Inverness athlete Megan Keith claimed a silver medal for Great Britain in the women’s under-23s race at the European Cross Country Championships.
The 20-year-old, who is a student at Edinburgh University, finished the race in Turin in 20.08 minutes – 13 seconds behind Italian winner Nadia Battocletti.
Keith, who won the U20s European title last year, only stepped up to the U23 level this year and was one of the youngest runners in her field.
Speaking after the race, Keith said: “Nadia came sixth in the Olympics, so it’s definitely a step up in competition but I’m happy with how I handled it today.
“To get silver, is my gold medal. I knew that she (Nadia Battocletti) was on another level. So, I knew that even on my best day – unless something went wrong with her, that she was going to win it.
“To come second was my goal, so I’m happy.”
Two more podium finishes in the women's U23 race 🤝
🥈 for Megan Keith
🥉 for Alexandra Millard#WhereItStarts #Piemonte2022 pic.twitter.com/ZV6iDzy5iZ— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) December 11, 2022
Keith’s silver medal helped Great Britain secure team gold, as her teammates also recorded impressive results as they finished in third, fifth, 11th, 13th and 18th.
She added: “We’ll get to sing our new national anthem so we’re happy about that. We have ten points, so if any team did better than that then they deserve the gold.
“But we’re happy to have it.”
The Inverness runner is unsure of her next steps in the winter season, but plans to enjoy a well-deserved rest over the festive season.
Keith said: “I need to speak to my coach about racing indoors, but I’m quite enjoying cross country – I feel like a mix of both is going to be the plan.
“I’ll have a rest over Christmas but we’ll see.”
