FOUR-TIME EURO CROSS MEDALLIST HICKEY NAMED BRITISH TEAM CAPTAIN FOR 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP

Quadruple European Cross Country medallist Adam Hickey (coach: Eamonn Martin; club: Southend) has been named the British team captain for Sunday’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon, Portugal.

Hickey makes his return to the British team for a European Cross Country Championship for the first time since 2015, where he formed part of Great Britain team that took team bronze in the senior men’s race in Toulon, France.

He remains the youngest British man to win a medal at these championships following his team bronze medal in 2004 in Heringsdorf, Germany, with his best finish at the championships coming in 2014, where he came ninth in Samakov, Bulgaria.

After a near four-year absence, Hickey earned his first British vest in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, finishing as the third scorer for the senior men’s team as they took ninth place in the team standings.

Following the announcement, Hickey said: “I’m incredibly proud to be named captain of the British team for the championships and it is an honour that I don’t take lightly.

“This will be my first European Cross Country Championships since 2015 and I’m looking forward to getting back out there and testing myself against the best runners on the continent.

“The European Cross Country championships has been one where the British team has excelled in the past and I hope that I can play a small part in leading this strong team to even more success in Lisbon.”