Kilbarchan AAC athlete selected for Junior European Championships
Craig Ritchie
Kilbarchan AAC’s Jemma Reekie has, once again, been named in the second wave of selections for the upcoming Junior European Championships.
Consisting of 23 additions, these selections strengthen the squad to 55 on the back of the 32 automatic selections announced three weeks ago following the official trials in Bedford.
The Habbie has been in fine form over the course of the season and has been named in a number of international squads, and will now participate in two events.
Amelia Quirk’s form this year sees her accompany Reekie, coached by Andy Young, and Harriet- Knowles Jones in the 1500m.
Meanwhile, James Gormley leads the trio of male selections for the men’s equivalent following a huge lifetime best in Watford last month.
Selected for the 1500m in wave one, Reekie is now also confirmed to contest the 3000m at the championships.
Having already named on the team in the first wave of selections was Europe’s top ranked junior in the 100m hurdles, Alicia Barrett, who has lowered the British junior record by a significant six hundredths of a second to 13.07 this year.
A British Athletics spokesman said: “Another athlete ranked number one in Europe is 800m specialist Markhim Lonsdale, while Jake Norris, Alisha Rees and Niamh Emerson, all medallists at last year’s inaugural European Youth Championships, were all included during the initial selection meeting.”
British At h l e t i c s’ team manager for the championships, Jo Summers added: “We are delighted with this 55- strong team – alongside a number of medal winners and finalists from last year’s IAAF World Junior Championships and European Youth Championships – we have a crop of athletes brimming with potential following great starts to 2017.
“Following the first wave of selections, we’ve seen a number of athletes step up superbly to gain qualifying marks, and I have every faith that come the championships many of those same athletes will perform to the best of their ability while gaining invaluable championship experience.
“Two years ago the British team outdid themselves in Eskilstuna, with a number of those athletes already making the step up to the senior team in just two years.
“The class of 2015 certainly set the bar high, but we’ll hopefully we’ll see a similarly successful championship in Grosseto.”