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Morpeth Harriers Scott Beattie and Rory Leonard had the distinction of competing for Great Britain in the European Cross Country Championships held in Lagoa, Portugal on a sunny Sunday morning, with Scott most unfortunate to miss out on an individual medal by the tightest of margins.
On a five lap, short 7.5 kilometre course – and a course some 3.5k shorter and markedly different in character from that on which the North East Cross Country Championships were held the day before – both athletes showed that they belonged win this illustrious company, which included World Athletics 10,000m Gold medallist Frenchman Jimmy Gressier, and were soon showing near the front of the race. With Gressier and eventual winner Spaniard Thierry Ndikumwenayo pushing ahead on the last lap, Scott was left with a battle for a Bronze medal with Swiss athlete Dominic Lobalu in which the lead changed hands several times as the runners twisted and turned back and forth on a course he later described as being ‘pretty impossible to get into any sort of rhythm’ on. Falling across the line neck and neck, Scott was credited with exactly the same time as the Swiss, but lost by the thickness of a vest in the photo finish. The understandably disappointed Morpeth Harrier did later comment however: ‘I gave it everything I had and ran the race I thought I should. It is validation to me that I can compete at this level and get it done on the day and hopefully that can translate next year.’ Meanwhile teammate and training partner Rory Leonard also ran well, finishing in 17th place and second counter for a GB team who sadly finished just out of the team medals in fourth behind winners Spain, Ireland and France. Comments are closed.
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May 2026
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