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European Cross Country Championships

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Welcome to highlights of the 2016 European Cross Country

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Championships. I don't know about you but when I think of

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cross-country I think of mud and went conditions and there was nobody

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better at it than Paula Radcliffe, welcome. What can we look forward

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to? Good racing, traditionally a very happy hunting ground for us

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going to the European Cross Country Championships. Expect more of the

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same from the under 20, the under 23 and a senior women. What is

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refreshing this year is we have the strongest team we have had for a

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good few years, in the senior men's team read by Callum Hawkins and Andy

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Butchart coming off the back of a great summer for both of them.

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Exciting to see them going in so strong. Great Britain have enjoyed a

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lot of success in this event over the years, in fact last year topping

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the medal table for the 13th year in a row.

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Lots of prospects for British medals.

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It's going to be a silver medal for Harriet Knowles-Jones. Taking the

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silver medal. Very successful day once more for Great Britain.

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Jonathan Davies takes the gold medal for Great Britain.

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This years event is in Chia on the Italian island of Sardinia. Men's

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and women's races over various distances, for junior, and 23 and

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the seniors with two medals up for grabs. The courses pretty flat and

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fast, a couple of man-made obstacles, nothing much to trouble

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the athletes. Here are some people hoping to do well.

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Time for the senior men's race, with the conditions being so warm and

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sunny we can expect a really fast race. The British team with the team

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captain Andy Butchart, great character. Callum Hawkins as well,

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they have been training, Andy Butchart ran away with the trials.

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Andy Vernon, Ross Millington behind. Debbie Griffiths. Very strong team.

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The Great North Run a couple of years ago, almost gave Mo Farah

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affright. Senior men under way. As ever the

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cavalry charge of the first 100 metres, never ceases to amaze me

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that everyone seems to want to join in but it's a flat and fast course,

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really good conditions, summer weather in Sardinia and Andy

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Butchart, well to the four already, what I year he has had in 2016,

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everyone hoping, particularly he is, that he can continue it. Callum

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Hawkins already up there as well. There will be a real challenge from

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Turkey, former Kenyan is running for them, particularly Meryem

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Great Britain looking to the leaders, then looking for the likes

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of Andy Vernon who will always run well in this race, always produces a

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good, strong performance. This is a fast start, fast running. These two

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short laps completed and out on the big labs now. Grabbing it by the

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scruff of the neck. I don't think they have done too much together in

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terms of training. But they are well prepared. They had a good tussle at

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the trials. Callum did exactly this, went out hard but Andy Butchart a

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comfortable winner in the end. Interesting to see how this pans

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out. They are both very different, very different personalities and how

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they will attack the training and racing, even the styles are

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different. Callum Hawkins, you can see how well-suited he is the

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marathon running, very economical, contrast that with Andy Butchart's

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he almost bounces. It's all so very economical and service really well.

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I think on ground like this it can be an advantage because you're not

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putting too much of your foot to risk turning the ankle on some of

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the lumps in the course. I don't know if I would rather see them

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sitting back or is it good to see them taking it to the Turkish

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athletes and trying to seize control? Certainly they are not

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letting themselves be dominated in any way in this early stage. Andy

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Vernon leading the chasing group which is good from a British

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perspective. They are all not too far. From a team race they are

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following suit, started aggressively, so far so good. Callum

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Hawkins just starting to get dropped, Andy Vernon dropping back a

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little bit in the group he was controlling as well so he needs to

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keep working but a great run from the Griffiths backed up right behind

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him by Conner. He was in 17th at the last count but it's the Spanish

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athletes ahead of Andy Vernon, he was ahead of them. He has to try to

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work with them, stay with that group. Callum Hawkins back on the

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back here, back in touch. I am going to go on and on about this transfer

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of allegiance, we have Aras Kaya, he ran in the steeplechase.

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The sport,, it is not need to see what name you should have, but Aras

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Kaya, steeplechaser now running and running well, only got his

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allegiance in June this year, not long before the championships. He

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went to the Olympics but did not make it out of his heats. He is

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running and controlling it with Arikan at the minute. One of the

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Spaniards moving through. He went off hard so he might drop. Callum

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Hawkins going to the front. Fortunes have switched between Andrew

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Butchart and Callum Hawkins, Callum Hawkins turning the screw and asking

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questions of the Turkish athletes and Andy Butchart who is struggling

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to keep focus, it's a bit over distance for him. It's not the same

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as a 10,000 metres or 10K on the road. When he has predominantly

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raced over 5000 metres it's a bit of a step up in terms of endurance

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Callum Hawkins will have the edge but if he can stay in contact Andy

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Butchart has the edge. This is interesting, in the trial at

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Liverpool, once it settled down, Callum Hawkins try to run hard from

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the front. Andy was able to move away with ease almost. I just wonder

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today if he got carried away a little bit, this is probably the

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first time he has gone to an event with everyone looking at him,

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everyone asking what he has got. I just wonder, we both raised a bit of

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an eyebrow as we see the team standings, much closer between Great

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Britain and Spain. We thought it was fast and Callum now it has settled

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down, his endurance coming through, Andy Butchart looking behind

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already, they are well ahead, but it's going to be a long slog in the

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lonely fourth place for him. Really interesting shift of hierarchy if

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you like, the marathon runner against the track runner and at the

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moment the marathon runner looking better. Is it a good time that he is

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looking tired and moving back, Mechaal?

