Teuten gears up for his next England mission

The City of Portsmouth athlete finished second in the senior men’s race with Great Britain athlete Lee Merrien, from Guernsey Island, taking first place in extremely muddy conditions.

Before the championships at Fairthorne Manor, Teuten received the boost of another England call-up from cross-country team boss Eamonn Martin.

It means the 24-year-old will be pulling on the national vest again in Cardiff on Sunday, January 24 in the Cross Challenge match there.

Teuten’s strong performance for his country in Burgos, Spain, in November has seen marked him out as an athlete who can deliver for his country.

And after he didn’t have the race he wanted at the European trials recently, the decision to select him again has come as a big boost

Teuten said: ‘Getting the England call-up was a bit of a surprise as I underperformed for my own standards at the euro trials – the most recent high profile race.

‘While I am in good form, based on training, Eamonn doesn’t necessarily know that, so it is quite the honour.

‘It’s very good news. I had a cracking race in the Burgos international so Eamonn knows what I can do.

‘For me it will be nice to wear the England vest again.

‘I will do my best to justify the faith Eamonn has shown in me.’

Teuten has a busy schedule as he goes for more big medals.

His main target will be to get a good result at the BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport) Cross-Country Championships on Saturday, February 6 in Gloucester.

A strong performance there could lead to a call-up for Great Britain Universities for the World Championships in Italy later this year.

Teuten added: ‘Ultimately the aim is the uni champs at the start of February.

‘To get to Italy is the ultimate aim. It would be fantastic to get a Great Britain Universities vest for the World Championships.

‘At the BUCS, I finished sixth last year and now I am running well.

‘Hopefully on current form I have got a good chance.’

Merrien recorded a time of 40min 05sec to win the senior men’s 11.8k race on Saturday at Fairthorne Manor.

Teuten took second place in 40.44, after overtaking experienced athlete, Andrew Greenleaf, who took the bronze medal in 41.08.

‘On the balance of things I was happy with the way I performed,’ added Teuten.

‘Lee is a very talented athlete. He’s posted some phenomenal times and he’s a lot more experienced than me.

‘Because of the mud I wasn’t able to get enough traction to maximise my long stride.

‘Andrew and Lee went off at a fast pace and I was falling back slightly.

‘Towards the end of the race I started to feel more confident with the ground.

‘I managed to catch Andrew and get a good gap on him on the last lap.’