24 July 2014

David Omoregie (coach: Mike Guest, Cardiff) won a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles on day three of the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Omoregie won GB & NI’s third medal of the championships with a time of 13.35 as France’s Wilhem Belocian took the title in a new world junior record of 12.99.

He said: “This is big. I’ve come a long way since last year. The target for this year has always been to medal here, I could have run a bit better but that’s the way it goes and I can’t do anything about that now.

“It wasn’t a good race technically but to come away with a medal I’m still happy with that and I don’t think I can take any negative away from this because I’ve medalled. I’ve just got to take away as many positives as I can to help me in my senior career.”

Jack Crosby (Rick Betts, Middlesborough) finished fifth in the final of the 400m with a time of 46.63, just three hundredths of a second slower than the new personal best he set in the previous day’s semi-final. However the 19 year old admitted that he had wanted more.

He said: “I came here for medals not to mess around. I got two PBs but it’s not 45 seconds. I’m glad that I finished fifth fastest in the world but fifth doesn’t give you medals. I’ve learned from it and that’s the key; I need to remember this feeling and take it in to my winter to prove some points next summer.”

17 year old Tom Somers (Geoffrey Barraclough, City of York) ran two personal bests in one day to qualify for the final of the men’s 200m. Having won his heat in the morning with a personal best 20.60, he came back in the evening to win his semi-final in yet another personal best of 20.37 – a British youth best and a time that only Usain has bettered at the same age.

Shannon Hylton (John Blackie, Blackheath & Bromley) qualified for Friday’s women’s 200m final with an impressive second place finish in her semi-final. Having also finished second in the morning’s heats, running 23.78 from lane one and into a -1.7m/s headwind, she ran a rapid 23.36 in the evening semi-finals to secure a lane for the final.

Following her gold medal winning performance in the 100m last night, Hylton’s training partner Dina Asher-Smith (Blackie, Blackheath & Bromley) withdrew from the 200m heats as a precaution due to a slight sciatic problem.

Chris Stone (Alastair Abrams, Bristol & West) was fourth in his 200m heat with a time of 21.47, which wasn’t quite enough to grab one of the six fastest losers’ places.

GB & NI will have two athletes in the semi-finals of the women’s 400m hurdles after Shona Richards (Armstrong, WSEH) and Jessica Turner (Nick Dakin, Amber Valley) made it through the heats. Richards was second in a time of 58.37 while Turner placed third in her heat with a time of 59.58.

In the first event of the day, the heats of the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Amy Eloise-Neale (coach: Greg Metcalf) safely made it through to Saturday’s final with a fifth place finish in 10:17.88, enough to clinch the last automatic spot.

In the second 3000m steeplechase heat Katie Ingle (Margaret Riley, Royal Sutton Coldfield) finished 18th with a time of 10:43.03.

In the field, GB & NI’s pole vault duo of Harry Coppell (John Mitchell, Wigan & District) and Adam Hague (Trevor Fox, The Dearne) made light work of qualifying for Saturday’s final. Both cleared 5.20m at the first attempt and that was comfortably enough to secure a place in the final.

Taylor Campbell (Paul Dickenson, WSEH) reached the final of the men’s hammer, which takes place on Friday. Campbell threw 72.87m in the second round to secure a place in the final as the ninth best qualifier.

Jacob Paul (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) was unable to make it past the semi-finals of the men’s 400m hurdles. He picked up a foot injury during the race and crossed the line in seventh place with a time of 54.36.