6th February 2022
WEEKEND UPDATE (4-6 FEBRUARY)
New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Staten Island NY, USA, 6 February
Andrew Butchart (Central) broke his own Scottish indoor record in the men’s 3000m with a time of 7:37.42 as he finished second behind Spain’s Adel Mechaal who broke the European record in 7:30.82.
It was a fast and furious 3000m with Jake Wightman (Geoff Wightman, Edinburgh) making a rare outing over the distance, slicing 13 seconds off his previous indoor best with a time of 7:37.81. Meanwhile, Tom Mortimer (Chris McGeorge, Stroud) was also inside the world indoor qualifying standard with a time of 7:40.97.
In the women’s long jump, Lorraine Ugen (Dwight Phillips produced a season best of 6.71m on her fourth attempt to win the competition overall. With jumps of 6.70m and 6.62m also in her series, it was a solid start to the 2022 season for the Thames Valley athlete. Jazmin Sawyers (Lance Brauman, City of Stoke) finished fifth with a season best of 6.34m.
There was a world indoor qualifying standard for Isabelle Boffey (Luke Gunn, Enfield and Haringey) in the women’s 800m as she clocked 2:01.37 – also an indoor PB – for third place in the race. In the men’s equivalent, Kyle Langford (Jon Bigg, Shaftesbury Barnet) also moved inside the Belgrade standard as he crossed the line in 1:46.52 for fourth position.
Qualifying standards for the world indoors were falling everywhere for British athletes in NYC with two athletes going under the 8:49.00 time in the women’s 3000m. European indoor champion Amy-Eloise Markovc (Chris Fox, Wakefield) set an outright PB of 8:44.15 in fifth, while Jenny Nesbitt (Chris Jones, Cardiff) narrowly dipped under the time as she posted 8:48.48 for ninth overall.
World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver, Berlin, 4 February
Daryll Neita (Cambridge Harriers) bagged the world indoor qualifying standard and moved to the top of the 2022 UK rankings, as she won the women’s 60m in Berlin.
After setting a rapid time of 7.18 to qualify through the heats, she returned to put down a time of 7.15 in the final – the joint fifth quickest in the world this year so far.
World Combined Events Silver Tour, Talinn, Estonia, 5-6 Feb
After a great display across five events, Holly Mills (Laura Turner-Alleyne, Andover) moved to second in the world so far this year in the women’s pentathlon , but narrowly missed out on the win in Estonia by one point as she scored a personal best points score of 4597.
Mills started off excellent form, setting a PB in the 60m hurdles – the time 8.17. Next up was the high jump where she cleared a season best of 1.72m, before 13.10m in the shot put left her in fourth position overall after three events.
A best of 6.37m in the long jump set her up nicely, just 27 points off the podium places with only the 800m remaining. Over the four laps of the indoor track, Mills achieved a time of 2:12.54 which moved her up to second place overall and just one point behind Adrianna Sulek.
World Athletics Indoor Tour Special Bronze, Hustopece, Czech Republic, 5 February
Emily Borthwick jumped a lifetime best of 1.95m to seal victory at the Czech meeting, and also extend her run as world lead this year. She also moved to joint fourth on the UK all-time list in the high jump.
The Wigan and District athlete opened with a 1.91m clearance last month and continued her winning ways as she sailed over 1.95m on her first attempt to improve her personal best.
World Athletics Indoor Tour Special Bronze, Miramas, France, 4 February
European U20 champion Ed Faulds (James Wright, Rugby and Northampton) ran an indoor PB of 46.79 over 400m, from lane one, which moves him to the top of the world U20 rankings so far this year.
Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) Meeting, Glasgow, 5 February
Jenny Selman (Fife) recorded a PB and world indoor qualifying standard (2:00.72) in the women’s 800m prior to the DNA programme, only to return and win her 800m race for Scotland in the match.
