GOLD FOR DUGDALE & BRONZE FOR WILLIAMS AS GB & NI WIN FOUR MEDALS IN ARGENTINA

Joe Dugdale (Copeland) and Phillipa Williams (Sheffield RC) claimed individual gold and bronze respectively as the British team collected four medals on the first day of the World Mountain Running Championships in Villa La Angostura, Argentina.

With the classic races schedules for day one, Dugdale kicked the British team off in style with a superb victory in the junior men’s event, adding the world title to his European crown from earlier in the year, while Williams, on her British debut, rounded off the day with a fine bronze in the senior women’s event.

Individual success for Dugdale and Williams also turned into team glory as the junior men, which included Matthew Mackay (Steve Duxbury; Rossendale) and British debutants Matthew Knowles (Lancaster & Morecambe) and Joe Hudson (Alan Buckley; Keighley & Craven), combined for gold.

Like Dugdale, Williams’ second medal was the same colour too as the senior women’s team of her Emmie Collinge (Alta Valtellina), Sarah Tunstall (Kendal) and Heidi Davies (U.S Malonno) contributed to win bronze.

The junior men’s race kicked off the 2019 edition of the World Mountain Running Championships in picturesque yet wet Villa La Angostura and Dugdale handled the conditions well as he came out on top in a time of 32:44.

It was a four-way battle for the medals and Mackay just missed out as he placed fourth in 32:58, six seconds off bronze, while Knowles was just three seconds further behind in fifth. Hudson placed 12th with the team collecting gold to get the British team off to a fine start.

The senior women bookended a great day as Williams made sure no one was going to get in the way of her charge for a medal. With the front two more than a minute ahead, Williams stuck at it to take bronze in 1:16:45, a full 68-second cushion to fourth.

The battle for the top ten was much tighter though with European champion from 2016 Collinge claiming ninth place in 1:19:03, less than a minute away from fifth, while Tunstall – a world bronze medallist herself in 2017 – was 19th in 1:21:48 and Davies was 25th in 1:22:35 – the British team combining for bronze to cap off a great day.

In between there were fine top-20 finishes in the junior women’s race with debutante Eden O’Dea (Deeside) placing 14th in 40:12 and Eve Pannone (Derek Hurton; Eden Runners) just two places back in 16th in 40:58.

There were also top-ten finishes in the senior men’s race as World Cup champion Andrew Douglas (Sophie Dunnett; Inverclyde) placed seventh with reigning European champion Jacob Adkin (Robbie Simpson; Keswick) one place behind. Joe Steward (Harry Kelly; East Cheshire) completed the course in 27th with the team ending fifth overall.

Seven British athletes will compete in the long distance events on day two, led by reigning world champions Charlotte Morgan (Carnethy) and Jonathan Albon.