Twell, a 19-year-old from Aldershot who is so good she is already being compared to Paula Radcliffe, led the way as Britain enjoyed a record-breaking European Cross Country Championships in Brussels yesterdarday, topping the medal table with 12 medals including four gold.

 

On a day of unprecedented achievement, every British team in every age group won a team medal, Twell won her third successive junior women’s title, a race in which the six British athletes filled the first six places.

 

It was the perfect start for Ian Stewart, the 1972 Olympic 5,000 metres bronze medallist, who last month was appointed to oversee the preparations of Britain's middle and long distance runners in the build-up to London 2012.

 

He said: “It was a great day.

 

"There was plenty to be very satisfied and optimistic about.

 

"There are not many sports where we can claim to be the best in Europe, but we can in cross country.

 

"It is a great achievement in itself and it gives us a real platform to build on for the future.

 

"There is still a lot of hard work ahead though.

 

“I thought the junior women’s result was absolutely outstanding.

 

"The great thing is that we have got another six girls back at home who are capable of winning a medal, such is the depth.

 

"Steph Twell’s run was unbelievable.

 

"She had all the pressure, all the expectation, but produced a great run.

 

"It is the sign of a real champion.” 

 

The swimming team were not as dominant at the European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia, where they won five medals, including a gold for James Goddard in the 200 metres individual medley.

 

But Michael Scott, the national performance director, was more than satisfied with the team's efforts but stressed the need to see the event in context as a building block towards London 2012.

 

Hesaid: "We came here with a very clear focus - we know what our goals are - it is to perform better in London than we did in Beijing, to get more than six medals.

 

"Every time we come to a meet like this and whether we are rested and shaved or whatever it doesn't matter, the goal is to get as many PBs [personal bests] as we can, and to progress time improvements from the heats to the finals."

 

The Australian, who replaced Bill Sweetenham last year, also looked back on a successful year for the sport in Britain, which included Rebecca Adlington winning two gold medals at the Olympics in Beijing, the best performance by a British swimmer in the Games for a century.

 

Scott said: "It's [2008] been a big step forward for British Swimming - best-ever Olympics, best-ever European Juniors, great World Youth, World Short Course - which was high-end competition which I think laid a really good foundation going into the Olympics in terms of confidence for the individuals and the team.

 

"But that is history - we know that and really this was our first major meet of the next quadrennium."

 

Dennis Pursley, the American overseeing matters for the first time as head coach, was positive in his assessment but paid tribute to Sweetenham.

 

He said: "I'm really impressed with the British team.

 

"Bill kind of changed the culture and in a way that repointed the whole mindset in the right direction.

 

"Michael Scott has followed and put an infrastructure in place to allow that culture to develop."