Triathlon stars take down top fields to punch World Cross Country Championship tickets

Hugo Milner cemented his spot on the Team GB squad bound for the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade with a stunning run at Parliament Hill on Saturday.

The triathlon star, who also met the qualifying criteria at the European Cross Country Championships last month, has gone from strength-to-strength over the past six months.

Across the pond, Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and Paris bound triathlete Morgan Pearson finished fourth at the US Cross Country Championships to secure his spot on the start line in Serbia.

Milner unstoppable on the mud

For Milner, who picked up his maiden World Triathlon Cup win in Miyazaki at the end of last season, yesterday’s win at the London International came off the back of a string of great results on the country.

Having won the European Cross Country Championship trials in Liverpool at the end of November, Milner narrowly missed out on a medal at the event in Brussels, finishing in fourth place.

However, his performance there met the first criteria for the World Cross Country Championships in March, which stated that the first two British athletes in the senior race would make the team, provided they also finished in the Top 12.

Doubling down in London, Milner met the second criteria which gave automatic qualification to the winner of the race in Parliament Hill, beating ultra runner Tom Evans in close race to the line.

Brave Pearson rewarded with spot on the team

In an incredibly stacked field at the US Cross Country Championship in Virginia, Pearson held his own against a number of professional runners to make the team bound for Belgrade.

Having led for much of the event, Pearson, who has already secured qualification for the Paris Olympic Games in the triathlon, just ran out of steam in the final kilometre of the 10km race.

Former University of Oregon standout and Nike sponsored athlete Cooper Teare took the win, as Anthony Rotich and Ahmed Muhumed just kicked clear of Pearson with the tape in sight.

If both Pearson and Milner choose to accept their slot on the team and go to Belgrade, it will be fascinating to see how they fare against what is usually a world class field of runners.