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Let's hope Andy can compose himself, he's a very tough and brave runner,

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we have seen him look in trouble in races on the track and then be able

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to find something more and fight back but he's in no man's land. It's

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much easier for Callum with the other runners behind him. All three

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men in Rio, Callum Hawkins in the marathon, and Aras Kaya in the

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steeplechase, that is what Cross country does, brings together all

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the disciplines. It's a shame that the world Cross country has been

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affected so much partly by the transfer of allegiance rules which

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are so lax and allow lots of Kenyans and Eritreans to run for other

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countries and make it difficult for European teams and European

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individual athletes to contest and figure in a way they used to. Nobody

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minds getting beaten by a good Kenyan but when you are racing

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against 15 or 20 of them because they represent different countries

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that cannot be a good thing for a cross-country as a sport. It's

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something we keep going on about but it's because we love cross-country

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running and at this level something needs to be done about that rule in

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particular because it's the single biggest reason I think quite a lot

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of the European and other countries have decided not to contest. Look

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here, Great Britain, it is great when your team wins, you get an

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individual medal, fighting hard further down the field to win a

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medal but they cannot that here. Callum Hawkins in a lonely third

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spot, the two Turkish athletes moving away from him, Andy Butchart

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his team-mate behind him in fourth. A brave effort from Callum Hawkins,

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led at first by Andy Butchart, but he picked up the mantle of trying to

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take the race to the Kenyan Turkish athletes and these two are well

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ahead of the rest of the European team. Andy Vernon leading the

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Spanish men, that will be a crucial battle as far as the team race is

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concerned. We have three British athletes before the first Spanish

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athlete but the Spanish have four together. Whether it is Griffiths or

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Connor, the fourth British man will be crucial. There is Ben Connor.

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It's hard to see him picking up a couple places isn't it? But... I

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cannot see much change in with the top five, certainly. Then it's all

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about those places in the last lap. Spain with four men between Andy

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Vernon and the next counter for Great Britain. These are the team

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standings at the beginning of the last lap, just five points between

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Spain, Turkey improving all the time. All to play for on the last

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lap. Callum Hawkins guard, Andy Butchart tiring in fourth place.

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Could come under pressure from Carvalho. Decent cushion to the

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Frenchman. That looks more than enough for even an tiring Andy

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Butchart to hold onto. In fact, where has he gone? Andy Vernon

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moving into fifth place in fact. Look at Andy Vernon, strong as ever.

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Had a good run here last year, Andy Vernon, the last British athlete to

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get a medal in these championships in the senior men forging on. If he

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can finish ahead of the Spanish athletes it will do the team cause

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an awful lot of good. But at the front a bit of a surprise because

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it's Aras Kaya, the steeplechaser, former Kenyan now running for

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Turkey. Only given clearance to run for them this July. The Turkish flag

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waving, it's going to be a 1- to for them. Polat Kemboi Arikan who won

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this race two years ago, this time he has to play second fiddle to Aras

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Kaya who takes the gold medal for Turkey and is the European Cross

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Country Championships to our wonderful and brilliant strong,

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brave bronze medal for Callum Hawkins who finishes top Brit. He

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and Andy Butchart, the two Scots attacked hard from the beginning.

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Andy, fourth place, Pete Hawkins in the trials. And the timing his

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efforts supremely well. In issuing in fifth place. That will be an

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anxious wait for the three reddish men as they turn around to see who

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will cross the line. Where is Connor, Griffiths... Three Spanish

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athletes coming in. It will come down to 1-2 points in the end, Great

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Britain leading the team race at the start of the last lap, Salami got

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ahead of Connor. Gritting his teeth. Making sure no one comes past him.

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Connor may well have given written a good chance of the gold medal.

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Griffiths coming in just a couple of places behind. One very tired

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athletes. That was Kabbalah who dropped back. It is a Turkish number

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one and two, Kaya winning ahead of Arakan. A surprise, Hawkins taking

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the bronze medal at ahead of Andy Butchart and Andy Vernon. Connor,

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good performance finishing 16th. Great Britain looking like they will

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be confirmed as the gold-medallists in the team race. Close in the end.

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At surge from Andy Vernon in particular getting ahead of the

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Spanish athletes making it a four point victory for Great Britain and

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Northern Ireland. Turkey improving dramatically to get the bronze.

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Ready to go, the senior women under way. A test of eight kilometres.

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Flat and fast. Great Britain will be hoping that today, individually and

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in the team race, they can perform well. I think the team is a very

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good team. A lot of people said at the trials it wasn't perhaps the

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strongest but look at the experience, that may well be the

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case but given the standard of the field, they have every opportunity.

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With the experience of Steph Twell and Gemma Steel, one or two others

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are hoping to back them up. No real out and out favourites in this race.

