Delighted Branthwaite athlete Olivia Mason has received her first call-up to the Great Britain Under-20 team, for the upcoming World Cross Country Championships.

The 17-year-old had a fantastic finish in the World Cross Country Trials and UK Inter Counties Championships at Loughborough over the weekend to secure her GB vest.

The top three finishers automatically qualified, with three more runners set to be selected from the rest of the field.

But Olivia made sure of her place coming in third, after out-sprinting two of her rivals in the final 200 metres.

“I moved up to the Under-20 age group from Under-17 as I thought I could be in contention for one of the six Great Britain places,” said Olivia.

“I thought if I got into the top six in the race I would stand a good chance of being picked for the team but I had a cold the week before so I wasn’t 100 per cent.

“But, on the day I ran well. I set off at the front and stayed in the top five all the way around. I thought about half way that I had got this.

“Then I started running for a medal. The first two girls moved away and then there were three of us battling for the last medal.

“I was in fifth with about 300 metres to go to the finish and I just thought: I can do this. I outsprinted the girl in third in the last 200 metres to get the medal.

“I pushed really hard even though I had the cold the week before and I did feel it a bit, but I am just so pleased that I managed to do it.

“This is definitely the icing on the cake for me and I feel it is a reward for all my hard work.

“It is something I have been working towards since I was a little girl and especially this last year after I had anaemia, but now I feel I am back up to where I want to be, competing against girls older than me.”

Olivia will now fly out to Denmark for the World Cross Country Championships on Thursday, March 28.

The following day she will look around the course and then race on the Saturday.