STROUD AC rising star Tom Mortimer is celebrating his selection for the Great Britain U20 team for the U20 World Championships to be held in Tampere, Finland from July 10-15.

Tom won the 5000m GB selection race in Watford in May, and although he topped the UK rankings, he was required to break the 14 minute barrier to be considered for selection.

As planned and targeted, Tom ran only his second 5000m in 2018, showing he can deliver when required, running a new personnel best time by 19 seconds, posting a time of 13 minutes and 57 seconds at Loughborough University, placing him second in the European ranking and in the UK all-time U20 ranking list, only a second behind Sir Mo Farah.

Tom is looking forward to the greatest challenge in his young career, but is under no illusions of the task ahead of him. He faces a star-studded field led by the African countries, including the fastest man in 2018, the defending U20 champion in 2016 from Ethiopia, who won the senior men indoor world silver medal in February, which was his last defeat.

Coach Chris Brown said: “We are really excited about Tom being able to measure himself against some of the best 5000m runners on the planet, but with the African U20 men dominating the senior rankings and results this year we are realistic about what Tom can achieve at the U20 World Championships, a good strong run and possibly a faster time would be a great return. "More importantly the experience from last year's European U20 Champs in Italy, and now the World U20 Champs in Finland, will allow Tom in the future, as he moves through the senior ranks, to be familiar and relaxed in championship surroundings, and concentrate fully on his own performances on the track.”