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Finola MacCormack from Ireland well to the fore. The Turks will

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definitely be a danger. Can. Grovdal of Norway well to the fore. Bobocel

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from Romania settling down. Got out well. The two former Kenyan

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athletes, running for a turkey information, almost. I think, a

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second remaining athlete moving up, packing well at this stage. They had

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that little short lap, 500 metres. Onto the long lap, round about 1500

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metres, five long laps ahead of them. The Brits, a little further

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back. Two Turkish athletes. They are at the front. Have decided not to

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hang around too much. Well spread out. You can see Gemma Steel and

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Steph Twell perhaps being caught out a little bit in the sense that they

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sat back and are trying to move through fairly quickly, they are

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running together. Pippa Woolven and Katrina Wootton, married recently.

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That is going to be crucial. The Turkish runners set out with real

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intent. This is a familiar, I don't know... The former Kenyan athlete,

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closest to the camera, only giving Kieran Steer run for Turkey in

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March. The IAAF have had other sorts of things to do with but they have

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to get a grasp on this change of allegiance scenario which is still

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going on. And I know the rules are the rules, we have had people change

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allegiance to Great Britain but when people move and live in a country,

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we have got people who have done not but when you do that and you are

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still spending all your time in your former country, as one or two of

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these do, to use an example, let's try and construct the race little

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bit. MacCormack, Grovdal, Twell making her way through. Gemma Steel

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having a much better run. Then I think it's about Walden coming

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through. The one going not quite so well, a really good trial race,

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Charlotte Arter. She was really good in the trial.

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Here is the battle for third. Finola had a big win recently. Beaten

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12-macro Ethiopians and runners from Kenny, doesn't look like she will be

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able to take on these two today. There she is, Grovdal behind her,

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with another good year. It's good when you watch young athletes, as

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juniors, progress and keep progressing, keep getting better.

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She picked up a medal in the European 10,000 metre Championships

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last year. But she is gradually moving up to the longer distances

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and things as well, the half marathon. Contesting that bronze

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medal behind these two. Can, Akda, well ahead. Forcing the pace. Steph

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Twell in that little group, Bobocel still in there, doing well. Finola

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MacCormack of Ireland leading the chase group. Grovdal from Norway,

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Steph Twell looking strong. Working hard to stay with them. Bobocel

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happy to let others do the work. The gap looks as though it might

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increase. The European 5000 and 10,000 metre

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champion from Turkey in the lead at the moment. From her team-mate whose

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trying to hang onto her as much as she can. Ireland doing well,

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McGeehan, the 1500 metres specialist moving well through the field. Great

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Britain keeping Turkey inside but it will come down to the battle is a

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little bit further down the field. On that lap, Kaya moving up to 16th,

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up there with Pippa Woolven. Britain could do with Wootton and

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Wilson working together. A lot of good athletes on the field.

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MacCormack who was at the front of the group, now Bobocel who's gone

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back and trying to ask questions of the three others in the group and

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see if she can get rid of one of those. Is it Finola struggling to

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hang on or is it because she was moving wide to find better ground?

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No doubt about the leader, contributing moving her way from her

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compatriot, whichever way you look at it and opening up the gap. Actor

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starting to fatigue, I don't think she's ever in any danger of being

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caught by the group behind her, but the gap consistently growing. Here

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it is. A real scrap. Good names, good athletes on the track. And I

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think Finola particularly is thinking, I have got to shake off

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and put my foot down and try and shake the soft. She is no slouch at

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the end, she will fight hard. But she will be worried about the

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closing speed all of one or two of the others. It shows the key point,

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the key interest of cross country and it's bringing together the

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distances. Finola moving up to the marathon but known for her Cross

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Country pedigree, Steph went to the Olympic Games, world junior champion

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over 1500 metres and battling it out, still all to play for in the

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closing stages. Gemma Steel, moving well, Katrina Wootton behind her.

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You have Pippa Woolven there, Kaya from Turkey in between them, but

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that was 16th, Katrina 14th, they have Kaya between them, also where

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Steph Twell finishes in this group, eight points behind Turkey. We

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entered the closing stages. No doubt about the gold-medallist. Can, right

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out in front. The battle for the bronze medal is on. Those four

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locked together. Gemma Steel trying to give chase a little further back

:26:13.:26:18.

but gaps behind these four and with Turkey in positions number one and

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two, cubicle. Grovdal trying to break this group up, a big surge

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from the Norwegian. Steph Twell not quite able to respond. Grovdal

:26:28.:26:33.

making her first real bid out of that group for the bronze medal. And

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it's a significant one. Steph Twell trying to hang on. Look at this from

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Grovdal. I think what we are seeing from her at this year is a renewed

:26:47.:26:51.

confidence. Maybe she has kicked a little bit too early but I think

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she's timed it right, a strength she hasn't had in previous years as

:26:58.:27:01.

she's grown older and worked on her strength and that's what's helping

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her over the closing stages but no doubt about the winner. She won two

:27:04.:27:11.

titles on the track at 5000 and 10,000 metres, the first time she

:27:12.:27:14.

worry best for Turkey and now she is the European cross-country champion,

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she and her team-mate will come through to take the silver medal.

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These two a long way ahead of the rest of the European field. The two

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former Kenyan athletes now running for Turkey. They will look to see

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where their team-mates finished, a real good scrap going on for the

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bronze medals at crocodile from Norway wins. -- Grovdal. A good

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performance from her. Bobocel coming very quickly but not quick enough,

:27:50.:27:53.

the remaining taking fourth. Fionnuala McCormack from Ireland,

:27:54.:27:57.

