16th April 2012
Weekend Update
16 April 2012
The major event of the weekend domestically was the National Road Relays in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, but there were a number of notable performance by British athletes further afield, too.
Spar Great Ireland Run, April 15
Gemma Steel (coach: John Nuttall) smashed her 10K PB with 32:06 to go top of the McCain Power of Ten rankings. Charlotte Purdue (Mick Woods) was second, in 32:10, also a PB.
Results: http://www.greatrun.org/
Video: http://t.co/iPlJWRWa
Vienna, April 15
World marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe (Gary Lough) was beaten in her handicapped race-off with Haile Gebreselassie. Radcliffe, who has had bronchitis, admitted she was very disappointed to clock 72:03.
Results here
City of Hull Open, April 15
Peter Smith (Dave Smith) smashed his PB to go third on the McCain Power of Ten rankings with 71.75m. His brother Alex (Shane Peacock), who tops the rankings with his earlier 75.63m, was a close second with 71.29m.
Results: http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=62752
Miami Hurricane Alumni Invitational, Miami, April 15
Abi Oyepitan (Tony Lester) went top of the McCain Power of Ten rankings with her fastest legal 200m for six years when she won her heat into a headwind in 23.15 (-1.4m/s) and defeated Jamaican Aleen Bailey. She was seventh in the 100m with 11.55 (-1.8m/s).
ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam, Holland, April 15
Ben Fish (Arthur Almon) went top of the UK marathon rankings for the year when he finished third in a PB of 2:19:31.
Results: http://evenementen.uitslagen.nl/2012/marathonrotterdam/uitslag01001en.html
Kingston, Jamaica, April 14
Dwain Chambers ran 21.32 in his 200m heat.
http://meets.net76.net/2012/utechclassic/index.htm
National men’s 12-stage and women’s 6-stage Relays, Sutton Coldfield, April 14
Tipton were easy men’s winners and Aldershot broke the women’s record. Aldershot’s Charlotte Purdue (Mick Woods) was fastest woman with 15:29 and Steph Twell (Woods) second best with 15:35.
Stockport’s Patrick Martin (Dave Turnbull) was the fastest long leg with 26:01.
Women: http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2012/nat6w12.htm
Men: http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2012/nat1212.htm
UKA/RWA National 20km Championships and Age Group Championships, Redbridge Cycle Circuit, Hainault, 14 April
Pembroke Harriers’ Heather Lewis (Martin Bell) was the stand out performer at the National Championships held on a testing course at the Redbridge Cycle Circuit, which included 500m of climbing per 1km lap. Lewis improved her personal best – set last month in Lugano, Switzerland – by 40 seconds when clocking 49:51 and in doing so moving to eighth on the UK All-Time list and becoming the first British Junior to go under the 50 minute barrier since 2004.
“I knew after Lugano I was in shape to go under 50 minutes and I will be targeting further improvement in the World Cup in Saransk, Russia next month,” said Lewis who had clearly learnt from her fast start on that occasion.
In the Men’s 20km it was a battle between reigning RWA Champion Tom Bosworth of Tonbridge AC (Andi Drake) and Ben Wears (Redcar RWC) the reigning UKA Champion. The early pace was set by Colchester Harriers’ Daniel King (Andi Drake), followed by Bosworth who was fresh from his personal best of 85:49 in Lugano last month.
Wears was leading the chasing group containing Dominic King (Andi Drake) and Irishman Michael Doye.
Bosworth took charge of the race at the 5km point and started to build a lead. Daniel King was disqualified and it was Wears and Doyle who were left to pursue Bosworth. At the 12km point Bosworth began to slow hampered by a hamstring injury and Wears made his move establishing a lead of over a minute at the 15km point. However, in the last 3km Wears began to tire and Bosworth revived and closed the gap to 19 seconds at the line.
Wears improved his season’s best set in Lugano to 1:29:33, which briefly lifted him to second in the McCain Power of 10 Rankings for 2012 and is his second fastest ever 20km.
“I’m delighted to win but I’m disappointed with my last 4km because once I had established a lead I lost concentration,” said Wears. “I’ve been training really well in Spain recently and know I am in much better shape than this”.
Belgrave’s Australian Stuart Kollmorgen was third in 1:39:54.
The Women’s 20km was won by reigning champion Lithuanian, Neringa Aidietyte who recently clocked an Olympic A standard in Lugano. She walked most of the first 10km with Heather Lewis and then used the second half as a tempo session to come home in 1:38:21.
Behind her, Rebecca Collins of Medway and Maidstone (Andi Drake) made a big breakthrough to clock a personal best of 1:47:34 to put her top of the McCain Power of 10 Rankings for 2012. Ultra Distance multi record holder Sandra Brown (Surrey RWC) took her first ever 20km medal in third in (1:19:37).
In the younger Age-Group Championships some of the best racing took place in the under-17 age groups. The under-17 male title was taken by Cameron Corbishley (Medway & Maidstone AC) in 24:04 ahead of Alex Eaton of Manx Harriers (24:47). In the under-17 women’s race the leading protagonists were Tasha Webster of Birchfield Harriers (Martin Bell) and Ellie Dooley of Leeds City AC (Andi Drake) who both set off at fierce pace, passing the 1km point in 4.39 and 4.48 respectively.
They both paid for the quick start with Webster retaining her title ahead of Dooley who took her first national medal just eight months after starting race walking.
In the under-15 age group 3km event there were wins for Heather Butcher (Cambridge Harriers) in 15:30 and Matt Redfern (Nuneaton Harriers) in 15:12.
In the under-13 2km event there was a double for the City Of Sheffield AC with Jack Leversidge taking the boys title in 10:48 and Ana Garcia taking the girls’ win in 10.49.
Elsewhere, Alex Wright moved to second on the McCain Power of 10 rankings courtesy of his 1:26:54 over 20km in the Rio Major, Portugal, an IAAF Race Walking Challenge Permit event.
Results: http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/06/45/85/64585_PDF_English.pdf
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