A Slovakian High Five

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN COLD, BUT THERE WAS PLENTY OF GOLD FOR THE BRITISH TEAM IN SAMORIN

- Euan Crumley

THE 2017 Spar European Cross Country Championships was the biggest of its kind, with record entry levels and a venue which impressed in both its scale and facilities. The X-Bionic Sphere in Samorin, Slovakia, is an Olympic training centre which can accommodate all manner of sports, from horse racing through to swimming and gymnastics. It also boasts an athletics track which looks like an ideal venue for a future European or world youth championships, an ambition certainly held by those in charge of it, and it was indeed the art of running which took centre stage. As seems to be the norm with this event, the course turned out be a fast, flat affair which included a number of inconveniences masquerading as obstacles – a water jump which remained frozen for much of the day thanks to the plunging temperatures could easily be avoided in a single stride, for example. However, with some incredibly fast sections and tight turns, it was far from easy to master and more than a few athletes came a cropper throughout a frenetic programme of events. This made the performance of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, who finished the day proudly atop the medal table, all the more creditable.

Every single British woman went home with a gold medal after the team title was taken at senior, under-23 and under-20 level, the inaugural mixed relay title was secured, while there were team bronzes for the senior and under-23 men, as well as individual third places for Jessica Judd and Andrew Butchart.

However, arguably the standout performance from a British perspective, came right at the start of the day.

Warrington athlete Harriet Knowles-Jones already had a European silver and bronze medal to her name but, in what was her last event as a junior, she demolished the field to complete the set.

It set an unstoppable momentum in motion as far as the British women were concerned.