Macfadyen strikes gold as she completes junior career

Anna Macfadyen returned home with gold from the European cross-country championships in Tilburg yesterday as the Scot signed off her junior career on a high.

The 19-year-old Highlander took 20th overall in the Under-20 event as Great Britain and Northern Ireland secured their lone team victory, finishing fourth in the overall standings. “It’s really great to be part of the team,” Macfadyen said. “It’s amazing to be here, but I just wish I could have gone a bit faster. I felt like I was just getting going towards the end – it was just so short and fast.”

The largely-unheralded British line-up took six medals in total but failed to reach an individual podium. Jake Heyward was the highest domestic finisher with fourth place in the junior men’s race to spearhead another team silver. However, his early challenge to the prodigious Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen faded as the 18-year-old, who stunned the sport by winning both the 1500m and 5000m at August’s European Championships in Berlin, powered clear.

It was the first leg of a family double that propelled Norway to top spot in the final standings with elder brother Filip taking the senior men’s crown.

However, Dundee Hawkhill Harriers’ Kris Jones made the most of his late call-up as a replacement for the injured Andy Vernon to share in a team silver in the race, finishing in 12th place overall.

Turkey’s Yasemin Can became the first three-time winner of the senior women’s title with Charlotte Arter’s seventh place leading the Brits to team silver. GB&NI’S Under-23 men also took team silvers with their female counterparts landing bronze. But Scottish prospect Jamie Williamson suffered an early slip as his mixed relay quartet came home empty-handed in fourth, 14 seconds adrift of champions Spain.