13th May 2014

Gb & NI Juniors All Set For Loughborough International

13 May 2014

Sprint sensation Dina Asher-Smith (coach: John Blackie) headlines a strong Great Britain & Northern Ireland junior team to compete at the annual Loughborough International Athletics Match this Sunday 18 May.

Asher-Smith stormed to double gold at the European Junior Championships in Rieti last summer, winning the 200m and the 4x100m relay, in which the GB & NI team broke the long-standing British junior record, before going on to take bronze as part of the senior 4x100m team at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow.

The Blackheath & Bromley star has also had a strong start to 2014, winning the Sainsbury’s British Athletics Indoor Championship 200m title ahead of teammate and training partner Shannon Hylton (Blackie), who has been selected to run the 200m in Loughborough.

Asher-Smith also broke the British junior 200m record with a 23.15 clocking in March, and she is one of four age group record holders included in the GB & NI team.

Fifth at the European Junior Championships last year, David Omoregie (Mike Guest) has since gone from strength to strength, breaking the British Junior 60mH record, as well as equaling Colin Jackson’s age best over the senior height, the second fastest of all time. He has however opted to run over the junior hurdles, so the GB & NI junior spot in the match race will go to Rushane Thomas (Piotr Spas).

Doubling-up in the women’s high jump and long jump is promising heptathlete Morgan Lake (Eldon Lake), who recently took victory in her first senior heptathlon in Florence, Italy, to climb to third on the all-time junior lists. She is in esteemed company, behind just Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Mike Holmes) and Jess Ennis (Toni Minichiello), her performance also an age 16 best.

Also included is Thomas Somers (Geoffrey Barraclough), the City of York youngster competing over 200m. Somers, who clocked a personal best of 20.84 to finish fourth at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk last summer, will like many of the athletes selected be targeting a place on the GB & NI team for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugune, Oregon, this summer. He too holds an age best over 200m metres.

Record holders aside, the other big names included are World Youth 400m champion Sabrina Bakare (Jane Dixon), 100m silver medallist at that same championships Ojie Edoburun (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo), as well as European Junior 400mH bronze medallist Jacob Paul (Marina Armstrong).

Tickets for the Loughborough International , which sees the GB & NI team take on teams from England, Scotland, Wales, British Universities and the hosts Loughborough can be purchased online via the following link: http://loughboroughsport.com/lia2014.

The event starts at 11.30am with a provisional timetable also available on the link above.

GREAT BRITAIN & NORTHERN IRELAND TEAM:

MEN:

100m: Ojie Edoburun (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo)
200m: Thomas Somers (Geoffrey Barraclough)
400m: Jack Crosby (Rick Betts)
800m: Sean Molloy (Mark Hookway)
1500m: Robbie Fitzgibbon (Jon Bigg)
3000m: Zak Miller (Paul Shaw)
110mH: Rushane Thomas (Piotr Spas)
400mH: Jacob Paul (Marina Armstrong)
3000m S/C: Bertie Houghton (Barry Barnes)
High Jump: Chris Kandu (John Herbert)
Pole Vault: Adam Hague (Trevor Fox)
Long Jump: Oliver Newport (John Shepherd)
Triple Jump: Efe Uwaifo (Tom McNab)
Shot: Kai Jones (Lukasz Barzyk)
Discus: Duane Jibunoh (Sam Harrison) 
Javelin: Freddie Curtis (Petteri Piironen)
Hammer: Taylor Campbell (Paul Dickenson)
4 x 100m Relay: Edoburun, Somers, Rueben Arthur (Tawiah-Dodoo), Chris Stone (Alastair Abrams), Roy Ejiakuekwu (Keith Hunter), Theo Etienne (Mark Giraud)
4 x 400m Relay: Crosby, Paul, Elliot Rutter (Dan Cossins) Ben Snaith (Mick Graham), Scott Atkinson (Christopher Bedford), Joseph Reid (Anthony Brand), Nick Petrou (John Baron)

WOMEN:

100m: Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie)
200m: Shannon Hylton (Blackie)
400m: Sabrina Bakare (Jane Dixon)
800m: Chelsea Jarvis (David Turnbull)
1500m: Bobby Clay (Peter Mullervy)
3000m: Bronwen Owen (Andrew Henderson)
100mH: Yasmin Miller (Lloyd Cowan)
400mH: Shona Richards (Armstrong)
3000m S/C: Katie Ingle (Margaret Riley)
High Jump: Morgan Lake (Eldon Lake)
Pole Vault: Lucy Bryan (Charles Preston)
Long Jump: Morgan Lake (Lake)
Triple Jump: Nikita Campbell-Smith (Toni Minichiello)
Shot: Danielle Opara (Geoff Capes)
Discus: Amy Holder (Neville Thompson)
Javelin: Natasha Wilson (Lee Doran)
Hammer: Kimberley Reed (Scott Reed)
4 x 100m Relay: Asher-Smith, Hylton, Miller, Clieo Stephenson (Michael Utting), Daryll Neita (Tawiah-Dodoo), Ama Pipi (Tawiah-Dodoo)
4 x 400m Relay: Bakare, Richards, Loren Bleaken (Adrian Clover), Cheriece Hylton (Blackie), Laviai Nielsen (Frank Adams), Kelsey Stewart (Ken Hogg)