Euro Cross under-23 fourth-placer wants to emulate junior performances as he competes as a senior athlete at the World Cross for the first time

Jonny Hay has been named captain of the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team for Saturday’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China.

The three-time GB junior World Cross representative hopes to emulate his performances as an under-20 at this event as he moves up to compete in Guiyang as a senior.

“I’ve been put in this team to be top 30 and that s exactly what I want to go out and do,” said the 23-year-old, who finished fourth in the under-23 race at December’s European Cross Country Championships in Bulgaria. “(Chris) Derrick the American came 10th last World Cross and if I can come anywhere near that I would have had an outstanding run.

“I was the fifth non-African and first European as a junior, so if I could emulate that in my transition to the senior team, I d be extremely happy.”

On being named captain of the GB team, in which of the 17 athletes only one, Gemma Steel, is aged over 23, Hay added: “I m pretty proud it s a big honour to be team captain at any event, but to be it at the World Cross is amazing.

“It shows how young the team is, but as a group we re looking really strong and everyone has earned their position to be here.

“There is a lot of talent and hopefully we ll go out there perform at our best and nail it on the day.”

British Athletics’ head of endurance Barry Fudge commented: “Jonny has shown in the last week his true leadership qualities in supporting the team in Guiyang and that has contributed to a really positive environment.

“Despite the team being relatively young in age and experience, they have equipped themselves well with the travel and change of culture.

“Tomorrow will be a big test for the group, but it will undoubtedly be an experience that will bode well for future international competitions.”

A World Cross preview can be found online here, while the March 26 edition of AW magazine includes a more in-depth look ahead to the action

The post Jonny Hay to captain GB World Cross team in Guiyang appeared first on Athletics Weekly.