Steph Twell hanging on and keeping going.

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Good performance, great to see her continuing on her comeback trail.

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Steph Twell six, Gemma Steel we are expecting. Lost a couple of places.

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The remaining going past. Gemma Steel will come, I think that's 11th

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or 12th. Tricky take the gold and silver. Good performance from Steph

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Twell. Sixth place. Not quite good enough to take the

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team gold medal, and that goes to Turkey.

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The defending champion in this under 23 race is Great Britain's Jonathan

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Davies and he leads a team that is a little bit inexperienced in this

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meant's team, the best way of describing it. Be interesting to see

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how they go, I guess the news in this race is that the prerace

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favourite, or would have been, is a Turkish transferee who won the

:29:19.:29:24.

senior race last year, meant to be dropping back into the under 23

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ranks but we are told he has been injured. I think that leaves the

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race open. The meant's under 23 is under way. Just over eight

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kilometres. They will do a short lap and five longer labs. And Great

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Britain with high hopes. Jonathan Davies the defending champion. The

:29:49.:29:50.

top three from last year all in this, he had a great scrap with the

:29:51.:29:59.

Spanish runner. Plenty of time for the athletes to move through. Alex

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George with the headband wearing number 100.

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Baz, I wouldn't imagine, going to remain in that position. They are

:30:17.:30:23.

flying over the top. Decided to not put their foot down. The spikes just

:30:24.:30:30.

not quite finding the grass. And he just stepped forward and lost his

:30:31.:30:35.

balance. Still early stages. Very early. Alex George running well.

:30:36.:30:42.

A bit of a gap between Alex George and the leading group, and oddly

:30:43.:30:53.

enough, the Turkish athlete is drifting back. Jonny Davies getting

:30:54.:30:58.

closer to the front of the pack. There is a good illustration, Ellis

:30:59.:31:06.

Cross, a group ahead of him off five or six athletes, it'd be great if he

:31:07.:31:10.

could get into the pack and picked off one or two. That's exactly what

:31:11.:31:17.

you want, your fourth counter advancing further down the race.

:31:18.:31:23.

Picking up places. Jonny Davies leading, and the men behind him in

:31:24.:31:26.

contention for the gold medal in the team race. Trying to keep the pace

:31:27.:31:34.

moving, where he has succeeded in getting Ramos to drop off the back

:31:35.:31:38.

of the pack without intentionally turning the screw too much, he won't

:31:39.:31:42.

want the group behind to close down too much, but he has to be aware of

:31:43.:31:47.

what he wants to keep in his legs in terms of strength to be able to

:31:48.:31:52.

cover moves, to be able to make a strong move of his own when he's

:31:53.:31:57.

ready do that. I think the longer this place allows Yemanberhan Crippa

:31:58.:32:02.

to still be involved it is dangerous. I think he can burn it up

:32:03.:32:07.

at the end. He's been hanging on for a while but will be growing in his

:32:08.:32:11.

own confidence for a while, the Italian at the back, two-time winner

:32:12.:32:17.

of the junior title. You will start to feel confidence growing as they

:32:18.:32:22.

enter the last lap. Two many people for comfort, too many and with a

:32:23.:32:27.

chance. Solomon, the surprise package from Sweden pushing on. He

:32:28.:32:32.

heard the bell and made a strong move, caught some of them out a

:32:33.:32:39.

little. Jonny Davies struggled to be able to go with it, he is gathering

:32:40.:32:44.

himself now. It's broken up the pack. I think some of them were not

:32:45.:32:48.

expecting the move to come so early going into the last lap. Solomon

:32:49.:32:57.

made a bad mistake coming over the bump, I don't know if he caught his

:32:58.:33:01.

foot at the top but he stumbled and almost fell. Recovered his balance

:33:02.:33:06.

but allowed Issac Kimeli to get to the front. Now he is the one turning

:33:07.:33:14.

the screw a bit more. They are all aware that Yemanberhan Crippa is

:33:15.:33:18.

still there. They are kicking hard, they can see the finish line, Issac

:33:19.:33:22.

Kimeli 's who are so many times we've expected to do well, the

:33:23.:33:29.

Belgian with a great turn of pace moving away, it's an LA kick for

:33:30.:33:33.

home from him and he still has running to do. Carlos Mayo trying to

:33:34.:33:38.

chase down, the Spaniard took silver last year and it looks like he's

:33:39.:33:41.

getting it again this time. It's going to be Issac Kimeli from

:33:42.:33:45.

Belgium. The European silver-medallist on the track at

:33:46.:33:51.

5000 metres in 2015 is going to take gold at the European Cross Country

:33:52.:33:57.

Championships in the under 23 race. Carlos Mayo, another silver medal,

:33:58.:34:01.

Yemanberhan Crippa, good move up the under 23 takes bronze. Jonny Davies

:34:02.:34:10.

in theft, good defence for him. Solomon sixth, then Ramos. Great

:34:11.:34:17.

Britain will be hoping, as we see Alex George coming in, losing a few

:34:18.:34:23.

places to a play which will mean Italy will take the team race. The

:34:24.:34:29.

question of whether or not Great Britain can take the silver. Alex

:34:30.:34:33.

