22nd March 2018

Athletes Step Up Commonwealth Games Preparations At Brisbane Grand Prix

A strong contingent of athletes from the home nations stepped up their preparations ahead of next month’s Commonwealth Games as they took to the track for the Brisbane Grand Prix this morning.

In soaking wet conditions, Dina Asher-Smith (coach: John Blackie) raced to victory in the women’s 200m, clocking a time of 22.90s (-1.4) to finish 0.47s clear of Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel in second.

Jack Green (June Plews) also put in a good performance to take victory in the men’s 400m hurdles, holding off Queensland’s Ian Dewhurst to win in 50.24s in his first outdoor race of the season.

Fresh from securing her World Indoor bronze medal in the women’s 4x400m relay in Birmingham, Meghan Beesley (Michael Baker) began the outdoor season with an individual time of 53.76s in the women’s 400m, beating Kim Hyacinthe of Canada to victory.

The only Brit in field action was Chris Bennett (Michael Jones), who won the men’s hammer throw despite slippery conditions in the circle, recording a distance of 75.11m, his best throw since June 2017.

Home nations trio Dwayne Cowan (Lloyd Cowan), Rabah Yousif (Carol Williams) and Sam Dawkins (Geoff King) were also in action in the men’s 400m, with Cowan just missing out on victory, finishing second in 46.93s to Japan’s Julian Jrummi Walsh.

Yousif was in contention throughout the race and finished third in 47.24s, with Dawkins seventh in 48.54s.

An incredibly tight men’s 200m race saw Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Benke Blomkvist) finish in sixth position (21.61s) with just 0.25s separating him from second place, which was taken by Canada’s Gavin Smellie. Fellow Canadian Aaron Brown emerged victorious in 20.95s.

Great Britain & Northern Ireland’s Karla Drew (Toni Minichiello) was the final competitor from the home nations in action, finishing fourth in the women’s 100m hurdles in a time of 14.08s in another tightly contested field.