3 March 2014

England Under 20 Championships, EIS, Sheffield, March 1-2 

David Omoregie (coach: Mike Guest) set a British & European junior record in both the heats and final of the 60 metre hurdles, twice stopping the clock at 7.62, to secure victory, eclipsing James Gladman’s previous best of 7.65. Despite his record breaking performance he didn’t have it all his own way, with Euan Dickson-Earle (David Brown) having a big breakthrough to run 7.63 and go second on the all time lists, closely followed by Khai Riley-Laborde (Ray Gibbins) who was third in 7.66 to go fourth on the all time lists.

Dina Asher Smith (John Blackie) easily won the 60m in a championship best 7.2, but photo finish failure possibly denied her a British record. However on Sunday Asher-Smith bounced back from her bittersweet 60m victory to win the 200m in British junior record of 23.15. That performances also puts her fourth on the senior women’s all-time list. As with the Sainsbury’s British Athletics Indoor Championships she was pushed all the way by training partner and Blackheath & Bromley teammate Shannon Hylton (Blackie) who clocked 23.39.

Chris Kandu (John Herbert) won the high jump in a championship record breaking 2.22m to go fourth on the junior indoor all time list.

There were two further championship best performances in the pole vault; Lucy Bryan (Charles Preston) clearing 4.33m to move to second on the Power of Ten rankings behind Holly Bleasdale (Scott Simpson) and Joel Leon Benitez (Alan Richardson) who cleared 4.82m and went close at a UK age 15 best of 4.92m. 

Chennah Okoh set a British record in the under-15 boys 300m which he won in 36.56. Runner-up Joseph Massimo went third all time with his 37.06.

Hurdles specialist Shona Richards (Marina Armstrong) took the under 20 women’s 400m title in 54.92, which improved on her Power of Ten leading performance set last month.

Jona Efoloko (John Smith) recovered from a poor start to take the under 15 boys 60m title in a personal best of 7.08, just three hundredths shy of the championship best performance set in 2010. In the junior final, Joseph Dewar (Gladys Bird) suffered a hamstring pull mid race but still hung on to win a thrilling under 20 60m final in 6.71, just ahead of Ojie Edoburun (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo).

Results: http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=97039 

Reading Half Marathon, March 2

In the first race of the 2014 runbritain Grand Prix, London 2012 marathoner Scott Overall (Robert Chapman) won by six seconds in 64:44. Nicholas Torry was second, with Phil Wicks third, both also inside 65 minutes. The trio go second to fourth in the Power of Ten rankings for 2014.

10th in last year’s IAAF World Championship marathon, Susan Partridge (Steve Jones) won the women’s race in 72:20 with Tish Jones setting a  personal best in second in 72:56. Alyson Dixon was third in 73:09 and those three women now occupy the top three placings in the women’s rankings.

Results: http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com/race-info/2014-results.htm

Silverstone Half Marathon, March 2

Chris Thompson took a mammoth victory as he tunes up for his marathon debut at the Virgin London Marathon, winning by eight minutes in 65:08 to go fifth in the Power of Ten rankings.

Results: http://results.adidashalfmarathon.co.uk/2014/Bad

Athlone, Ireland, February 26

Four days after finishing seventh in the National cross-country, Matt Shirling (Adrian Webb) went third on the all time lists for under 20 3000m with his 8:06.58 second place behind Ross Millington (Steve Vernon) who won in 8:00.32. In the women’s 800m, Katie Kirk (Mark Kirk) took three seconds off her outright PB to win in 2:03.58 and go fourth on the Power of Ten rankings

Results: http://www.aitsport.ie/packed-house-ait-night-international-athletics/#prettyPhoto

Molly Barnet Open Walks & British Athletics Winter Race Walk Challenge Final, March 1, Warwick University

Tom Bosworth (coach: Andi Drake) missed five-time Olympian Chris Maddock’s 25 year old British record by an agonising two seconds in the Molly Barnet Open Walks & British Athletics Winter Race Walk Challenge Final at Warwick University. Bosworth improved his personal best of 40.44 set in the corresponding race last year to 40.19 but was agonisingly just shy of Maddocks in 40.17 to go top of the Power of 10 Rankings. Bosworth was 2nd in the race behind training partner and Leeds-based Kiwi Quentin Rew (Hyde Park Harriers) who was 17th in last year’s Moscow World Championships over 50km. Rew broke the 40 minute barrier to record a new personal best of 39.51.  In the highest quality ever domestic 10 km staged, 3rd place was taken by European Junior 7th placer Jamie Higgins (Andi Drake) in his senior debut. Returning after a long injury lay off during the Autumn, Higgins was just outside his personal best in 42.48. Bosworth and Higgins will target fast times in the EAA Race Walking Permit meeting in Lugano, Switzerland later in the month. In the Junior Men’s 10 Kilometres Cameron Corbishley made a brave effort to stay with Jo Atkinson and despite falling off the pace in the 2nd half was rewarded with a new personal best of 46.21 to go top of the UK Rankings for 2014.

In the women’s 10 Kilometres race there was a welcome return to racing from Commonwealth Champion Jo Atkinson (nee Jackson). In her first serious race in 18 months, since suffering the heartbreak of disqualification in the Olympics on The Mall, Atkinson powered away to take  a controlled victory in 45.02 to go top of the Power of 10 Rankings, in the strongest domestic female 10km ever staged in the UK. Atkinson who has been denied the chance to defend her Commonwealth title by the Glasgow Organising Committee’s decision to remove the walks from the Glasgow programme, will target the IAAF World Cup of Race Walking in China in May and the European Championships in August. Behind her the next three finishers made huge improvements. Bethan Davies (Andi Drake) and Heather Lewis (Martin Bell) walked together for much of the race with Davies coming out on top over the last few laps. Davies who had  a previous personal best of 52.05 on the road and 49.03 on the track smashed these to record a new Welsh record of 46.42 to go 2nd on the Power of 10 Rankings and to 9th on the UK All Time list. Lewis clocked 46.59 for a new Welsh Under 23 record and to move to 10th on the UK All Time Senior list and to 3rd on the Under 23 All Time List. These three will now target fast time over 20km in Lugano next month.

In fourth place, Ellie Dooley (Andi Drake) took over three minutes of her previous road best (52.56) in clocking 49.26. This is that fastest time by a British junior for 10 years and moves her to joint fifth on the UK all time junior list and 26th on UK senior all time list. There were also personal bests for Kiwi Alana Barber in 5th (51.50) and under 20 Jasmine Nicholls (coach: Ando Drake) who moved to 3rd on the UK rankings for 2014.

In the Under 20 women’s 5km there was a massive personal best for Emma Achurch (Steve Arnold) in clocking  24.05. In the Under 15 Girls 3km, Ana Garcia (Coach: Brian Adams) set a new British best performance clocking 14.01.