European Champions Club Cup Cross Country, Oeiras, Portugal, 6 February
Aldershot Farnham and District were narrowly outside a medal in the senior mixed relay, as the senior women’s team finished fifth overall, with Central AC 15th in the senior men’s team event.
The relay quartet of Ellis Cross (Mick Woods), Lilly Coward (Craig Winrow), Ricky Harvie (Tim Eglen) and Amy Griffiths (Luke Gunn) were just seven seconds behind Portugal’s Sporting as they came home in fourth position.
Steph Twell was the highest placed AFD finisher in the senior women’s race as she crossed the line in ninth, with her teammate Louise Small (Mick Woods) making it into the top 20 in 16th. Niamh Brown (Tim Eglen) was the third and final counter in 22nd, while Emily Wicks (Keith Donkin) was 38th.
In the senior men’s race, Jamie Crowe (Derek Easton) was the first Central AC athlete across the finish line in 32nd, with Alastair Hay and Tom Graham-Marr (Michael Wright) the next two counters in 51st and 59th respectively, with the Scottish team 15th in the overall standings.
JDL Camel City Invitational, Winston Salem NC, USA, 4-5 February
Tokyo Olympian Sam Atkin (Mike Collins, Lincoln Wellington) joined a lengthy list of British athletes to bag the World Indoors 3000m qualifying standard following a 7:46.79 time, as he won the elite race in America.
Elsewhere Charlie Da’Vall Grice (Brighton Phoenix) won the men’s elite mile race in a season best of 3:57.22, just edging out Vincent Ciattei for the win.
Perche en Or – Perche Elite Tour, Tourcoing, FRA, 4-5 February
Olympian Harry Coppell (Scott Simpson, Wigan and District) opened his season with a clearance of 5.54m in France for 10th place.
Elsewhere, European U20 medallist Sophie Ashurst (Andy Ashurst, Sale Harriers Manchester) was narrowly outside the World U20 qualifying standard as she went over 4.14m to tie equal third in the women’s B final.
BUCS Cross Country Championships, Middlesex, 5 February
Kirsty Walker (Rob McKim, Loughborough Students) and William Battershill (Luke Gunn, University of Birmingham) won the women’s and men’s long races respectively at Horsenden Hill in Middlesex.
At the popular university cross country meeting, Walker was a dominate winner finishing 30 seconds ahead of her nearest rivals Abbie Donnelly (Rob Lewis, Loughborough Students) and Megan Keith (Ross Cairns, University of Edinburgh) who rounded out the podium,.
In the men’s long race, Battershill overcame the in-form Zakariya Mahamed (Idris Hamud, University of Solent) and Matthew Stonier (Peter Mullervy, Loughborough Students) to seal the victory.
World Indoor Tour Silver, Ostrava, Czech Republic, 3 February
Elliot Giles (Jon Bigg, Birchfield) set a meeting record and bagged a World Indoor qualifying standard over 1500m as he won in a time of 3:35.93. He goes to second on the UK rankings so far this year following the run in Czech Republic. Piers Copeland (Bob Smith, Wimborne) was sixth in 3:38.64, while Archie Davis (Joel Kidger, Brighton Phoenix) was ninth in 3:40.28.
In the women’s 1500m, Tokyo Olympian Revee Walcott-Nolan posted an indoor PB of 4:10.53 to pip Adelle Tracey (Craig Winrow, Guildford & Godalming) to the win. The Luton athlete held off Tracey who clocked 4:10.88.
Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow) opened her season with a time of 52.03 over 400m, finishing third in a race which saw Poland’s Anna Kielbasinska setting a world leading time of 51.10.
After already clocking a World Indoors qualifying standard in Lee Valley last month, Eugene Amo-Dadzie (Steve Fudge, Woodford Green Essex Ladies) dipped under the time again as he recorded a time of 6.61s in the heats. He later ran 6.66s in the final for second place behind Czech Republic’s Jan Valeba. Oliver Bromby (Southampton) was close behind in a time of 6.70s in the final, third overall.
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