27 April 2015 

Welsh Senior League, Cardiff, 26 April

Double World and European champion Aled Davies (coach: Ryan Spencer-Jones) continued his rich vein of form throwing a new personal best and unofficial F42 world record in the discus. Davies’ throw of 52.85m was nearly two metres further than his previous best of 50.91m set at the Mesa Classic in Arizona just over two weeks ago. 

London 2012 Paralympian Rhys Jones (Keith Antoine) posted his fastest ever season openers over both sprint distances with an 11.96 clocking over 100m and 24.61 in the 200m in Cardiff. The 20 year old looks set to be one to watch when the IPC World Championships kick off in Doha in October.

Tom Jones Classic, Gainesville, USA, 24 April

Former European Under 23 400m hurdles champion Jack Green (Coach: Loren Seagrave) continued his highly encouraging comeback mission in Florida on Friday with his first sub-50 seconds clocking for three years.  Having won in 50.23 in Clermont the previous Saturday in his first one-lap hurdles race since July 2013, the 23-year-old Kent AC athlete took third place behind Ireland’s Thomas Barr (49.08) and 2012 world junior champion Eric Futch of the USA (49.45) in 49.55. It was Green’s fastest time since a 49.45 first round clocking at London 2012. “The rustiness is gradually coming off – 49.55 is great for April,” he said. 

Danny Talbot (Daniel Cossins) got the better of James Ellington (Rana Reider) in a close 200m battle between the GB sprint relay partners. Talbot finished second in 20.74 and Ellington third in 20.79 in a race won by Dutch European 200m champion Churandy Martina in 20.69 (wind -0.9).  Ellington clocked 10.20 as runner up to American Walter Dix in the second of several 100m races. Dix, the 2008 Olympic 100m and 200m bronze medallist, won in 10.11, with the wind at +1.5 metres per second. Sean Safo-Antwi (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo) was third in the same race in 10.32 and Roy Ejakuekwu (Rana Reider) eighth in 10.54. In race one 2004 Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallist Mark Lewis-Francis (Tony Hadley) finished sixth in 10.59 (wind +1.5).

In the women’s 200m Margaret Adeoye (Linford Christie) took third place in 23.20 (wind -1.1), behind American Tiffany Townsend (22.89) and double European champion Dafne Schippers (22.63) Commonwealth bronze medallist Bianca Williams (Lloyd Cowan) was close behind, fifth in 23.23 and Anyika Onuora (Rana Reider) seventh in 23.33. Adeoye also finished second in heat two of the 100m (wind +1.3) in 11.49.

There were British winners in both long jump competitions. Six days on from his stunning 8.21m leap in Clermont, Dan Bramble (Frank Attoh) notched another victory, this time with 7.67m (wind 0.0). Lorraine Ugen (Shawn Jackson) won the women’s event with a jump of 6.72m (wind +1.8), just 5cm short of her PB.

Shana Cox (George Williams) was runner up in the main women’s 400m race, clocking 52.69, with Victoria Ohuruogu (Chris Zah) fifth in the second one-lap race in 53.00. A GB quartet finished second in the women’s 4x400m relay in 3:28.39, behind Florida A (3:28.08).

The big contingent of British male quarter milers were split across several 400m heats. The fastest time came from Rabah Yousif (Carol Williams) in race two, finishing runner up in 45.97. Nigel Levine (Linford Christie) was fifth in 46.51 – faster than 2010 European Championship silver medallist Michael Bingham (George Williams), who placed sixth in the main race in 46.59. Daniel Awde (Chris Zah) won race three in 46.64, with training partner Andrew Steele (Chris Zah) fourth in 46.82.

Gianni Frankis (Tony Jarrett), the 2009 European Junior silver medallist, was fourth in the 110m hurdles in 13.93. In race two in the 100m hurdles Derby’s Yasmin Miller (Lloyd Cowan) clocked 13.45 as runner up, while in the main race Angelita Broadbelt-Blake (Chris Zah) finished ninth in 13.51.

http://www.gatorzone.com/trackfield/boxscore.php?gameid=12822

Drake Relays, Des Moines, USA, 23-25 April

Olympic high jump bronze medallist Robbie Grabarz (Fayyaz Ahmed) made his long-awaited comeback in Iowa on Friday. The27-year-old former European champion cleared 2.11m at the second attempt and 2.16m at the third time of asking before registering three failures at 2.21m. The 2.16m success left Grabarz joint 14th in his first competition since the British Athletics Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham in February last year – his first outdoors since the Weltklasse meet in Zurich in August 2013. He missed the whole of the 2014 outdoor season because of knee surgery. The event was won with a 2.32m clearance by Canada’s Derek Drouin.

European 100m hurdles champion Tiffany Porter (Rana Reider) had to settle for seventh place in a world-class field in 12.90. Following her 12.56 clocking in Clermont the previous weekend, Porter lost her 2015 world lead to Jasmin Stowers, who won in a stunning PB of 12.40 (wind +1.5) –  ahead of fellow Americans Dawn Harper-Nelson (12.71), Kristi Castlin (12.72), Brianna Rollins (12.75), Queen Harrison (12.76) and Sharika Nelvis (12.86).

Commonwealth pole vault champion Steve Lewis (Dan Pfaff) managed a best clearance of 5.37m, in a competition moved indoors because of poor weather, finishing joint ninth.

Southampton’s Freya Jones (Don Babbitt) went to the top of the 2015 UK rankings with a 51.20m throw for second place in the women’s javelin, while Shaftesbury Barnet’s Nick Percy (Vestenin Hafsteinsson) won the discus with 56.27m and finished sixth in the hammer with 59.91. Ipswich’s Matti Mortimer (Justin St Clair) was sixth in the men’s javelin with 66.78m.

http://results.flotrack.org/2015/04-22-Drake/Web/Timetable.php?D=3

Triton Invitational, San Diego, USA, San Diego, USA, 24-25 April

Four-time Paralympic Games discus medallist Dan Greaves (Jim Edwards) continued his strong start to the season with a best throw of 59.44m. The 32-year-old Charnwood throwing with the 1.5kg weight finished seventh – two places ahead of Carl Myerscough (self-coached), who threw 57.00m. Shaftesbury Barnet’s Zane Duquemin (coach: unknown) was tenth with 56.52m.

Commonwealth discus bronze medallist Jade Lally (Andrew Neal) threw a season’s best and 2015 UK lead 58.63m in ninth place.

http://www.ucsdtritons.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5800&SPID=11064&SPSID=93286&DB_OEM_ID=5800

Charnwood League Meet,  25 April 

World T38 100m champion Sophie Hahn (Joe McDonnell) continued her strong start to the season as the 18 year old posted a time of 13.2 (handtimed) to win the 100m in Loughborough.

Hahn then teamed up with her training partner and Commonwealth gold medallist Libby Clegg (guide runner Mikail Huggins) to win the 4x100m relay. 

Loughborough Students BUCS Trials and Open Meet, Loughborough, 25 April

World junior hammer finalist Taylor Campbell (Paul Dickenson) broke the UK under 20 record with a throw of 76.81m. The previous record, 76.67m, was set in 2009 by Peter Smith.

Penn Relays, Philadelphia, USA, 23-25 April

Liverpool Pembroke Sefton’s Toby Loveridge (John Bradshaw) clocked a PB of 29:56.38 in third place in the 10,000m, the third fastest track time at the distance by a Briton in 2015. Iona Lake (Pauline Ash) of the City of Norwich club was fifth over 5,000m in 16:15.93.

http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=136826