Bydgoszcz beckons for Australian cross country team
The team is headed by Australian 10000m record holder Collis Birmingham and former world cross country champion Benita Willis, who took out the selection trial on the weekend. Australia will field a team in the open men's and women's event, as well as the junior men's event, whilst two competitors will compete in the junior women's race.Making their senior international debut in the green and gold is Sudanese born Duer Yoa, who represented Australia two years ago in the junior race, and national cross country champion Clint Perrett, who placed second in the trial behind Birmingham. Rounding out the men's team are the consistent Liam Adams and world half marathon representative Jeff Hunt.
A full team of six will contest the women's race with the goal of claiming a teams medal. National 10000m champion Eloise Wellings was selected despite a relatively ordinary sixth place run at the selection trial and is joined by the five athletes who finished ahead of her at Brimbank Park. Tamara Carvolth, 19, was rewarded for a determined finish at the trials, where she passed Wellings in the final 100m, and will make her senior debut after having represented Australia at the junior level in the past two editions of the world cross country championships. Likewise, Nikki Chapple will make her senior international debut, having last represented Australia in a championship 12 years ago in the junior race at the world cross country and at the world junior championships.
Victoria's Anna Thompson and NSWs Lara Tamsett round out what is a strong team.
In the junior men's, NSWs Kevin Batt and David Ricketts will team up with Ethan Heywood and Joshua Tedesco, whilst trial winner Demi Wood and national junior cross country champion Grace Thek will compete as individuals in the junior women's race.National high performance manager Eric Hollingsworth said the strength of the team selected to contest the world cross country was testament to the current status of Australian distance running.
"Results from the weekend?s selection trials at Brimbank Park highlight the current strength of distance running in Australia and provide the perfect framework for the selection of the team," Hollingsworth said.
"The quality of performances at the weekend resulted in the selectors using the trial as the main basis for selection and I think this decision was the right one."
The world cross country championships will be held on Sunday, 28 March in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
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