30th May 2013 11:06
After a strong run at the Great Manchester Run 10k last weekend where he was first Brit home, Jonny Mellor will have high hopes of lowering his 28.42 personal best, set at Stanford earlier this year. Mellor will pull on a GB & NI vest for the second time in his career, his first coming over 2 miles at the Great North City Games in 2011.
Joining him in the men's team is Joe MacDonald who will make his Great Britain & Northern Ireland debut at the event in Pravets. MacDonald has a 10k personal best of 29.08 from 2012, and recently posted a strong half marathon debut, winning the Wilmslow Half Marathon in 64.54.
The women's team for the 8 June event will be led by Sonia Samuels who was recently selected for the IAAF World Championship marathon in Moscow this August. Samuels, who last ran the event when it was held in Marseille, will be looking to improve on her 17th place finish from that event in 2010.
Alyson Dixon is another athlete stepping down from the marathon to work on her speed, fresh off the back of a personal best performance at the Brighton Marathon where she clocked 2.31.08 to finish second. Completing the team is Samuels' training partner Stevie Stockton, who is the reigning European U23 Championship bronze medallist, and makes her debut over the distance.
Great Britain & NI Team:
Men: Joe MacDonald, Jonny Mellor
Women: Alyson Dixon, Sonia Samuels, Stevie Stockton