HARRIET Knowles-Jones has been denied the opportunity to race at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in China this week due to visa issues.

The 16-year-old was selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad having initially missed out due to not fitting her time chip in the trials, where she finished second.

The Warrington Athletics Club runner was due to be the youngest of the under 20s team travelling to race in Guiyang.

But her age also means the Chinese Embassy will not process Knowles-Jones' visa in time, needing to obtain and process extra paperwork such as her birth certificate.

However, the young middle distance star, born in Germany, can take heart in her career following in a similar fashion to one of the world's best, Mo Farah.

The Somali-born Olympic, World and European champion was also denied a visa when competing for GB as a youngster.

"She will come back and she has plenty of time," said mum Jayne Knowles, a former UK 1500m champion. "Her coaches said this happened to somebody in 1999.

"That person was Mo Farah – that made her feel a bit better.

"She was flying and would have done really well, that’s the frustrating thing. The coaches are frustrated as well as they’re taking a weakened team out now.

"She’s taken it on the chin, it’s part of sport and we’re very proud of how she’s handled it."

Knowles-Jones now turns her attention to July's World Youth Championships in Colombia and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in September.

"She was really upset," added Jayne. "But she's hopeful she can go on to bigger and better things.

"She’ll ge the chance to race abroad with those on the track."