Lisbon-bound! Five Scots picked for GB for Euro Cross

Tuesday 26th November 2019

Andy Butchart and Sol Sweeney went 1-2 at Lindsays Short Course XC at Kirkcaldy and now head for Lisbon (photo by Bobby Gavin)

British Athletics website announcement

Olympian Andy Butchart will lead a five-strong Scottish contingent in the GB and NI team at the Euro Cross next month.

British Athletics have announced their selections for the European Cross Country Champs event coming up in Lisbon on Sunday 8 December.

And it is once again good news in terms of Scottish representation with five athletes picked following the British Cross Challenge event in Liverpool last weekend.

Butchart, who won his fifth Scottish cross country title when taking gold at the Lindsays Short Course XC, didn’t race in Liverpool but has landed a discretionary selection.

The Central AC athlete won bronze at the Euro Cross in Samorin, Slovakia, back in 2017 and he was fourth the previous year when Callum Hawkins won bronze in Chia, Italy.

As well as his selection for the Senior Men’s team, Sol Sweeney is picked for the Men’s U23 team and will compete for the first time at this event.

There are maiden GB vests for U20 Women Megan Keith of Inverness Harriers and Cera Gemmell of Team East Lothian.

And Hamish Armitt of Giffnock North AC also wins his first representation at this level with a selection for the U20 Men’s team for Portugal.

As well as these five athletes, we understand three more Scots were very much in the discussion and were close to being picked after fine performances at Liverpool.

Megan Keith and Cera Gemmell celebrate medal success at the Lindsays Short Course XC Champs at Kirkcaldy

Welsh athlete Kristian Jones, of Dundee Hawkhill Harriers, is named in the Senior Men’s team, too.

Team leader Rob Denmark said: ‘Off the back of yet another extremely competitive trial event in Liverpool, we are able to name an incredibly strong team to travel to Lisbon for the European Cross Country Championships.

‘The team that we are taking contains a good level of experience across all age groups at these championships and on the international stage, which will hopefully set us up to contend for individual and team medals once again.’

Scots on the GB and NI team for Euro Cross on Sunday 8 December in Lisbon

Senior Men

Andrew Butchart (self-coached; Central)

(Kristian Jones (Swansea/Dundee Hawkhill Harriers)

U23 Men

Sol Sweeney (Andy Young; Perth Strathtay)

Junior Men

Hamish Armitt (Giffnock North)

Junior Women

Cera Gemmell (Henry Muchamore; Team East Lothian)

Megan Keith (Ross Cairns; Inverness)