Tonbridge AC's Tom Bosworth finished in the highest-ever position by a British athlete in the men's 20km at the European Race Walking Cup in Murcia, Spain, at the weekend.

Despite the shade being cast by the tall buildings, the heat made conditions very challenging. Bosworth made a conservative start to the race passing the 5km point in 20.56.

He picked up the pace at the 7km point and went through the halfway point in 41.35 holding 22nd place. However, Bosworth went through a bad patch between 14 and 17km but he managed to rally in the last 3km, reeling off 4.07, 4.06 and 4.01 for the last 3km as he picked up six place to finish 16th in 1:23:54.

Bosworth said: "I am pleased with how the race went, but my hip just locked up at the 14km point just as I was starting to really move through the field.

"I have though ticked the boxes of my second Rio Olympics qualifying time, and my fifth IAAF Beijing World Championships time! So I can't complain, especially when I couldn't execute the perfect race strategy with the pace I hoped."

Bosworth, who trains with coach Andi Drake at the National Race Walking Centre at Leeds Beckett University, has achieved the qualifying times for Beijing and Rio but he still needs to secure his place on the plane by finishing in the top two of the British trials.

He added: "I know, though, after my performance on Sunday, I will be more competitive come the World Championship. My whole season has been geared towards Beijing, it will give me a real indication of where I stand in world terms and will give me an idea of what I need to do ahead of the Rio Olympics next year."