REPRESENTING Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight athlete Henry McLuckie gave an excellent account of himself at the European U23 Championships in Finland.
Henry, who was unable to compete for the Isle of Wight at the Island Games by qualifying for the championship, came seventh in the over 5,000m in Espoo, near Helsinki.
British Athletics decided to take a smaller team, which made selection difficult with the restricted numbers, but Henry’s hard work prior to Espoo paid off.
In a field of 21 athletes, the pace was fast and furious right from the starting pistol, with US-based GB runner Charles Hicks, the fastest in the field, strung out the field after just 800m.
With six athletes ahead of Henry, he fronted the next group, in an attempt to get back into the leading pack.
This he continued for more than 3,000m, climbing into third place — but closely followed by the other six he had been 'towing'.
With 500m remaining, the closing group gradually moved past Henry and it was a real battle for him to hold onto them as they gradually moved away.
Henry continued to chase and held his seventh place in a very quick time of 13mins 52.11secs.
Hicks won GB gold in 13.35.07.
Afterwards, Henry's coach said: "The lead-up to the race hadn’t been easy for Henry, with him getting Covid at the end of May.
"We didn’t rush his comeback, but he ran an extremely brave race. He could have sat back, but ran and was committed in an effort to win a medal.
"Another full GB vest in a big championship is all part of the learning experience for Henry."
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