On 14 December 2014, the British duo staged an unforgettable match in Bulgaria, with Gemma Steel emerging victorious.
This month marks a decade since the thrilling battle between two British athletes took place in Samokov, Bulgaria.In the senior women’s race, Gemma Steele and Kate Avery were in intense competition, each sprinting to the line.
The pair raced side-by-side for most of the 6km race, never able to break away, but it was Steele who would win the battle and emerge victorious, lifting his 2011 bronze medal and 2013 silver medal.
Although only one runner could claim the individual title, the British team still had plenty to celebrate. Steele and Avery were able to share victory in the team race as they took the title by more than 50 points thanks to their teammates.
Steph Twell and Lily Partridge finished seventh and 11th respectively, while Sonya Samuels and Elle Vernon both finished in the top 20 to round off a dominant team performance.
Gemma Steel (Mark Shearman)
It has sunk AW archive provides an additional look at what happened on the day as we reported;Gemma Steele became Britain the first adult women in Europe after champion Hayley Yelling in 2009, slightly surpassing teammate Kate Avery is next remarkable race.
“Steel had a controversial start as the favorite for senior in the women’s race, winning British Test and finished third and then second on his last two the speeches are European Cross country championship.
“But Avery was more unknown amount though winning high last monthquality NCAA championships The United States.
AW archive 2014
“The two Britons were neck and neck neck out of their own front for the last two and a half laps (3 km), each testing the other but can’t confirm daylight then it was down to a sprint finish at the end of an exciting fight with Steel has plenty of time to celebrate his hands.
“Both have been officially granted at the same time but a real margin it was two tenths of a second. The duo was in 25 seconds in front of the bronze medalist, Meraf Bahtan of Sweden, i European champion 5000 m. who moved from Eritrea 2009″.
Since that remarkable race, Steel has gone on to compete in cross-country and road events, including a recent 18th place finish at the Euro Cross Trials in Liverpool and victory at the Great North 10km in September.
Kate Avery (Mark Shearman)
Meanwhile, Avery won another silver medal at the championships in 2015, but moved away from traditional track and cross-country to focus on ultra running, where he secured multiple podiums.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, you can find our original coverage from the day and our full European Cross coverage Athletics Weekly Archive.
(From the first issue in December 1945 to the present, current subscribers to our magazine can access this resource for free, while non-subscribers can pay just £399 a month.full access.
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