George across the line. Looks as though the next counter for Great

:34:34.:34:40.

Britain will be Ellis Cross. The question is who will be the fourth.

:34:41.:34:44.

Is it going to be Alex Short? I think so. It will be tight, I think

:34:45.:34:51.

we have got a team medal, but whether or not it is silver or

:34:52.:34:58.

bronze that will get sorted out. Alex Short 20 Fifth Place, the

:34:59.:35:03.

fourth counter. Confirmation of the win. That will be celebrated back

:35:04.:35:08.

home I am pretty sure. Alex George and Ellis Cross running

:35:09.:35:19.

well. Ellis Cross in particular coming through the field very strong

:35:20.:35:24.

way in the latter stages. Alex Short in 25th to be Britain's fourth

:35:25.:35:34.

counter. Italy finishing strongly. Belgium the surprise silver. Great

:35:35.:35:40.

Britain and Northern Ireland with bronze.

:35:41.:35:46.

The British team, Rebecca Murray, Jessica Judd is really starting to

:35:47.:35:55.

come back into good form, good to see her full of smiles, that is a

:35:56.:36:00.

strong British contingent. Alice Wright at the back, based in the

:36:01.:36:05.

States. The under 23 women's race gets underway. Just over six

:36:06.:36:14.

kilometres. Four collapse. Great Britain with high hopes both

:36:15.:36:17.

individually and certainly in the team race -- four lapse. I'm

:36:18.:36:26.

intrigued to see if Jessica Judd and Rebecca Murray can figure

:36:27.:36:32.

individually. Sofia Ennaoui Poland is a familiar name, track will

:36:33.:36:44.

recognise. Lots to look forward to. Settling down, not to quit at the

:36:45.:36:50.

beginning. Anna Gehring on the inside. The British pack deciding

:36:51.:37:01.

not to set off too quickly. Rebecca Murray weaving through the field,

:37:02.:37:06.

Jessica Judd still right up there, Alice Wright very committed in these

:37:07.:37:12.

early stages, right up there, contesting the lead. Charlotte

:37:13.:37:18.

Taylor on the left-hand side. Also very close indeed. Good performance

:37:19.:37:20.

from her at the moment. Four laps. Watching Jessica Judd going

:37:21.:37:40.

over the hay bale, she has the longest legs and maybe struggled the

:37:41.:37:44.

most going over, she was not comfortable over the bumps either.

:37:45.:37:48.

Those humps are bonds in the course are more suited to the smaller

:37:49.:37:53.

athletes who are almost able to jump over and skip up and down the other

:37:54.:37:59.

side, the likes of Alice Wright and Sofia Ennaoui, for the toll the

:38:00.:38:01.

runners the stride pattern does not always fit into the gap. Alice

:38:02.:38:08.

Wright looking good, Charlotte Taylor well to the fore, Sofia

:38:09.:38:12.

Ennaoui the prerace favourite in the white and red shorts of Poland.

:38:13.:38:18.

Jessica Judd not too far away. Great Britain looking in excellent

:38:19.:38:26.

position for the team race. The Germans also in there, including

:38:27.:38:33.

Anna Gehring. They have completely two laps. Pack of nine or ten.

:38:34.:38:48.

Jessica Judd a little bit of a gap if you like. So it's Alice Wright,

:38:49.:38:59.

Charlotte Taylor contesting the lead with Sofia Ennaoui and Anna Gehring,

:39:00.:39:03.

Sofia Ennaoui the prerace favourite looks comfortable but this is strong

:39:04.:39:08.

running from the American -based British athletes. Rebecca Murray

:39:09.:39:11.

leading the chasing pack in fifth at the moment but a good 25 metres

:39:12.:39:21.

behind this lead four. Anna Gehring having a very good performance, as

:39:22.:39:26.

is Sofia Ennaoui, Alice Wright working hard, look at Rebecca

:39:27.:39:30.

Murray, moving away, you feel as though there is more to come for her

:39:31.:39:34.

in this race if she can just keep in contact with them and then maybe in

:39:35.:39:38.

the last lap see if she can run some of them down. Two British athletes

:39:39.:39:44.

in that group already. The British athletes under pressure now as they

:39:45.:39:49.

enter the last lap in third and fourth. Charlotte Taylor moving

:39:50.:39:55.

ahead of team-mate, she beat Alice Wright in the cross country in the

:39:56.:40:00.

States in early November. The NCAA event. Maybe that's a good indicator

:40:01.:40:07.

of form. She moves into the bronze medal place. I think she moved

:40:08.:40:11.

slightly ahead of Alice Wright but what Alice needs to do is maintain

:40:12.:40:15.

contact and of the British girls can work together it might be one of

:40:16.:40:22.

them in front tyres. Sofia Ennaoui looks like she's rocking a lot more

:40:23.:40:25.

than she was in the early stages, some of that is the ponytail she has

:40:26.:40:29.

behind her which makes it look worse than it is, but in her face as well,

:40:30.:40:36.

she's trying to get alongside Anna Gehring to let her know she is still

:40:37.:40:40.

there but Anna Gehring is making her heart and you can see it on her

:40:41.:40:45.

face. The British athletes, Charlotte Taylor with the four or

:40:46.:40:48.

five-metre gap on her team-mate Alice Wright, third and fourth.

