European Cross Country Championship: Newbury's Izzy Fry is first Great Britain athlete in U23 Women race

Izzy Fry secured a team bronze medal at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin after competing in the U23 Women race.

The 21-year-old finished in ninth place overall, but was the first Great Britain athlete across the finish line in Ireland.

It caps off what has been a very impressive year for the former Park House pupil and she explained how pleased she was with her performance.

“I feel like I executed the race plan to perfection and I don’t think I could have done much more and having the team bronze medal topped it off.”

It was a great weekend for the Newbury AC member, who praised the whole GB squad for their efforts throughout the Championships.

“It was so inspiring having lots of age groups all together as a GB team because we tend to do well at the Cross Country Championships.

“It is a great event and the support from Ireland was amazing because we got a bit of support from the Irish and it made it such a spectacular atmosphere.”

Fry was able to have friends and family in Ireland cheering her and the team on, something which has been missed throughout the last couple of years because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I had a few people come to support me and it’s always nice to see familiar faces cheering your name around the course.

“At one point it got quite overwhelming because of the noise and the cheering, but most of the time it lifts you and the adrenaline was something else.

When asked about being the first British runner across the line, she said: “I was pleased to be the first runner.

“It’s always nice knowing that you’re leading the team in, but everyone did so well.

“Every position counts and even though the first three that count for the medal, four, five and six are all about pushing the other athletes scores back from other teams.

“I am really pleased with everyone’s performances because it was a good day.”

With the competition behind Fry’s final event of the calendar year, she explained how 2021 has gone for herself.

“Overall it has been good because I made two of my main targets, the European U23 Championships in summer and then this team, so I can’t complain.

“I am happy with my Dublin performance and in the summer I learnt an incredible amount from so it’s never a bad thing.

“I have made jumps forward and hopefully I can do the same in 2022.”