Newyddion
Weekend Round-Up (27-28 July)
29/07/2024 00:00, I Mewn Blog /
Images: Above - Eleri Jones at BMAF Champs (Credit Clive Willimas) & News feed - Eden Robinson (Credit: Michelle Robinson)
GREAT BRITAIN WORLD ATHLETICS UNDER-20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT – JULY 26
National Development Programme athlete Eden Robinson (North Devon) was named in a strong Great Britain under-20 squad which will head for Peru. Robinson will compete in the heptathlon at the championships which start in Lima on August 27.
ENGLAND ATHLETICS U-15 & U17 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS, U20 & SENIOR OPEN & COMBINED EVENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS, JUNIOR PARA CHAMPIONSHIPS (11-18), UK COMBINED EVENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS – BIRMINGHAM, JULY 26-28
Following the successes of Welsh athletes at the previous weekend’s England Athletics Under20/Senior and Para Championships it was the turn of the nation’s younger athletes and top multi eventers to shine this weekend in Birmingham. And shine they did as a several Welsh Athletics performance pathway athletes won medals competing against competitors from across the UK. Leading the way in the medal stakes at the Alexander Stadium on Friday evening was Libby Hale (Swansea Harriers), who the previous weekend was enjoying huge success at the SIAB International in Carmarthen. Having won 1500m gold, broken the championship best performance and set a new under-17 national record in west Wales, Hale was once again in winning form in the Midlands. The outstanding middle-distance prospect won the under-17 1500m gold in 4:26.78, ahead of Ellarose Whitworth in 4:29.25.
Another medal winner on the first day of competition was Millie Gold (Swansea Harriers), who herself was in gold medal winning and Welsh record breaking form at in the 1500m steeplechase at the SIAB international.In Birmingham, Gold had to settle for silver in the Under-17 1500m chase as she finished second in 5:02.74 to Ava James who won in 4:52.39. There was also a silver medal for Bryony Boyce (Cardiff Athletics), who finished second in the Under-15 3,000m final, clocking 9:54.75 behind Summer Smith.
In the field, there was a silver medal in the Under-15 discus for Lachlan Robbie (Cardiff Archers), who produced a best distance of 41.47m. Day two got off to a flying start literally for the Welsh contingent as Kaleem Islam (Cardiff Athletics) claimed gold and a new personal best in the Under-15 long jump, leaping out to 6.27m – just over six centimetres ahead of Scotland’s Murray John Taylor.
There was more field gold as Owen Garrett (Yate and District AC), who was last weekend representing Great Britain at the European Under18 Championships in Slovakia, won the Under-17 discus with a best of 52.92m, putting him well ahead of second placed Moyo Stumpenhusen. Max Evans (Maldwyn Harriers) followed up his hat-trick of sprint golds at the SIAB International by winning the Under-17 100m final in a blistering new PB of 10.68 ahead of Joel Ajayi. Meanwhile, Aliyah Afolabi (Cardiff Archers), who also won three golds at the SIAB International, had to settle for silver on this occasion as she finished second to Shivelle Marshall in the Under-15 100m in a time of 12.10.
T37 athlete Fletcher Roberts (Brighton Phoenix) was in excellent form in Birmingham. The 13-year-old won the para ambulant 1500m in a new PB of 6:52.87 and claimed a silver medal and a PB in the para ambulant long jump where he recorded a best of 2.77m. Roberts also gained a bronze medal in the para ambulant 100m final in a time of 17.33.
- The women’s para ambulant 100m final saw another bronze medal go to T37 athlete Amirah Peckham (DSW Para Athletics), who clocked a season’s best 17.37.
- Multi-eventer Tiana Odugbesan (Cardiff Archers), who has won a number of titles already this summer, earned silver in the under-15 long jump thanks to a new PB of 5.70m.
- Luca Phillips (Cardiff Archers), who also enjoyed a successful SIAB International, earned a bronze medal in the closely contested Under-17 triple jump final with a best distance of 14.16m.
The final day’s competition on Sunday continued to see some outstanding results for Welsh competitors.
