Twell may quit cross country warns coach

ATHLETICS: Steph Twell runs the second race of her comeback in today’s European Cross Country Trials in Liverpool with her coach warning that her career path may have shifted irrevocably due to the injury that sidelined her for most of this year.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist suffered a serious ankle break in a race in Belgium last February and her long-time mentor, Mick Woods, is playing down the Scot’s chances of earning a place in the Great Britain team for next month’s championships in Slovenia.

He has warned that the 22-year-old, fresh off a month’s training in Kenya, could quit cross-country to safeguard her future prospects on the track.

“There’s no guarantee she’ll ever be the athlete in cross-country that she was before,” said Woods. “The injury has changed the dynamics of her running movement. It’s OK on solid surfaces but on muddy ones, her ankle is less responsive. So cross-country might be a thing of the past. But we don’t want that.”