Hercules Wimbledon race walker Estle Viljoen hsa been invited to participate in Britain's first Race Walk Research Squad Camp at Leeds Metropolitan University from today until Sunday.

Hercules Wimbledon's top race walker Estle Viljoen has been invited to participate in Britain's first ever Race Walk Research Squad Camp at Leeds Metropolitan University over the weekend (October 26 to 29) and is in line to represent Britain in next year's European Walking Cup.

One of the aims of the camp which is being funded by the university and the British Athletics Foundation is to launch a concerted attempt to restore British race walking to the status it last enjoyed in the 1960s.

Don Thompson, who died recently, won the Olympic 50km walk in Rome in 1960. Four years later in Tokyo, Ken Matthews won the 20km walk and Paul Nihill was second in the 50km walk. Over the years British walkers have won 15 Olympic medals.

Estle, now 36, who teaches at Haslemere Primary School, Mitcham, and has established herself as one of the top women's race walkers in Britain, was delighted with her call-up for the training squad. " I really feel honoured to be considered as possibly one of the contenders to make the UK team," she said. In 2003 she won the All African title competing for her native South Africa.

The invitation was made to her "in recognition of your current standing in the event from performances done in the past year."

The invitation added: "The focus of the camp and the wider programme through 2006-7 is about raising performance levels through empowering athletes and coaches with the skills and abilities required to develop towards their full potential. This camp will combine the squads from the UK Athletics National and Regional programmes, together with a number of senior athletes whose performances suggest they could make Britain's European Race Walking Cup Team in 2007.

Hercules Wimbledon's Adam Przedrzymirski made a useful debut in the London Colleges cross country league when he finished seventh out of almost 100 runners in the opening race of the season over a testing five miles circuit of Parliament Hill Fields. Przedrzymirski led the Essex University team in covering the course in 27 minutes 53 seconds.

Duathlete Richard Xerri made a welcome return to racing when he also finished seventh in the Bushy Park 5km time trial at Hampton Court. Xerri, making his debut in the event, clocked 17:50. Three other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the event were veterans Dan Bodin and Peter Lee who finished 15th and 20th, respectively in 18:15 and 18:34, and Dennis Williams, who was first over 60 veteran in 20:05. Lee took 28 seconds off the time he posted on his debut in the event a few weeks earlier.

Hercules Wimbledon are competing in the opening East Surrey League cross country meeting at Lloyd Park, Croydon, on Saturday. The young athletes race over two-and-a-half miles starts at 2.30pm with the senior race over double the distance off at 3pm.