KATE AVERY ensured the most successful year of her athletics career would finish on a high as she won a silver medal at the European Cross-Country Championships in Bulgaria.

Avery, who was raised in Newton Aycliffe and competed for Shildon Running Club before travelling to the United States to complete a sports scholarship at Iona College, was involved in a thrilling finish with Gemma Steel as she competed in her first senior European Championships.

The pair moved ahead of the rest of the field at the halfway stage, and exchanged positions on countless occasions before Steel eventually edged ahead to win by two hundredths of a second.

With Steph Twell finishing seventh and Lily Partridge coming home in 11th, Britain’s women were comfortable winners of the team event.

Avery’s silver medal rounded off a hugely successful 2014 for the County Durham youngster, who finished fourth in the final of the 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and recently became the first British woman to win a US national title.

“I can’t believe it,” said Steel, who had previously finished second and third at the European Championships. “I didn’t expect it to be a domestic battle in the end, but I think we helped each other along.

“My legs felt weak at the end, and I thought the altitude was kicking in, so I just needed to find that extra strength somewhere at the end.

“I thought, ‘Is she (Avery) going to give in’, but she was really strong and I was feeling a bit weak to be honest. She had really good posture and I knew she wasn’t going to give it up without a fight, so I was thinking, ‘Not silver again?’ Gold was the one I wanted, and it’s great to have won it.”

Birtley's Lydia Turner finished third in the junior women’s race to help Britain claim another team title. The 18-year-old moved up from fourth position in the finishing straight, and finished just behind team-mate Jessica Judd, who claimed the silver medal.