ELLIOT Bowker, of Vale Royal Athletics Club, has had his place in Great Britain’s team for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships confirmed today, Thursday.

The Sir John Deane’s College student is one of six runners named in the junior men’s line-up to race at Guiyang, in China, at the end of this month.

He qualified for automatic selection after finishing third in a trial during Saturday’s UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships, when he represented Cheshire.

The under 20s men’s race at Cofton Park was his first since suffering a shin injury before Christmas, ironically only hours before he had been due to represent his country at the European Cross Country Championships.

It has prevented him from running competitively since.

“Hopefully this makes up for that,” said Andy Carter, Bowker’s coach at Vale Royal.

“The plan had been for Elliot to squeeze in a race before the trials, but he wasn’t quite ready.

“It’s been a long way back for him, and there’s always a question mark against how it will go when a recovery is tested for the first time.

“But he said he felt good – he certainly looked it!”

Bowker will become the first male athlete from Vale Royal at the event.

Clubmate Stevie Stockton was part of Great Britain’s senior women’s team in 2010 and again the following year when she finished 37th, and third counter, in Spain.

Before that, she ran at the under 20s women’s event in Kenya back in 2007.

Carter said: “It’s a source of great pride for everybody at Vale Royal to see one of our athletes reach that level.

“Elliot’s attitude during his recovery has been that of a top class runner; he’s done everything asked of him.

“Even though his preparation was interrupted because of the injury, I expected him to be in contention.

“He was there or thereabouts by the end of the first lap, sitting inside the top 15 or so, but when he came into view a second time he was among the first five.

“After that it was a case of finishing the job, which he did.”

Joe Steward (East Cheshire Harriers) secured the first automatic qualifying place as a reward for his victory at Cofton Park, closely followed by Jonathan Glen (Inverclyde AC) who won the overall British Cross Challenge series title.

Joining them, and Bowker, is Chris Olley (Tonbridge AC), Arkansas-based Alex George and Welsh under 20s national championships winner Jac Hopkins (Swansea Harriers).