And Park wins place in British U20 team
Last updated 19:27, Thursday, 04 December 2008
SIXTEEN-year-old Laura Park will race for the Great Britain U20 team in the European cross country championships in Brussels on December 14.
Park won her spot with a superb performance at the UK Challenge series in Liverpool on Sunday.
She was competing in the U17 age group but as this race was combined with the U20 it meant she could win selection to the GB U20 team.
In freezing fog the race was over a two-lap course in Sefton Park. As usual, from the gun Park was one of four athletes who dictated the pace.
It remained that way for the first lap but at the start of the second and final lap some of the older girls came through and picked up the pace.
Park, of Ellenborough Athletic Club, slipped back to sixth but she refused to let the leaders get away and fought back to take the U17 title and finish fourth overall.
That was enough to clinch a place in the GB U20 team for the Europeans.
Visit www.timesand star.co.uk for a picture history of Park’s career.
o There were other good performances by Ellenborough athletes at Liverpool.
Hannah Bethwaite finished a very good third in the U13 girls’ race, Sam Johnston came eighth in the U13 boys’ event, Ricky Lightfoot, who is more at home on the fells, ran an excellent 38th out of 300 in the men’s race in which Jackie Winn also finished high up in the Vet50 category.
