29th May 2013

European Mountain Running Championships

29 May 2013

British Athletics has today announced a team of 16 athletes who will compete at the European Mountain Running Championships in Borovets, Bulgaria, on 6 July.

The first four finishers from each race at the European Trial in Keswick on Saturday have been selected for the GB & NI team that will travel to the 12th staging of the event.

Steve Vernon, who finished 11th in the 2012 European Mountain Running Championships in Turkey and 17th at the 2012 World Championships in Italy, will lead the senior men’s team after triumphing over Orlando Edwards by just six seconds with a time of 54:18 in Keswick.

Robbie Simpson of Deeside and Chris Smith will make up the four-man team thanks to their third and fourth place finishes on Saturday.

Emma Clayton was the runaway winner of the senior women’s race in Keswick as she came home over a minute ahead of second placed Olivia Walwyn with 50:41. Third placed Rebecca Robinson, 2010 Commonwealth Mountain Running bronze medallist, and Keswick’s own Sarah Tunstall, a former European Under-23 Cross Country Championships silver medallist and a Commonwealth mountain running silver medallist, also secured their places on the team heading to Bulgaria.

The junior men’s team will be led by Nathan Jones of Colwyn Bay, who took victory in a time of 48:34 in Keswick. The Calder Valley duo of Brad Traviss and Max Wharton, who were second and third on Saturday, will be joined by Andrew Lawler to complete the team.

2012 European Mountain Running champion Annabel Mason was comfortable Trials winner and will be joined in Bulgaria by Catriona Graves, Georgia Malir and Lydia Sharpe.

Full GB & NI team for the European Mountain Running Championships:

Senior men:

Steve Vernon
Orlando Edwards
Robbie Simpson
Chris Smith

Senior women:

Emma Clayton
Olivia Walwyn
Rebecca Robinson
Sarah Tunstall

Junior men:

Nathan Jones
Brad Traviss
Max Wharton
Andrew Lawler

Junior women:

Annabel Mason
Catriona Graves
Georgia Malir
Lydia Sharpe