A busy weekend of success for Stratford's rising star Alex Adams

RISING star Alex Adams put himself in contention for honours after claiming his first British Athletics Cross Challenge Series medal in Scotland on Saturday.

It proved to be a successful weekend for the 17-year-old international athlete who then flew back from Perth to take victory in the latest cross-country league fixture at Nuneaton on Sunday.

The Cross Challenge Series pits the best cross-country runners in the UK against each other over five events.

Adams, pictured, had missed the first event in Cardiff due to injury but since then he has improved in each of the following three races.

After finishing tenth and then sixth in Milton Keynes and Liverpool respectively in November, Adams finished on the podium in the fourth round at Perth, taking the silver medal in a time of 19:46 and was just eight seconds off the race winner.

“The pace was quick, as expected, so the field was very strung out early on but I got into a small group six or seven places from the front,” said Adams.

“I kept working until the second lap where I pushed on to catch the runners in front of me. I caught them up on the hill on the last lap and pushed on knowing I had a medal but not wanting to settle for bronze.

“I took silver as I came into the home straight. It was a very tough course and the legs felt it, but I knew I had to dig deep and hurt more than the others.

“I’m really happy to get my first Cross Challenge medal and put myself in contention for the series. I hope the good form continues further into 2023 and that I can finish the season strong.”

An athletes’ best two performances plus bonus points will be carried into the final at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough, on Saturday, 11th March.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend, Adams then flew back to England to compete for Stratford AC in the latest West Midlands Young Athletes’ Cross-Country League round at the Pingles Stadium in Nuneaton, winning the U17 men’s race in 16:09.