HARRIET Knowles-Jones says the jump to senior athletics will allow her to enjoy racing more after ending her junior career on a high.

The Lymm runner picked up a dominant gold medal in the women’s under 20s race at the European Cross Country Championships on Sunday, finally winning a race she has previously picked up silver and bronze medals in.

Knowles-Jones also led Great Britain to a team gold medal in Samorin, Slovakia, as she ended a pivotal year in the best possible way.

Having won 1500m bronze on the track at the European Athletics under 20s Championships in Grosseto, Italy, in July, which followed on from her first senior appearance for Great Britain at the European Team Championships in Lille, the Warrington Athletics Club runner says she feels more able to “bridge the gap” to senior athletics.

“I’ve never put more pressure on myself than I did for that race on Sunday,” she told the Guardian.

“There is a big gap to bridge up to senior level, but I feel more ready for it after this year.

“As a senior, there won’t be too many eyes on me and I can enjoy racing a little bit more. It will be nice to fly under the radar for a while.

“Training won’t be more relaxed, but hopefully the racing will be, at least at first.

“Anything I get out of it will be a plus, so I’ll know a bit more what to expect when I start racing.

“There are opportunities to dip your toe into senior athletics out there. It makes it seem a little bit more reachable.

“British Athletics are really good at getting the juniors involved at senior level and giving them that opportunity, so it is exciting!”

After a brief break, the 19-year-old will be back in training and is hoping to be picked to represent Great Britain at the Great Edinburgh International cross country race on January 13.

Reflecting upon the year she has had, the former Lymm High School student believes her bronze medal in Grosseto, of which she was critical at the time, set her up to end 2017 positively.

“If I take anything from a bad race, it’s the hunger to do well in the next one,” she said.

“After what happened in Grosseto, it made me extra determined to do well in this.

“I was critical of Grosseto at the time, but it set me up well to end the year like this.

“It put me on the right track to finish on a high as a junior, so I can’t be too frustrated with it.

“It would have been nice to do well in both, but maybe I wouldn’t have done so well in Samorin if I had won at Grosseto.

“I’ll have to wait and see if I get selected for the senior team for Edinburgh, but fingers crossed I’ve done enough.

“I’ll have a quiet week after this race but then I’ll be back in training again.”