By Owen Morgan

All eight Welsh athletes taking part in Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships returned home with a medal as Great Britain claimed a gold, four silvers and a bronze.

Leading the way for Wales’ representatives was Cari Hughes, who was part of the Great Britain women’s under-20 gold medal winning team.

The Swansea Harrier finished 13th individually in 14 mins 10 secs over the sodden 4,300m course which was a mixture of cloying mud and sand for large sections of the Beekse Bergen Safari Park venue in Tilburg, Netherlands.

Hughes, who had won the Great Britain selection trial in Liverpool two weeks ago said: “I wasn’t too happy with my race today, but the team won and I am just really happy for everyone as everyone performed amazingly.

“That course isn’t going to suit everyone – it didn’t suit me – but that’s what you have to deal with when you come to championships, you just have to deal with what you are given.

“It was fast from the start, really fast, and you just have to dig in. We all did really great – I am proud of everyone.”

It was Hughes’ second European Cross Country Championship gold medal having been part of the Great Britain under-20 team in Slovakia last year.

The victorious British team this time around was led home by Amelia Quirk, who finished 5th in 13:57, just 11 seconds behind the individual champion Nadia Battocletti, of Italy. The remainder of the British team was Khahisa Mhlanga (7th), Grace Brock (11th), Anna MacFayden (20th) and Tiffany Penfold (36th).

The highest individually placed British athlete of the day was Wales’ Jake Heyward, who finished fourth in the men’s under-20 race in a time of 18:16 over a 6,300m course.

The Cardiff AAC athlete had been hoping for an individual medal as he went up against Norway’s teenage sensation Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who eventually took gold in 18:00.

Hayward, however, had to settle for leading Great Britain to a team silver medal behind Ingebrigtsen’s Norway.

The 19-year-old, who was hampered by illness at last year’s event, said afterwards: “Obviously it is really difficult missing out yet again, but, at the same time, I am a track runner.

“It was a proper cross country course this time – the European Champs in the past have been fast and suited to long distance runners.

“It was good to be able to come to the European Cross Country and show that I have got that strength. It wasn’t quite enough today, but I dug in deep for the team and I am glad we could come away with the team silver.”

Another Welsh runner, Matt Willis, contributed to the Under-20 team silver medal by finishing 14th individually in a time of 18:49.

The Wrexham AC athlete, who is also an outstanding triathlete, said: “It was a tough course, it was really wet and muddy, but I think, as a team, we held together quite strong and we sort of bounced off each other mid race to get ourselves up the pack and I think we utilised that quite well.”

There was another Welsh inspired team silver in the women’s senior race, where Charlotte Arter and Melissa Courtney were the first two British athletes home.

Arter finished seventh, covering the 8,300m course in 26:57, while Courtney was just behind in 26:59.

Cardiff AAC’s Arter was delighted with the team silver behind the Dutch host team: “Great Britain have always had great success at these championships as a team, so you always want to get on the podium.

“Obviously, we are always striving for that gold medal, but silver as a team, in what I think is a really strong competition, I am really happy with that.

​”That start was relentless – I got left for dust at the beginning. I had to have faith that I would get better as the race went on and as I got into my rhythm and I just had to have faith that I could close the gap because I was well off the front lot.

“It took a good two laps to get into my rhythm and then the last two laps there was a really good group of GB girls working together and that really helped me over the final two laps. A tough course, but really happy to be the first Briton.”

Courtney, who won a Commonwealth Games bronze medal for Wales over 1500m on the track earlier this year, said: “I got a really bad start and being a track specialist I normally go off quite hard but I felt like I was 50th about 100 metres in and I just couldn’t get through people, so I panicked a little bit.

“I tried to weave in and out and get to near the front of the pack without using too much energy and then when I got there I thought ‘I feel quite easy now’, but, obviously, those girls had already been there for a lap already and they were about to step up another gear and I thought ‘oh no’.

