Bobby Clay was thrilled with her first international victory of 2014, but even more so by starting the year injury-free.

The 16-year-old Invicta East Kent star pipped her older sister Alex to the junior women’s title at the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross- Country, and led a clean-sweep of the medals for the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team.

Bobby Clay – who finished fifth in last year’s race – shared the lead with GB team-mate Lydia Turner throughout the first lap of the 4km race but pulled away to eventually stop the clock in 13mins 59secs, finishing four seconds ahead of Alex, who had surged ahead from fourth place.

Turner was a further seven seconds back in third with Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui missing out on the podium by just three seconds.

Wingham ace Clay revealed: “I was not expecting to win. I had struggled with injury late last year. I managed to pull it out of the bag at the Europeans (in early December) but I was not where I could have been.

“I was just pleased to be able to compete and to be injury-free, but of course I was really pleased to win.”

Clay, a Sir Roger Manwood School pupil and world schools 1,500m champion, is balancing cross-country and track training as she has half-an-eye on the spring and summer season.

She said: “I am going to be an under-20 this year which is going to be strange, because even when I’ve been running in under-20 races I’ve always been an under-17.

“It should open up the events I am able to do, and I would like to compete abroad as often as I can.

“I am not looking too far ahead. I have got the cross-country season to finish but then I want to focus on the 1,500m on the track too.

“The 800m used to be my favourite when I was little, I still use it for speed training, and with the 3,000m races preparing me for distance running, they both combine well for the 1,500m.”