Charlie Purdue with her medal from the European cross-country championships

CHARLIE Purdue will be able to take her place in the forthcoming world cross-country championships after all.

She had feared an injury in her left foot would prevent her taking her place in the British team in Edinburgh on Sunday, March 30.

The 16-year-old star from Hook was pleased to learn last Friday that the trouble was a bone problem and that it was already healing.

She received the good news from a doctor at St Mary's University College, Twickenham, where her UK peformance coach Mick Woods is based.

"I was told I can start running again," said Purdue.

Before getting specialist advice, she believed the injury, which had troubled her since November, to be tendonitis in her foot.

In her two major outings this year, Purdue has had to be content with silver medals in the England cross-country championships and the English Schools cross-country championships.

In the national championships at Alton Towers, she failed to add to her run of three consecutive national gold medals.

But at Sefton Park two weeks later, she was just one second behind the winner.

With the knowledge that running will not further harm her foot, she should be in the best frame of mind for an attack on the under-20 medals at the world championships.

By then she should have shoe supports that will help her foot problem.

Purdue is one of only two athletes pre-selected for the British team. She and her Aldershot, Farnham and District clubmate Steph Twell were named for the junior women's event after finishing third and first respectively in the European championships in Spain at the end of last year.

Both girls were missing through injury from the Hampshire team at the Inter-Counties cross-country championships in Nottingham last Saturday and Twell's back injury will keep her out of the world championships at Holyrood Park.

The Inter-Counties event doubled as the world trials and last year's under-20 title win at Wollaton Park earned Purdue a place in the world championships in Mombasa, where she was the first European girl home.

Purdue will be joined in the under-20 women's team in Edinburgh by Jo Harvey, her English Schools conqueror, Aldershot clubmates Emma Pallant and Lily Partridge, Laura Park (Ellenborough) and Emily Pidgeon (Gloucester).

The first four will score in the 6,000-metre race.

Winchester and District members John Beattie and Rachel Townend will run in the British senior teams and Andover's Phillip Bernsten will run in the junior boys' race.

9:39am Sunday 23rd March 2008

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