Sam Clifford is being hailed as Tasmania’s best junior distance running prospect since fellow Riverside talent Jake Birtwhistle after a stunning third place against boys two years older than him at the Australian under-20 world cross-country trials.
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Tasmanian athletics guru Brian Roe said while national 10,000m champion Stewart McSweyn did not stand out from the crowd until senior competition, Clifford is demonstrating the same prodigious talent as runner-turned triathlon world champ Birtwhistle.
Over an 8km course at Canberra’s Mount Stromlo, Clifford stayed with the lead group until the closing stages when Jackson Sharp, of NSW (25:19), and Queenslander Chekole Getenet (25:31) broke away to win.
Clifford, 16, came third in 25:41 with the physical ordeal shown in the extensive medical treatment he required on the finish line.
“We have all seen that Sam is a talent and come to learn how single-mindedly determined he is but today we saw him take himself way out of his comfort zone in terms of race distance and age grouping in an event in athletics which it is considered to be the hardest to do both,” said Roe, who was watching the race.
“His third placing was a special result achieved by pushing himself to the absolute maximum of his current capabilities – as evidenced by the scary time period it took him to recover after the race.”
The world champs are in Denmark in March.