Dublin, IRL, European Cross Country, U20 Women’s 4K, December 12, 2021—Megan Keith of Great Britain (Inverness, Scotland) and a student at Edinburgh University, brought home the gold with a three-second victory. Keith’s winning time was 13:41 for the 4000-meter race.
After the race Keith said, “I feel incredible – I am in shock – I feel amazing . . . I don’t know what has just happened. I am really happy. I loved the track – I am from Scotland – so what I am used to with the hills. I knew this would play in my favour, so I tried to capitalise on that, and it might help me, so I am so happy. My crazy dream was to be on a path that I might be in the mix for a medal, but didn’t think I could win the whole thing. It is mental!”
Ingeborg Ostgard of Norway earned the silver in 13:44, in the closest race of the day. Ostgard: “I’m very happy with the result. The track was tough and slippery at times, but it was okay. I didn’t have a goal, but I realised early on I was capable of getting a medal, so I’m really happy with that today!”
Emma Heckel of Germany was third in 13:46, and led Germany to win the team title. Heckel’s teammates also performed well: Anneke Vortmeier was fifth, Mia Jurenka was seventh, and Johanna Pulte was ninth.
Heckel’s comments: “It was a really hard race, but also good that it was competitive because that helps you fight until the end. To be honest, I didn’t think I would have been able to finish before the other two girls – maybe if I hadn’t taken the lead in the middle of the race, I could have saved some energy, and it would have been a different result. I gave it everything I could though. It was really hard to estimate how the other girls were going to perform, and I am pleased to have secured a medal. My main goal was to win a medal with the team.”
Ilona Mononen of Finland was fourth in 13:49. Vortmeier was also clocked at 13:49 in her 5th place.
The team standings: Germany took gold, Spain earned silver, and Great Britain & Northern Ireland got the bronze.
Eligibility for U20 is determined by birthyear (2002 or later), not by birthday.
Top Individual Results
- 13:41 Megan Keith, Great Britain & Northern Ireland
- 13:44 Ingeborg Ostgard, Norway
- 13:46 Emma Heckel, Germany
- 13:49 Ilona Mononen, Finland
- 13:49 Anneke Vortmeier, Germany
- 13:51 Mireya Arnedillo, Spain
- 13:52 Mia Jurenka, Germany
- 13:52 Angela Viciosa, Spain
- 13:52 Johanna Pulte, Germany
- 13:56 Livia Wespe, Switzerland
- 13:58 Emmy Van Den Berg, Netherlands
- 14:02 Laure Bertrand, France
- 14:02 Maria Forero, Spain
- 14:02 Ellen Weir, Great Britain & Northern Ireland
- 14:02 Sofia Thogersen, Denmark
- 14:02 Ilaria Bruno, Italy
- 14:03 Phoebe Anderson, Great Britain & Northern Ireland
- 14:03 Camille Place, France
- 14:03 Marta Serrano, Spain
- 14:04 Madalina Elena Sirbu, Romania
- 14:04 Amina Maatoug, Netherlands
- 14:06 Anne Knijnenburg, Netherlands
- 14:07 Aoife McGreevy, Ireland
- 14:07 Emma McEvoy, Ireland
- 14:08 Giulia Marangon, Italy
- 14:11 Margot Dajoux, France
- 14:13 Jade LeCorre, France
- 14:13 Greta Varga, Hungary
- 14:14 Anna Marie Sirevag, Norway
- 14:15 Jane Buckley, Ireland
Categories: Race Coverage
Runner's Gazette 
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