Riverside teenager Sam Clifford is set to join King Islander Stewart McSweyn at the world cross country championships in March.
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Clifford’s rookie Australian berth has stunned the running fraternity, the 16-year-old edging out rivals up to four years older than him to break into the junior squad.
But the Tasmanian pair have taken different paths to the start line in Denmark.
Athletics Australia finalised its teams for the 2019 worlds on Thursday.
McSweyn was one of two senior runners – along with Pat Tiernan – to be handed a discretionary spot in the national team after not competing in the selection trials on Sunday in Canberra.
The 23-year-old’s personal bests over the 1500m, mile, 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m was enough to give him the nod for the 10km race.
Clifford had to pull off a top-three finish in Canberra to lock down his berth over the world 8km distance.
Clifford displayed his maturity in Sunday’s under-20 race to keep in touch with the front pack heading into the downhill finish.
He crossed the line in 25 minutes and 41 seconds, two places and 22 seconds behind winner Jackson Sharp.