Trials winners Charlotte Arter and Ross Millington are joined by athletes including Dewi Griffiths, Andy Vernon, Kate Avery and Jess Judd
A number of European Cross Country Championships medallists feature in the full 40-strong team named by British Athletics for the 25th edition of the event taking place in Tilburg, Netherlands, on December 9.
Senior winners at the Liverpool Cross Challenge trial event – Ross Millington and Charlotte Arter – are joined by the likes of Andy Vernon, Dewi Griffiths, Kate Avery and Jess Judd in the squad.
Millington is a 2016 team gold and 2014 team bronze medallist, while Arter returns to the event after forming part of the silver medal-winning senior women’s team in 2016 but being forced to miss last year’s edition through injury.
Vernon finished fifth at the 2016 event to form part of the senior men’s gold medal-winning team and claimed individual bronze in 2013 and although an injury niggle left him unable to race at the trials, selectors have shown confidence based on previous performances.
He joins the senior men’s team alongside Liverpool runner-up Nick Goolab, plus Marc Scott, Charlie Hulson and Dewi Griffiths who were next over the finish line at the Cross Challenge event.
Jess Piasecki was third in Liverpool and returns to Euro Cross action for the first time since claiming individual gold and team silver in 2012 as an under-23, as she continues her comeback following struggles with injuries related to RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport).
Piasecki and Arter are joined on the senior women’s team by Liverpool runner-up Verity Ockenden, seven-time Euro Cross medallist and two-time senior individual runner-up Kate Avery, 2016 team silver medallist Pippa Woolven and 2017 mixed relay gold medallist Melissa Courtney, who like Ockenden makes her individual Euro Cross debut.
Four-time Euro Cross gold medallist Jess Judd leads the defending senior mixed relay team, joined by Alex Bell, Phil Sesemann and Jamie Williamson.
The under-23 team selections are headed by 2016 individual and three-time team bronze medallist Mahamed Mahamed, top under-23 at the trial Emile Cairess, who has yet to turn 21, and team gold medallist from Samorin last year, Amy Griffiths.
Welsh duo and trial winners Jake Heyward and Cari Hughes lead the junior teams and are joined by athletes including Amelia Quirk, Khahisa Mhlanga, Isaac Akers and Tom Mortimer.
“Following on from such competitive trials at the weekend in Liverpool, we are able to select an incredibly strong team to travel out to Tilburg,” said team leader Rob Denmark.
“We have been fortunate enough to enjoy a great deal of success at these championships in recent years and I’m hoping that this year we will continue to challenge for individual and team medals.”
The British team has topped the medal table in 11 of the previous 12 championships.
GB team for Tilburg
Senior men
Nick Goolab
Dewi Griffiths
Charlie Hulson
Ross Millington
Marc Scott
Andy Vernon
Senior women
Charlotte Arter
Kate Avery
Melissa Courtney
Verity Ockenden
Jess Piasecki
Pippa Woolven
U23 men
Emile Cairess
Patrick Dever
Oliver Fox
Mahamed Mahamed
John Millar
Paulos Surafel
U23 women
Dani Chattenton
Abbie Donnelly
Amy Griffiths
Emily Moyes
Poppy Tank
Lydia Turner
Junior men
Isaac Akers
Jake Heyward
Rory Leonard
Jack Meijer
Tom Mortimer
Matt Willis
Junior women
Grace Brock
Cari Hughes
Anna Macfadyen
Khahisa Mhlanga
Tiffany Penfold
Amelia Quirk
Mixed relay
Alex Bell
Jess Judd
Phil Sesemann
Jamie Williamson
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