Alisha Rees will be out to prove a point to the national team selectors when she competes in the Lee Valley sprints meeting in London tomorrow.
The Banchory-Stonehaven AC runner has been picked to represent Great Britain in the 4x100m relay in the European under-23 championships which open at Gavle, Sweden, on July 11, but she was disappointed not to earn an individual 200m slot. Rees, 20,who is in her second year at Loughborough University, struck silver in the trials held in conjunction with the English championships at Bedford, clocking 23.55sec into a strong headwind.
World junior bronze medallist Kristal Awuah (Herne Hill) won in a PB 23.24 with reigning European under-23 champion Finette Agyapong (Newham and Essex Beagles) third in 23.72.
Awuah and Agyapong have both been selected for the 200m while the four-time Scottish senior champion has been left out as she hasn’t achieved the Euro qualifying mark of 23.40 this season.
Rees said: “I’m gutted. I think it’s really harsh but I’m running on Wednesday in Lee Valley to try to prove them wrong.”
It’s not certain whether there’s any scope for Rees to be added to the team should she attain the required time this week.
George Evans (Inverness Harriers) has been picked for the Euro under-23 discus despite a disappointing performance in the trials where he finished fourth.
Ullapool long jumper Stephen Mackenzie’s selection for the European under-20 championships at Borås, Sweden, from July 18 to 21, has also been confirmed. The Highland athlete celebrated by making an impressive Great Britain debut in the Bauhaus under-20 gala meeting at Mannheim, Germany on Sunday.
Mackenzie finished fifth with a best jump of 7.49 metres but was given early warning of the calibre of opposition he faces later in the month as Switzerland’s Simon Ehammr won with 7.72 and there were also three German athletes ahead of the 17-year-old Scot.
Scottish Para sprinter Abbie McNally has been selected for next month’s world para junior championships at Nottwil, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Stephen Mackay (Inverness) came within a fraction of a second of his personal best 800m time when clocking 1:50.86 for third position in the Belfast Irish Milers.
The Inverness athlete, who recently helped Laura Muir prepare for the summer season at her training camp in St Moritz, has a best time of 1:50.39 from 2015.