Alex Millard named captain for the Novuna GB & NI team at the World Cross Country Champs – UK Athletics

Alex Millard (coach:Mark Coogan, club: Invicta East Kent) will lead the Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland (GB & NI) team out at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday 10th January.

The Kent-born athlete was part of the bronze-medal-winning team in Serbia and the sixth-place team in Australia. Alex is part of the mixed relay team, alongside fellow 2024 medallist Adam Fogg (Cory Lesle, Coventry), USA-based Georgie Couttie (Ben Thomas, Harrogate) and India Weir (Andrew Hobdell, Cambridge), who will make her senior debut.

“I’m very excited to be named captain for the GB team at the World Cross Country Champs. It’s an honour, and I’m ready to go out there and fight for another world medal.”

“I love cross country – it’s just pure racing and I like how the relay is pretty straightforward; it’s just a 2K of hard effort. Running for a team is always special. It feels like a bit of a celebration of the sport.”

As tradition dictates, she will deliver a team captain’s speech on the eve of the competition. She touched on what she hopes to part on the team; “Be confident and take it all in. Touching on the fact that you’re a world championships and never take a GB vest for granted.

“We’re in the USA and they’re going to put on a show. So let’s get out there, enjoy it and put on a show for everyone.

“The course should make for great racing, with some fun Florida elements to contend with!”

A full squad of 20 athletes will take to the course at Apalachee Regional Park, which features a water section, wooden alligator-shaped logs, and a beach-themed sandpit, inspired by Florida’s landscape. The senior races are 10k; the junior races are 8k for men and 6k for women. 

Megan Keith (Ross Cairns, Inverness), fresh from winning the European Cross Country silver medal last month, is joined by fellow European XC team-mates Phoebe Anderson (Laurie Henes, Herne Hill), Verity Ockenden (Swansea) and Poppy Tank (City of Plymouth) to complete the senior women’s quartet.

In the senior men’s squad, Rory Leonard (Andrew Hobdell, Morpeth) and Matthew Ramsden (Edmund Finucane, Blackburn) will make their senior World GB debuts on Saturday. Jacob Cann (Western Tempo) and David Mullarkey (Andrew Henerson, Leeds City), a double World University medallist based in the States, complete the team.

You can watch all the action on BBC iPlayer or the BBC Sport website on Saturday from 14:35 to 19:00 GMT. For more information regarding the event can be found here. 

Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the World Cross Country in Tallahassee, Florida;

Senior Women

Phoebe Anderson (Laurie Henes, Herne Hill)

Megan Keith (Ross Cairns, Inverness)

Verity Ockenden (Swansea)

Poppy Tank (City of Plymouth)

Senior Men

Jacob Cann (Western Tempo)

Rory Leonard (Andrew Hobdell, Morpeth)

David Mullarkey (Andrew Henerson, Leeds City)

Matthew Ramsden (Edmund Finucane, Blackburn)*

Mixed Relay

George Couttie (Ben Thomas, Harrogate)*

India Weir (Andrew Hobdell, Cambridge)*

Adam Fogg (Cory Leslie, Coventry)

Alex Millard (Mark Coogan, Invicta East Kent)

Junior Women

Maisey Bellwood (Keighley & Craven)

Eliza Nicholson (Joe Franklin, Blackheath & Bromley)

Zara Redmond (Sarah Dempsey, Kilbarchan)

Kitty Scott (Mick Woods, Aldershot, Farnham & District)

Junior Men

Michael Clark (Jane Clark, City of Norwich)

Luke Dunham (Andrew Hobdell, Herts Phoenix)

Jonson Hughes (Andrew Henderson, Rotherham)

Alex Lennon (Nick Hancock, Sutton & District)

*those making there senior international debut

Source: UK Athletics