:40:49.:40:53.

Rebecca Murray in sixth place at the minute. Jessica Judd the fourth

:40:54.:41:00.

counter for Great Britain. I think we will be OK. A real scrap going on

:41:01.:41:11.

for the bronze medal. Alice Wright has managed in the closing stages to

:41:12.:41:16.

find something a bit extra to get ahead of her team-mate. But it's not

:41:17.:41:21.

over yet. Does Sofia Ennaoui have enough in the tank, can she muster a

:41:22.:41:32.

bit of us as Sprint? She is gathering a little, she will have

:41:33.:41:35.

walked the course, they all will have, they will know the twists and

:41:36.:41:40.

turns into the finish but has Sofia Ennaoui saved enough to be able to

:41:41.:41:43.

come back in the closing straight and what's going to happen for the

:41:44.:41:52.

bronze? Granz having a look behind, some tired athletes including

:41:53.:41:54.

Jessica Judd but this is the battle for gold. Sofia Ennaoui is the first

:41:55.:42:02.

to strike, she can see the finish line and no response from the

:42:03.:42:07.

German, Sofia Ennaoui takes a look behind, the prerace favourite has a

:42:08.:42:10.

ten-metre lead and the track speed is too much for the German, Sofia

:42:11.:42:14.

Ennaoui of Poland takes the gold medal in the under 23 race. Bright

:42:15.:42:21.

performance from Anna Gehring, a surprise silver medal for her and it

:42:22.:42:25.

will be Alice Wright leading Great Britain, she will get an individual

:42:26.:42:29.

bronze medal ahead of her team-mate Charlotte Taylor, great performance

:42:30.:42:32.

from Alice Wright. They are both based in America, great addition to

:42:33.:42:38.

the team, takes the bronze medal ahead of Taylor in fourth.

:42:39.:42:44.

Sofia Ennaoui of Poland sprinting to the title. Brilliant performance

:42:45.:42:52.

from Alice Wright to take the bronze medal ahead of Charlotte Taylor.

:42:53.:43:01.

Jessica Judd the fourth counter. It confirms the position as champions,

:43:02.:43:05.

Great Britain on top once more in an event they have dominated over the

:43:06.:43:10.

years, the last ten years. Germany doing well and Italy taking the

:43:11.:43:18.

bronze. STUDIO: Two more races to come but later tonight highlights of

:43:19.:43:23.

the Premier League football. And on Tuesday you can see the Super League

:43:24.:43:25.

show review of the 2016 season. COMMENTATOR: The under 20 women,

:43:26.:43:42.

short lap of 500 metres they will go around now and then a long lap of

:43:43.:43:53.

around 1500 metres, two short laps and it's not that far so the real

:43:54.:43:58.

mix of good track athletes, those who are better on cross country as

:43:59.:44:04.

well, tends to be, a junior women level they are good at both.

:44:05.:44:08.

Konstanze Klosterhalfen right up the front. The British women, right up

:44:09.:44:14.

there from the beginning, packing well. You have to get out there,

:44:15.:44:17.

this sort of distance you cannot hang around and think I will work my

:44:18.:44:22.

way through, it's too short and quick. Absolutely, especially on a

:44:23.:44:29.

course as twisty as this one, you have to get out hard and get

:44:30.:44:33.

yourself well placed in the early stages because this is not a race

:44:34.:44:36.

which will slow down or settle at any point. The main contenders we

:44:37.:44:41.

expected to be up there, like Konstanze Klosterhalfen, immediately

:44:42.:44:46.

to the front, backed up by her German team-mates. Harriet

:44:47.:44:48.

Knowles-Jones well placed on the inside and keeping an eye on where

:44:49.:44:51.

she knows the main danger will come from.

:44:52.:45:01.

She's not a hanging around. She's not waiting. Harriet Knowles-Jones

:45:02.:45:07.

moving into second place. The rest of the British contingent doing

:45:08.:45:09.

well. Great Britain looking good. They clearly do, the winner last

:45:10.:45:23.

year, defending her title, looks as though she's heading off towards

:45:24.:45:29.

that gold-medal, a scrap going on behind Harriet Knowles-Jones, still

:45:30.:45:32.

in second place. The rest of the British pack, Quirk, having a great

:45:33.:45:40.

race, 17 years old, will be one of the counters. Silver for

:45:41.:45:50.

Knowles-Jones last year. Great Britain leading the team race. You

:45:51.:45:58.

can see confirmation, Victoria Wear and Quirk in 10th place. Phoebe Law

:45:59.:46:06.

is the fifth counter. The top four well up there, Britain looking safe.

:46:07.:46:12.

Good scrap for second place, Harriet Knowles-Jones looks as though she's

:46:13.:46:15.

struggling a little bit to hang onto Moller. A big gap to Harriet

:46:16.:46:21.

Knowles-Jones, whether at the two of them think they have a chance of

:46:22.:46:25.

closing the gap but can Harriet Knowles-Jones hang on? She will have

:46:26.:46:33.

to. There is the leader heading towards her second European

:46:34.:46:37.

cross-country junior title. She has that action on Cross Country, no big

:46:38.:46:42.

knee lift anything, she is tall, long legs, a good action for Cross

:46:43.:46:49.

