7 July 2014

Dina Asher-Smith (coach: John Blackie) wrote her name into the history books on Saturday in Mannheim, Germany as she broke the British junior 100m record.

The Bauhaus Junior Gala in Mannheim hosts an annual international fixture, taking place across two days. There were great performances across both days by a number of British athletes, in wet and humid conditions on the Saturday and scorching hot sunshine on Sunday.

As it was, Asher-Smith was the stand out performer, storming to 11.14 (+1.5m/s) in the heats to break the junior record and go fourth on the senior all-time lists. It also puts her top of the Power of 10 senior rankings this year as well as second in the World Junior rankings.

The Blackheath and Bromley Harrier was just a breath of air away from breaking the British senior record as well, as she won the final  in 11.03 (+2.2m/s), just 0.2m/s over the legal wind limit.

In the field, there was a sensational pole vault competition, which saw a breakthrough for World Youth champion Harry Coppell (John Mitchell), who improved his personal best from 5.25m, winning with a vault of 5.40m, which moves him up to equal second in the World Junior lists for this year and puts him second in the UK junior all-time lists and of course top of the Power of Ten under-20 rankings. He still has a further year in the junior ranks.

In the same competition, Adam Hague (Trevor Fox), who is only 16, cleared 5.35m for third position, which puts him fifth on the UK all time lists and into the world junior top ten for this year.

Shona Richards (Marina Armstrong) was just 0.02 outside her personal best, which ranks her second UK junior all-time, when she took a comfortable victory in the 400m hurdles in 56.81. In the flat 400m, there was a season’s best and personal best respectively for Sabrina Bakare (Jane Dixon) and Cheriece Hylton (Blackie), who clocked 53.44 and 53.54 for third and fourth.

In the 200 metres, there were victories for Shannon Hylton (Blackie) and Thomas Somers (Geoffrey Ballaclough) with Hylton clocking a windy 23.33 (+2.5m/s) and Somers smashing his lifetime best, albeit with an illegal wind, with a 20.51 (+2.7m/s) run. Ojie Edoburun (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo) who tops the Power of 10 under 20 100m rankings but was disqualified from last week’s under-20 championships, won the under 20 100m in 10.34 (+2.5m/s).

There were four 4x100m victories for GB & NI across the weekend, with the junior women, with Asher–Smith, winning the 4x100m relay in 44.66 on Sunday, a time which the only nations to have bettered this year are Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. In the men’s equivalent, Britain’s men won the 4x100m relay on Saturday in 39.97 and then on Sunday in 40.10.

Competing in the open races, 2013 World Championship 200m finalist Adam Gemili (Steve Fudge) set a new personal best in the 100m with a time of 10.04 (+1.6m/s), which puts him third in the Power of Ten rankings and moves him to equal seventh on the UK all-time lists. He continues to edge closer to that sub 10 second barrier.

Gemili followed that up on the Sunday with 200m victory in 20.20 (+1.8m/s) to go top of the Power of Ten rankings and go second in the European rankings, as well as inside British Athletics European Championships standard of 20.55 for the first time this year. Chris Clarke (Fudge) won a different heat in a fast but windy 20.23 (+2.6m/s).

Results: http://2014.junioren-gala.de/pages/de/ergebnisse/2014.php