Megan Keith went into the European Cross-Country Championships in Brussels as heavy favourite to win gold in the under-23 race and the 21-year-old from Inverness delivered in style, becoming champion in record-breaking fashion.
It was clear from the opening strides that Keith wanted to stamp her authority on the race, with the British senior champion taking the lead in the early stages and never relinquishing it, ultimately obliterating the field over the 7km long course.
Previously, the largest winning margin ever in any event at the European XC Championships had been 39 seconds but Keith broke that record emphatically, crossing the line 1 minute 23 seconds clear of second-placed Ilona Mononen of Finland.
Keith’s gold medal, which was her second European XC title of her career having won European U20 XC gold in 2021, capped off an almost perfect year which also saw her become European U23 5000m champion as well as make her senior GB debut on the track, with that coming in the 5000m at the World Championships in Budapest.
Keith had arrived in Brussels with considerable expectation upon her shoulders but she was entirely unaffected by the pressure and in fact, had amassed such a lead by the final lap, was even able to high five some spectators as she closed in on the finish line.
“I was just trying to focus on the job in hand – I was trying to work each lap the best I could and stay on two feet so I was happy to follow through on the expectations,” she said of her dominant win.
“Going into the last lap, disasters aside, I knew I’d built a big enough margin that meant I could enjoy it. I was still working hard and trying to keep my momentum but it was fun being able to enjoy it with all the supporters on the course.”
Keith picked up a second gold medal for the weekend, with GB’s U23 squad becoming team champions.
Keith’s fellow Scots all performed admirably in Brussels too, with Eloise Walker in 15th and Lynn McKenna in 35th in the women's U23 race alongside Keith while on the men’s side, Angus McMillan was 38th in the senior race and Andrew McGill was 22nd in the U20 race, picking up team silver.
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