CAU 10km Walks Report

09 April 2009

The opening round of the 2009 McCain Race Walking Challenge saw standout performances in the Men’s 10km. Luke Finch and Ben Wears moved to numbers 11 and 12 on the UK All-Time Rankings with 41:51 and 41:57 respectively: these are the fastest times by a British athlete since 2000.

Finch set PB’s at 3 km (13:03) and 5 km (20:30) en route. Wears performance is also the 2nd best ever by a British Junior, behind Darrel Stones 1987 record of 41:47; he was 20 sec down on Finch at 5 km (20:50) and closed the deficit to just 6 sec at the finish.

Both athletes are in good form, setting personal best times in the recent EAA Grand Prix in Lugano, Switzerland competing for Team England: Finch at 20 km and Wears again at 10 km. Finch (hails from Leicester; lives in Cardiff - coached there by Martin Bell; competes for Colchester Harriers) will be looking to maintain his lead in the next round of the McCain Race Walking Challenge at Shrewsbury on Easter Sunday when he competes in the UK/RWA 20 km Championships.

Wears (coached by John Paddick) also steps up to 20 km ahead of competing in the Under 20 Men’s 10 km for the Aviva Great Britain & Northern Ireland Team in the European Race Walking Cup in Metz, France on 24th May – there he will look to repeat his current form as his 41:57 clocking falls outside the UKA qualification period for the European Junior Athletics Championships, which commences 11th April.

In the Women’s 5 km Lisa Kehler demonstrated she remains a domestic force with a clear win (23:48 v 26:03) over an impressive Kelsey Howard from Ashford who is just 16. Howard got the better of her fellow Kent athlete Diane Bradley by 12 sec. Kehler and Bradley also move on to the UK/RWA 20 km Championships at Shrewsbury this weekend where they will face UK Record Holder Johanna Jackson.

The UK/RWA 20 km Championships and Junior 10 km races are the final opportunity for athletes to impress ahead of selection for the Aviva Great Britain & Northern Ireland Team to compete in the European Race Walking Cup. Johanna Jackson (20 km), Daniel King (50 km) and Ben Wears (U20 10 km) are pre-selected. Finch, Kehler and a strong Under 20 men’s group are amongst those lining up to stake their claims.

Full results can be downloaded below