Britain grab European silver

Sergy Lebid takes the men's race

Liz Yelling and her sister-in-law Hayley completed a successful day for Britain in the European Cross Country Championships in Thun, Switzerland.

Top 10 finishes by the pair saw the team take the silver medal for the second successive year.

Yelling, training partner of the absent Paula Radcliffe, was fifth in 15 minutes 55 seconds with Hayley three places and three seconds back.

They and 12th-placed Kathy Butler and Sharon Morris (24th) helped claim the runners-up slot.

My initial tactics were to stay in the leading group

Sergy Lebid

Sergy Lebid of Ukraine won the men's race for the second time, while Spain edged out France to win the men's team competition.

The 26-year-old Ukrainian finished a clear eight seconds ahead of Dutch marathon specialist Kamiel Maase, with Antonio Jimenez of Spain leading a three-way sprint in the final straight for the bronze medal.

"My initial tactics were to stay in the leading group, but when I saw Maase pull away in the second lap, I thought Lahssini would go after him," said Lebid.

"He didn't, so I decided to chase and pass the Dutchman," he added.

France's Yamna Belkacem takes the women's event

The British women were only eight points short of gold medal winners Portugal, who retained their crown with 41 points.

Third place went to the 1999 winners France, who also provided the individual winner in Yamna Belkacem.

Somalian-born Mohammed Farah finished second in the junior men's event, steering Britain to team victory for the second time in three years.

The British junior women's side also claimed a silver medal.

A quality run from fifth-placed Charlotte Gale was backed up by Louise Damen in 15th position. Kate Reed finished a place further back and Freya Murray 18th.