An Edinburgh club athlete is facing a nervous wait from European Athletics officials who will determine a possible selection for the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa Portugal.
Corstorphine Athletic Club runner national James Dunn returned to his homeland of Luxembourg this year, following ten years in Edinburgh and is in considerable form, after finishing 2nd at his national cross-country championships on Sunday.
He announced that if selected, he would be honoured to represent the country whose national federation supported him in his early development.
He said: “It would mean quite a lot, I came through the ranks and would love to give back to a federation that helped me out in my development”.
Despite being one of Luxembourg’s most talented runners, there are several permutations that could prevent Dunn from selection.
These include gaining enough ranking points and placing high in certified World Athletics standard races, though he remained upbeat despite the uncertainty after his national silver medal.
Dunn said: “I was pretty happy, I even thought 4th or 5th was a possibility.
“The guy who beat me has had a good season, and the guy in 3rd was an 8:17 3000m champion.
“I actually predicted to the winner that he would win while on the startline.”
By competing in higher calibre races across Europe, he has been aiming to generate enough rankings points, and he will hope a recent 10th place finish at a World Athletics silver standard event in Pforzheim will suffice.
He said: “I had to stay within 6 or 7% of the top 3, and I hope I’ve done enough”
Upon returning to the Principality the runner has not forgotten his Corstorphine roots and wore the Edinburgh club’s vest while becoming the first Luxembourg national to win the ING Marathon Luxembourg in June Job well Dunn for Corstorphine marathon man – The Edinburgh Reporter.
His loyalty to the club has stayed strong thanks to regular communication with club coach Moray Anderson, and he continually remains in contact with his team members despite the distance.
He said: “A few came out to visit in October, which was nice, and I want to see the guys do well at the East District Championships next week”.
While drawing comparisons between training in Edinburgh to Luxembourg City, he noted the stark differences in the amount of suitable traffic free training locations.
He said: “Being able to do training on my own, the number of paved surfaces that don’t have cars is incredible.
“It’s night and day the way the government has set up so many active travel trumps Edinburgh.
“You could quite easily have a good international training group here”.
The athlete will no doubt have a nervous week ahead, as he anticipates a possible call-up ahead of the European Cross Country Championships on the 14th December.