Country. It is, and potentially for the road, food, smooth, level

:46:50.:46:56.

action, starting to turn her ankle a couple of times and she's pulled it

:46:57.:47:01.

back. The girls will probably feedback that the route is testing.

:47:02.:47:07.

She decides to pop onto the turf carpet to put her arms aloft,

:47:08.:47:13.

Klosterhalfen defending her title supremely well, much more

:47:14.:47:20.

impressively than last year. This year, she wins it comfortably.

:47:21.:47:24.

Moller, big improvement for the Danish girl, Harriet Knowles-Jones

:47:25.:47:28.

needs to keep Owen, a bit of danger from behind. Very, very tired, just

:47:29.:47:35.

about going to hang on. Harriet Knowles-Jones adds a bronze medal to

:47:36.:47:40.

the silver medal last year, really good performance, we are watching

:47:41.:47:43.

for the rest of the British team. Looks like Amelia Klerk, 17 years

:47:44.:47:52.

old. -- Amelia Quirk. What a brilliant run from the youngster

:47:53.:47:56.

from Bracknell, the second counter. Victoria Wear is the third counter

:47:57.:48:05.

and Gemma Holloway, looking like she will cement the gold medal for Great

:48:06.:48:07.

Britain with her performance, coming in 11th.

:48:08.:48:11.

Some really good performances from Amelia Quirk, Gemma Holloway and

:48:12.:48:28.

Victoria Wear. Securing the team race. Great Britain and Northern

:48:29.:48:29.

Ireland with 33 points. The Dutch team taking the bronze

:48:30.:48:39.

medal, great performance from them, Ireland down in 10th.

:48:40.:48:49.

The under 20 men's race under way. Sprinting through the first couple

:48:50.:48:56.

of hundred metres. Straight out onto the big love for them, four the

:48:57.:49:01.

labs, six kilometres, it will settle down in a moment. -- big lap.

:49:02.:49:14.

Taking a little while to settle down, no big favourites, no wonder

:49:15.:49:21.

you can kind of go, that is the one to beat. Some interesting athletes,

:49:22.:49:25.

the Brits already moving to the front. This young man, saw him

:49:26.:49:35.

running superb times on the track, I think he's three minutes 42 for 1500

:49:36.:49:39.

metres which is even quicker than I ran in those days, looks like he's a

:49:40.:49:44.

better prospect than his brothers, running quicker than them. Setting

:49:45.:49:47.

the standard at the front very early. British guys trying to move

:49:48.:49:53.

their way through and give themselves a good position as things

:49:54.:50:02.

try to settle a little. Incredibly busy summer for Alex, mixing the

:50:03.:50:10.

bike and the running with great success, fabulous 2016. Recently

:50:11.:50:18.

named at the sports aid foundation awards for the one to watch from the

:50:19.:50:23.

future and got his award from Mo Farah.

:50:24.:50:27.

Going to be a bit of a tug-of-war between athletics and triathlon for

:50:28.:50:33.

his talents, for the time being managing to juggle them both very

:50:34.:50:40.

well. And he's been pushed and tripped, as we were talking about

:50:41.:50:46.

him and knocked again. Her lad! I hope we get a replay. Watch here.

:50:47.:50:52.

You go. Just got clipped by the Turk. And gets head again. As he is

:50:53.:50:58.

coming up, the Irish guy ran into him and put his knee into his

:50:59.:51:02.

backside and sent him headfirst down. We'll have knocked the wind

:51:03.:51:05.

out of him but hopefully not injuring him. We could do with some

:51:06.:51:11.

of the other guys getting to the front and trying to slow it down.

:51:12.:51:17.

They might have seen the team standings, very tight, four points

:51:18.:51:19.

separating France, Spain, Great Britain. Chiappinelli had a disaster

:51:20.:51:28.

in this race last year. A bad run but look at this. Muhammad Muhammad,

:51:29.:51:37.

about half way round deep and ultimate lap, when they complete

:51:38.:51:42.

this they will have another lap to go but look at Muhammad, is he

:51:43.:51:49.

closing the gap? He might be. Certainly increasing the gap hugely

:51:50.:51:59.

on the chasers behind him. We know Ingebrigsten will be a huge

:52:00.:52:05.

challenge. Still a fair bit of running to go. Japan-mac the in the

:52:06.:52:11.

lead, Muhammad in second place for Great Britain. -- Chiappinelli.

:52:12.:52:19.

Look at Ingebrigsten, 16 years old, from Norway, leading and his lead is

:52:20.:52:28.

growing. Powerful running. He led early on and he let Chiappinelli get

:52:29.:52:36.

away. The battle for sober and bronze is not over, Muhammad sensing

:52:37.:52:40.

he has a chance if he could raise a little bit of a sprint but here is

:52:41.:52:45.

the winner. -- battle for silver. The track specialist winning in the

:52:46.:52:51.

country, great performance. Chiappinelli, the prerace favourite

:52:52.:52:56.

taking the silver medal for Italy, a well-deserved bronze for Muhammad

:52:57.:53:02.

hammered. Great performance. -- Muhammad Muhammad.

:53:03.:53:06.

