Southend's super sporting all-rounder Adam Hickey faces one of the toughest challenges of his young but highly-successful career on Saturday.

For the 17-year-old Southend AC middle distance star, who combines his athletic feats with success on the tri-athlon front, steps up an age group to try and win a place in the British junior men's team for the European Cross-County Championships, to be staged in Germany.

It's a tall order with the Southend High School pupil up against far more experienced under-20 athletes.

But, if he can repeat the form which saw him the fastest under-17 men's runner and holder of the new course record in the recent national cross-country relays in Mansfield, he could be in with a chance of selection.