Britain’s Olivia Mathias extended her fantastic Cross Country form with a podium finish in the senior women’s race in the English National Championships over the weekend.
The event was back at the iconic Parliament Hill just outside London for the first time since 2022, and Mathias went into the race having been crowned Midland Counties Cross Country Champion at Mallory Park, Leicestershire, at the end of January.
The Nationals are the pinnacle of the XC season and another big-name triathlete lining up was Georgia Taylor-Brown.
No stopping Gibbon in the mud
The pair were to the fore from the outset as nearly 1,000 women charged up the initial climb from the start line.
There was a prize from the race sponsors for whoever reached the top of that hill first and it was about the only time that Jess Gibbon of Reading AC wasn’t in complete control.
In seriously muddy conditions she surged clear of her rivals on the first downhill and never looked under threat.
Her previous victory had come here in 2022 and she went further and further clear en route to a repeat.
But in behind a battle was developing for the silver and bronze and it was Mathias rather than Taylor-Brown, who has been gravel racing and had warned beforehand she wasn’t in prime running form, who was right in the mix of it.
Upward curve
Gibbon would cross the line after 8km in 29 minutes and 19 seconds, 42 seconds ahead of runner-up Amelia Quirk (Bracknell AC).
And then came Mathias, racing for Newark AC, who took third in 30:28, just ahead of Lucy Jones (Herne Hill Harriers).
Taylor-Brown, fourth in the event in the past, also made the top ten again in ninth with an impressive run.
Afterwards, the 26-year-old Mathias posted on Instagram: “3rd @ National XC Champs !!!! What the fffffff 🤯”.
It was an outstanding performance and suggests her upward trajectory in short-course triathlon will continue when the new season gets into full swing.
She already has a silver medal from the 2022 Commonwealth Games when she was part of the Wales Mixed Relay team in Birmingham.
And last year she was runner-up to Olympic Mixed Relay gold medallist Lisa Tertsch at the World Triathlon Cup Valencia as well as notching a series of strong results as she finished seventh in the overall Supertri standings behind Taylor-Brown.
GTB smiles her way round
Taylor-Brown summed up afterwards just what a special event the Nationals is – and XC in general.
She posted on Instagram: “I always knew I loved cross country but this just solidified my feelings! I really love cross country! I want to be able to run this race forever! I smiled my way around that entire 8km!
“It’s made so much more fun with all the support on the course and I just love the freshness and simplicity of it all: shorts, vest & spikes and you’re good to go!
“I started my racing days at these events. I’ve done everything from local area races all the way to the Olympic Games but these open events, that anyone can enter, will always hold a special place in my heart: standing on the start-line with women racing for the win, racing in their first race back after injury, starting their first race or racing with their girlies & taking selfies along the way, I love it all 💖”