After day one of the women’s senior heptathlon on Saturday, which featured Paris Olympics-bound World Champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson making a guest appearances in two events before withdrawing, Lauren Evans (Cardiff AC) and Eden Robinson (North Devon) occupied the top two places. Sunday’s action saw the Welsh pairing continue to vie for the top spot throughout the day with Robinson earning the upper hand thanks to an impressive throw of 41.73m in the javelin. The final event of the competition saw Robinson, who was celebrating selection for the World Under-20 Championships in Peru, claim an 800m PB of 2:19.73 to finish just ahead of Evans, who crossed the line in 2:20.37.That result cemented Robinson’s overall victory with a new personal best total of 5597 points ahead of Birmingham Commonwealth Games representative Evans, who amassed a total of 5402 in the silver medal position.
If a Welsh one-two in the heptathlon was good, there was even better result in the under-15 triple jump final which saw a clean sweep of the medals and all three athletes jump further than they had ever previously recorded. Macsen Martins Hughes (Cardiff Archers) claimed gold with a huge jump of 13.30m (w+3.0). Silver went to Aidan Angilletta (Deeside AAC) with a PB of 12.94m, with Cobie Phillips (Cardiff Archers) claiming bronze and enjoying a PB of 12.25m. Angilletta also picked up a bronze in the 80m hurdles where he equalled his PB of 11.21.
- Luca Phillips followed up his bronze medal in the triple jump by winning gold in the long jump with a victorious leap of 7.01m. Phillips would later claim a silver medal in the 100m hurdles final where he clocked 13.01.
- The outstanding season being enjoyed by Darcy Coslett (Llanelli AAC) continued as she won silver in the under-17 final, posting a new PB of 38.28.
- Menna Grant (Cardiff Archers) was also in PB form as she stormed to victory in the under-17 80m hurdles final, stopping the clock in 11.09.
- Meanwhile, Aliyah Afolabi (Cardiff Archers) returned to winning ways in the under-15 200m final where she claimed gold in 24.21.
Under-20 T54 wheelchair athlete Owain Terrell (Newport Harriers) enjoyed a hugely productive day on Sunday. Terrell claimed silver medals in the 100m, clocking a new PB of 18.30, and the 200m in 33.89. In the 800m he finished third in a new PB of 2:18.81. Evie Cooper (Neath) claimed bronze in the under-17 hammer, thanks to a best throw of 51.31m.
As well as the medal winning performances above there were a host of other excellent performances achieved by Welsh athletes, including a number of personal bests.
BRITISH MASTERS ATHLETIC FEDERATION (BMAF) TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS – JULY 26-28
The BMAF Championships were held at the Moorways Athletics Stadium in Derby over the weekend. One of the busiest Welsh athletes at the Championships was Mark Wyndham-Jones (City of Norwich/Eastern Masters/Welsh Masters/Ryston), who took part in the hammer, weight, shot, discus, high jump and javelin. The M70 athlete won golds in both the weight with 14.01m and discus with 34.15m, along with silver in the javelin with 28.46m and bronze in the shot with 10.53m. Amongst the other Welsh medal winners was Eleri Jones (Welsh Masters/Newport Harriers) who won silver in both the W40 100m and 200m finals, clocking 13.94 and 27.40 respectively.
MAGOR 10K – CALDICOT, JULY 27
The famously fast, flat Major 10k was held on a new route on Saturday. The men’s race saw Jacob Tasker (Ogmore Phoenix) follow up his victory at last week’s Rabbit Run by claiming first place again, this time in 30.57. Tasker was followed home by Tom Evetts (Western Tempo) in 32:34 and Sam Griffiths (Caldicot Running Club) in 32:54.
The women’s race was won by Alaw Evans (Les Croupiers) in 35:38, who finished comfortably ahead of Megan Williams in 37:25 and Lizzy Dimond (Lliswerry Runners) in 37:50.
The men’s team race was won by Parc Bryn Bach A, while the honours in the ladies’ event went to Les Croupiers.