27 February 2010

Louise Bloor was the star of the show for Sheffield Flames as they successfully defended their McCain City Challenge title, whilst there was a welcome comeback for Kelly Sotherton who guested in the shot – her first competitive outing since injury ruled her out of the 2009 World Championships.

Bloor’s victory in the women’s 200m with a time of 24.66seconds ahead of Cardiff Dragons’ Melanie Stevenson and London North Lions athlete Dominique Blaze helped set the Flames well on their way to a comfortable victory at Lee Valley on Saturday 27 February.

The Flames racked-up an impressive 498.39 points to see off North London Lions, who finished second with 454.9 points with Birmingham Falcons finishing on 380.29 in third.

And the 24-year-old admitted she could not be happier after her side made it back-to-back wins in the series after triumphing in the first match of the series in Sheffield earlier this month.

She said: “It was a good performance and I think everyone had a great day out there.

“I thought I ran reasonably well although there are always things you can improve on and build on for next time.

“It’s a great event to be a part of and we’re all really pleased that we managed to win against some great teams.”

Elsewhere, Jamie Williamson provided another Sheffield win in the shot with a personal best throw of 17.66m.

North London Lions’ Hamim Lubega turned tragedy into triumph by winning the men’s 400m just hours after the death of his grandfather, with a time of 48.77 second.

Newcastle Angels’ Jonathon Taylor produced an imperious performance in the 1500m and his time of 3:44.93 was enough to see him win by almost six seconds from Nick Samuels (Birmingham Falcons).

Henrietta Paxton produced the goods for Birmingham Falcons winning the women’s pole vault with a leap of 4.00m.

Vicky Griffths (Manchester Warriors) was unable to take victory in the build up to next month’s World Indoor Championships where she is selected over 800m She finished in third place in the 400m after a run of 55.74 seconds.

In a further highlight there was a guest appearance from Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton – who was making her first appearance on track or field for seven months.

The 33-year-old competed in the shot, registering a best throw of 14.41m and the Commonwealth Games gold-medal winning heptathlete was delighted to be back after missing last year’s World Championship with a heel injury. 

“It was really good to get out there and get competing again because I’m someone who needs to have a target,” said Sotherton.

“I’ve got three or four months now before I compete again so it was good to get out there and see how I could do.”

The McCain City Challenge is a nationwide city team based athletic competition featuring teams from Glasgow to London and Newcastle to Cardiff, competing across two league matches to fight for the title of MCC Champions 2010.

A rich mixture of established international stars and aspiring juniors line up together in the same team vying for individual and team points.

With over £30,000 available across the series in prizes, inspirational arenas and a first class competition opportunity, this is an event designed with the athlete in mind.  For more information visit www.uka.org.uk

To view results please download excel document below.