This is beginning to look like success for France in the team race,

:53:07.:53:16.

going to be tight. Alex Ye after having that unfortunate fall, not

:53:17.:53:17.

the race he wanted. Ingebrigsten, the winner, very

:53:18.:53:25.

tired, great performance from him. For Alex Ye, a case of what might

:53:26.:53:41.

have been after about four, finishing 11th. France winning the

:53:42.:53:44.

team race. Pretty comfortably. Another hugely successful day and

:53:45.:53:59.

Paula, no individual old medals, turkey did beat us this time, we are

:54:00.:54:04.

not top of the medal table at overall, fought were your thoughts?

:54:05.:54:09.

Pretty good day. Very good day, the highlight for me was seeing the

:54:10.:54:13.

senior men's team step up, when the championships and the manner in

:54:14.:54:17.

which they did it, Callum and Andy Butchart to get to the Turkish

:54:18.:54:22.

Kenyan is but they weren't intimidated. Not afraid to go out

:54:23.:54:27.

and give it their best. To try and beat them. That was the biggest

:54:28.:54:33.

takeaway, great to see Jessica Judd coming back, Steph Twell coming back

:54:34.:54:41.

and making her mark. But building forward, the encouraging thing was

:54:42.:54:43.

the consolidation and strength and depth on the men's side. On the

:54:44.:54:49.

wider context, in commentary be mentioned one of the issues that

:54:50.:54:54.

sport is facing but in cross country, the transfer of allegiance

:54:55.:54:57.

issue is one that will not go away and we saw it in evidence today. And

:54:58.:55:01.

that's something that needs to be looked at. It was key the IAAF got

:55:02.:55:06.

the reform process through last week to get the integrity unit

:55:07.:55:09.

established and working because one of the things they'll look at is the

:55:10.:55:13.

transfer of allegiance, to make sure we make things clear by people

:55:14.:55:18.

trying to spectate and watch and not have people jumping around with no

:55:19.:55:21.

real clear allegiance to the country. You mentioned the week that

:55:22.:55:26.

the IAAF went through the reform process or started it. How important

:55:27.:55:31.

was this week, you mentioned the integrity unit, new kind of

:55:32.:55:36.

governance rules that have been agreed, what is that going to mean

:55:37.:55:42.

for the sport? It was vital that we got the reforms through. Had they

:55:43.:55:45.

not, I think it would have been the final nail in the Coughlan for

:55:46.:55:50.

athletics moving forward. It needed to re-establish itself and establish

:55:51.:56:01.

its credibility. -- coffin. The executive board, the fact that

:56:02.:56:05.

things can be passed quicker, the integrity unit will take in-house,

:56:06.:56:09.

deal with sanctions and won't have the delays that we've seen. Just go

:56:10.:56:14.

a huge step forward in restoring athletes confidence that they are

:56:15.:56:17.

being looked after number one in this sport cos they are the number

:56:18.:56:23.

one and the IAAF as a federation should be looking after the rights

:56:24.:56:27.

of the athletes, primarily. Part of the process is the attitude to anti

:56:28.:56:31.

doping. The McLaren report, the second part of that this week, more

:56:32.:56:39.

damning evidence around Russia and what it's been doing in athletics

:56:40.:56:43.

and other sports. This stands the IAAF took a year ago, looks as if

:56:44.:56:49.

comparative of the IOC did, they now, I guess, can stand and say at

:56:50.:56:56.

least we made that stands. I think it vindicated the stands that

:56:57.:57:01.

athletics took and has shown with the mass of evidence, nothing new

:57:02.:57:04.

came out of the report, it was more the amounts of evidence and the

:57:05.:57:08.

scale of deception and fraud committed, I think that underlined

:57:09.:57:14.

the weakness of the position of the IOC last year and puts the onus on

:57:15.:57:18.

them, in order to restore credibility to the Olympic movement

:57:19.:57:21.

they have to make huge decisions going forward, in my opinion, any

:57:22.:57:25.

sporting championships shouldn't be going near Russia until they can

:57:26.:57:29.

prove they have turned things around. There are other countries

:57:30.:57:33.

that need to be looked at. A year of turmoil in athletics as well as in

:57:34.:57:37.

the wider sporting context but some good things for 2016. Yes, some good

:57:38.:57:44.

things that happened, the continuation, if you like, of the

:57:45.:57:50.

documents of Mo Farah and Usain Bolt in distance events but we saw new

:57:51.:57:54.

faces in the heptathlete, Laura Muir breaking through with world leading

:57:55.:58:00.

performances. All of that is good. Today, Andrew Butchart continuing

:58:01.:58:04.

bad step forward, Callum Hawkins, exciting for the future and looking

:58:05.:58:09.

to next year, sell-out stadiums in London, hopefully we'll have packed

:58:10.:58:13.

stadiums every day for morning and evening sessions and will talk about

:58:14.:58:18.

the arena instead of what's happening in the bureaucracy around

:58:19.:58:23.

it. As Paula said we can look forward to 2017 but this is the end

:58:24.:58:28.

of coverage for 2016. An awful lot to think about, remember, good and

:58:29.:58:32.

bad. That is the end of the coverage was of the European Cross country

:58:33.:58:37.

Championships. See you in 2017, lots to look forward to. From Paula and

:58:38.:58:41.

by self, goodbye and Merry Christmas!

:58:42.:58:44.

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