20 May 2010

GB junior record holder Sophie Hitchon (coach: Derek Evely) is one of the lead names representing the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team at this weekend’s McCain Loughborough International on Sunday 23 May.

The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games hammer champion – European Junior Championships bronze medallist in 2009 – goes into this weekend as the world’s second ranked junior hammer thrower for 2010 to date with her impressive 65.98m effort in Germany on May 15.

Along with high jumper Isobel Pooley (coach: George Male), she’s one of two athletes selected onto the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland Junior Team who have already secured qualifying standards for the IAAF World Junior championships in Moncton, Canada this summer (19-25 July) within the UKA qualification period from 1 April, and has set a high standard for her team mates to follow.

UK School Games champion Pooley, who finished tenth in the European Youth Olympic Festival in her first experience of international competition a year ago, kick-started her 2010 campaign with new lifetime best of 1.80m indoors before achieving the required World Juniors mark with a 1.81m PB in April.

Of their team mates, perhaps two of the most likely to achieve their respective World Juniors standards in Loughborough are 2009 World Youth Champion Ben Williams (coach: John Crotty) and UK Indoor Senior Championships silver medallist Andrew Sutcliffe (coach: Julien Raffalli-Ebezant) in the triple jump and pole vault, with both having recorded marks which exceed their qualification standards indoors

Jodie Williams (coach: Mike McFarlane), double gold medallist in the 2009 World Youth Games, is also, undoubtedly, in a strong position to achieve a World Juniors standard; her 200m PB of 23.08, which ranked her second in the world (juniors) in 2009, is well inside the required standard of 23.95.

Other GB Juniors targeting qualifying standards for Moncton on Sunday include James Bowness (coach: Tony Ward), who clocked sub-1:50 for 800m for the first time in his career with a quick 1:48.78 this month – only marginally outside the 1:48.5 World Juniors standard – Sarah Kelly (coach: Liz McColgan), who beat British Universities 1500m champion Morag MacLarty over 800m last weekend but will go over 1500m on this occasion and triple jumper Laura Samuel (coach: Glenys Morton), all of who will benefit from competition against many of the UK’s best senior athletes.

AVIVA GB & NI TEAM

MEN

100m: Daniel Talbot (Dan Cossins) – Birchfield Harriers;

200m: Kieran Showler-Davis (John Davis) – Basingstoke & Mid Hants;

400m: Nathan Wake (Ayo Falola) – Herts Phoenix;

800m: James Bowness (Tony Ward) – Trafford;

1500m: Harry Ellis (Phil Hicken) – Warrington;

3000m: Callum Hawkins (Robert Hawkins) – Kilbarchan;

110m: Curtis Holmes (Tony Pitt) – Birchfield Harriers;

400mH: Niall Flannery (Nick Dakin) – Gateshead;

4x100m: Jordan Huggins (Mike McFarlane) – Enfield & Haringey; Showler-Davis; Talbot; Deji Tobais (Simon Duberley) – Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow; Sam Watts (Gladys Bird) – Woodford Green with Essex Ladies; Junior Ejehu (Ayo Falola) – Woodford Green with Essex Ladies;

4x400m: Jack Green (June Plews) – Kent; Flannery; Dan Putnam (John Blackie) – Blackheath & Bromley; Jarryd Dunn (Keith Holt) – Birchfield Harriers; Zach King (John Davis) – Notts;

High Jump: Sam Bailey (Carol Jackson) – Chelmsford;

Pole Vault: Andrew Sutcliffe (Julien Raffalli-Ebezant) – Sale Harriers Manchester;

Long Jump: James Lelliot (Alan Lerwill) – Bournemouth;

Triple Jump: Ben Williams (John Crotty) – City of Stoke;

Shot Putt: Robert Mohan (Geoff Capes) – Nene Valley;

Discus: Zane Duquemin (John Hillier) – Jersey;

Javelin: Dan Pembroke (Kevin Pembroke) – Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow;

Hammer: Andrew Jordon (Mike Davies) – Blackheath & Bromley

WOMEN

100m: Emily Diamond (Jared Deacon) – Bristol & West;

200m: Jodie Williams (Mike McFarlane) – Herts Phoenix;

400m: Twinelle Hopeson (Josef Hopeson-Sowah) – Croydon;

800m: Rowena Cole (Norma Pugh) – Coventry;

1500m: Sarah Kelly (Liz McColgan) – Dundee Hawkhill Harriers;

3000m: Lily Partridge (Liz McColgan) – Aldershot, Farnham & District;

100mH: Rebecca Liddell (Kirk Barclay) – Gateshead;

400mH: Lauren Bouchard (Steve Mitchell) – Chelmsford;

3000mSC: Aiya Abe (Geoff Watkin) – Southampton;

4x100m: Williams; Ashlee Nelson (Michael Afilaka) – City of Stoke; Jennie Batten (Roger Walters) – Stroud; Shaunna Thompson (Robert Gaisie) – Sale Harriers Manchester; Rebekah Wilson (Morris Condon) – Sale Harriers Manchester; Diamond;

4x400m: Katie Kirk (Mark Kirk) – Lagan Valley; Frederica Foster (Mike Antoniades) – Blackheath & Bromley; James; Leigh Lennon (Don Lennon) – Newham & Essex Beagles; Yimika Adewakun (Jason Cartey) – Sutton & District; Cole

High Jump: Isobel Pooley (George Male) – Aldershot, Farnham & District;

Pole Vault: Holly Bleasdale (Julien Raffalli-Ebezant) – Blackburn

Long Jump: Lorraine Ugen (Frank Attoh) – Blackheath & Bromley;

Triple Jump: Laura Samuel (Glenys Morton) – Leicester;

Shot Putt: Hannah Evenden (Geoff Capes) – Edinburgh;

Discus: Tesni Ward (Brian Parkes/Ivan Washington) – City of Sheffield;

Javelin: Ward;

Hammer: Sophie Hitchon (Derek Evely) – Blackburn

An Aviva GB & NI junior team report will follow post event on www.uka.org.uk

McCain Loughborough International Tickets: £3.00 conc/student/OAP/u16’s and £6.00 Adult.