Euro Trials winner Emelia Gorecka will captain the British team at the European Cross Country Championships tomorrow (December 10) in Samorin, Slovakia.
The two-time European cross country U20 champion earned a popular victory at the trials at the Liverpool Cross Challenge last month, sealing the senior women’s title for the first time to confirm her place in the GB team for these championships.
Earlier in November, Gorecka helped her club, Aldershot Farnham and District retain the English Cross Country Relay crown.
Gorecka has faced a couple of years of injury but her reward for winning in Liverpool is her first GB vest in three years. After her junior success on the terrain, Gorecka is a popular character for athletes and athletics fans alike and she is raring to put on the British vest once again.
“I am thrilled to be named as the captain of the British team, said Gorecka. “It was very special for me to win in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago and earn my first call-up to the senior women’s team, but this is an unexpected honour which is an added bonus. Just to be back racing and healthy is a fantastic feeling and I’m really looking forward to seeing how everyone performs on Sunday.
She will race alongside Lily Partridge, Gemma Steel, Charlotte Taylor, Steph Twell and Elle Vernon in the senior women’s team. A four-time junior team gold medallist at these championships, Gorecka is guaranteed to fight for every place as the team aim for the medal positions.
“We have an incredibly strong team of 40 and we are all ready for some hard racing in Samorin against Europe’s finest,” she added. “Great Britain and Northern Ireland have a strong tradition at these championships and we will look to continue that at this edition. I’ve enjoyed success at junior level at these championships so I’m really excited to be racing on this stage again.”
Meanwhile, Erin Wallace is a late withdrawal from the U20 women’s race through injury. British squad member of the IAAF World Cross Country team in April this year, Phoebe Barker replaces her in the team.
A full preview ahead of the action in Samorin, including schedule and TV guide, can be found here.