Four for Belgrade: Scottish quartet are selected for World Cross

Thursday 14th March 2024

Congratulations to Scott Stirling, Alice Goodall, Natasha Phillips and Craig Shennan on selection for Serbia (photos by Neil Renton)

British Athletics website announcement

Four Scottish athletes have been selected by GB and NI for the World Cross Champs later this month.

The event is being held in Belgrade over the weekend of Saturday 30 March with a strong British team selected.

And we’re delighted that four Scottish athletes have won selection following performances this season and, in particular, at the Inter-Counties XC at Nottingham last weekend.

Warm congratulations to the four athletes and their coaches, families and the clubs involved in their development over a number of years.

*It’s the first time since 2010 that more than three Scots have been selected for the World Cross.

*It’s only the second time more than three Scots have made the GB and NI team since 2002 (five athletes were picked for Poland in 2010)

The Scots selected (with coach name in brackets) are as follows:

Senior Men: Scott Stirling (John Pentecost) Falkirk Victoria Harriers

Senior Women: Alice Goodall (Mark Pollard) Edinburgh AC

U20 Women: Natasha Phillips Dundee Hawkhill Harriers

U20 Men: Criag Shennan (Dudley Walker) Giffnock North AC

U20 duo Natasha Phillips and Craig Shennan won gold at Falkirk and now picked for Belgrade (photos by Bobby Gavin)

All four Scots are new to the World Cross, although Alice has raced the Euro Cross and Natasha represented GB and NI at the Euro U20s on the track last summer.

For Scott Stirling it is a marvellous moment after almost 20 years in the sport and the culmination of a really fine cross country season.

Second in the Lindsays National XC, he became the first Falkrik Victoria Harriers athlete to win a Senior medal in that event. He was third in the Inter-Counties last weekend.

Craig Shennan raced up an age group at Nottingham but still finished fourth. Craig has a record now of National XC titles in Scotland at U13, U15 and U17 level.

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Tags: Alice Goodall, Craig Shennan, Natasha Phillips, Scott Stirling, World Cross, World Cross Champs