB Mixed relay took gold at the EA Cross Country Champs! photo by British Athletics
Team GB took the event very seriously, taking a team of 40 and get their reward.
Team GB U20 took bronze at the EA Champs, photo by British Athletics