“I just needed to be in that group, I wanted to be there and be in the mix. I am competitive with these girls on the track, so I thought why not put myself into that position and see what happens. It’s a big step up from doing a mile last year (in the mixed relay) to doing five miles today, but I really enjoyed it.

“I have wanted to be part of these cross country teams ever since I was a junior and it is the first one I have done, so I am really happy to be on the team and amongst these girls. It’s really special.”

There was a further Welsh connection in the women’s team through English athlete Verity Ockenden, who runs for Swansea Harriers and finished 20th in 27:30.

Ockenden said: “I am just really glad the other girls managed to pull through ahead of me. Even though I didn’t have my best race, I didn’t affect it too badly for them, thankfully, but it wasn’t what I wanted out of it.

“I just didn’t have a good day, but I am thrilled for them and hearing their names on the speaker while I was running really kept me going and I knew I just had to keep on fighting and try and help them out as best as I could.

“I am the one newbie to this on the senior team, they have all taken me under their wing and it has been really comforting having them around, guiding me through every step. Hopefully, next time if I make the team, I will know what I am doing a bit more. Maybe next time I won’t be as nervous.”

Another Swansea Harrier, Kris Jones, who had been called up at short notice in the week prior to the event, produced an excellent performance to help Great Britain seal their third team silver medal of the day behind Turkey in the men’s senior race.

Jones, who is also a world-class competitor at orienteering and represented Wales at October’s Commonwealth Half Marathon in Cardiff, was the second Brit home behind Marc Scott, as he finished 12th in a time of 29:28 over the 10,300m course.

He said after the race: “I just tried to keep it steady at the start, try not to do too many accelerations out of the corners. I tried to save myself as much as possible. I got on the back of Marc [Scott] and Dewi [Griffiths] about halfway and I thought this is on.

“I passed Ross [Millington] and Nick [Goolab] so I thought ‘right, I am in a team spot here, you have got to press on’. I started to feel it with a couple of kilometres to go and I just tried to be efficient as possible.”

Finishing just three seconds and one place behind Jones was his Swansea team-mate Dewi Griffiths, who was happy to get around in one piece after suffering an injury during last year’s event.

Supersub @Thekrisjones comes in 2nd Brit in 12th, just ahead of @dewigriff10k 13th, and a strong run from Charlie Hulson to finish 17th @Euro_Cross #MuddyBrilliant

— Welsh Athletics (@WelshAthletics) December 9, 2018

Griffiths, the six-time Welsh cross country champion said: “I tore my hamstring in this race last year, so at least I got through it this time!

“It’s been a long time coming back – the aim was to prove to myself that I can be competitive again at this kind of level. I am so close, I nearly got on the back of that first group.

“I needed half a lap to recover, but they just went and I couldn’t go with it and from then on it’s about survival. I showed I was as fit as anyone, I didn’t lose much ground, I just couldn’t get on the back of it.

“I think I helped the boys out because they had a target and Kris [Jones] and Marc [Scott] came through. For me personally, it is just nice to be back at this level and hopefully build on it for next year.”

The third Welsh runner home for the Great Britain senior team was Liverpool Harrier Charlie Hulson, who finished 17th in 29:43.

The winner of the Cardiff leg of the British Cross Challenge earlier this year said of the race: “It was savage. There was no rhythm, it was sprinting the whole way.

“I managed to work through and gain a lot of places, but Kristian, Scott and Dewi ran really well.

“I am really pleased to have won team silver. It has been a bit up and down for me this season, but I am starting to find my legs again. Hopefully, this will strengthen me and I will go on from here.”

Great Britain also won a team bronze in the Women’s Under-23 event and a team silver in Men’s under-23 race. The team narrowly missed out on a medal in the mixed relay, finishing fourth behind winners Spain in a time of 16:24.

The British team’s six-medal haul saw them finish fourth behind Norway, France and Turkey in the overall medal table.