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17/02/2023 00:00, In Blog / Track & Field /

It's set to be a great weekend of racing with 29 Welsh athletes heading to the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham!

Day 1 – Saturday 18 February

The Championships will get underway with the Women’s 60m heats, recently crowned Senior Welsh 60m Indoors Champion Hannah Longden (Cardiff Athletics) will be fighting for a podium place. She will be joined by teammate Issie Tustin (Cardiff Athletics). Longden will also be competing in the Women’s 200m on Sunday. 

                                                                                     Hannah Longden © Graham Glendinning

After a successful outdoors season last year Jeremiah Azu (Cardiff Athletics) will be hoping to take home another British title in the Men’s 60m. Azu has already clocked 6.58 over the 60m distance this year. After picking up the 100m Outdoors title last year, he will be hoping to add another British Ttitle to his tally. Joining him in the race is Development Programme athlete Sam Gordon (Cardiff Athletics), Dewi Hammond (Cardiff Athletics), Zachary Price (Liverpool) and recent Welsh Indoors Champion over 60m Joshua Brown (Cardiff Athletics).

In the Men’s Pole Vault six-time Welsh Champion Thomas Walley (Wrexham) will competing.

Welsh Senior Indoors Champion over 200m and 400m, Ffion Mair Roberts (Cardiff Athletics) will be competing in the Women’s 400m race. Joining her is silver medalist over the same distance at Welsh Indoors Championships, Sian Harry (Belgrave) and Seren Bundy-Davies (Trafford).

                                                                                    Ffion Mair Roberts © Owen Morgan

Performance Programme athlete Joe Brier (Swansea Harriers) will be competing over 400m, after a busy outdoors season last year competing in three major championships in under one month.

In the Men’s 60m hurdles Tom Wilcock (Northampton) will be in action, Wilcock finished second in the same event at the Welsh Senior Indoors Championships.

In his third indoors competition of the year David Locke (Cardiff Athletics) will be competing in the Men’s 800m.

Competing in the Women’s 800m is Rhiannon Hawker (Cardiff Athletics) in her second competition of the year over 800m, and her first UK Athletics Indoor Championships since 2013.

Both Lauren Evans (Cardiff Athletics) and Grace Morgan (Cardiff Archers) will be competing in the Women’s 60m hurdles. Both athletes have been enjoying a great indoor season already with Evans picking up the Welsh Indoors Title in the event, and a very successful England Athletics Indoor Combined Events Championships for the pair.

                                                                                       Lauren Evans © Graham Glendinning

Day 2 – Sunday 19 February

Lauren Evans (Cardiff Athletics) will also be in action in the long jump on day 2, competing alongside her is Emily Thomas (Cardiff Archers).

In the Men’s Shot Put Aled Davies (Cardiff Athletics) will be competing in his first competition of the year, after claiming Commonwealth Games Gold at Birmingam in the discus almost six months ago. Also competing in the Men’s shot put is Patrick Swan (Cornwall AC), the current Welsh Senior Men Outdoors Champion.

Hannah Brier (Swansea Harriers) will be competing in the Women’s 200m, Brier clocked a time of 24:55 in her first outing this year over the distance and has already improved on that time by almost a second. Longden (Cardiff Athletics) will be back in action in the 200m distance, after competing in the 60m on day one.

In the Women’s 3000m Race Walk reigning UK Champion Bethan Davies (Cardiff Athletics) will be competing, alongside her is Gracie Griffiths (Pembrokeshire Harriers) who will be getting her 2023 indoors season underway.

Whilst in the Men’s 3000m Race Walk Guy Thomas (Tonbridge AC) will be in action.

In the Women’s 3000m both Melissa Courtney Bryant (Poole AC), Cari Hughes (Cardiff Athletics). Courtney-Bryant finished second behind Laura Muir in the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold earlier this year in Boston. Whilst Hughes finished second in a competitive race at the Armagh International Road Race. Performance Programme Athlete Jenny Nesbitt (Pontypridd Roadents) will also be competing in the same race.

Osian Perrin (Menai Track and Field) has been enjoying a great return to form, finishing fourth in a high-class 3000m A race at the England Athletics Indoor Combined Events Championships inc BMC finishing behind Phil Sesemann and World 1500m Champion Jake Wightman.

                                                                                                              Osian Perrin

Sabrina Fortune (Deeside Runners) will be in action in the Women’s Shot Put, Fortune will be hoping to put in a strong performance, with her eyes firmly set on World Championships later this year in Paris.

In the Men’s 1500m Oliver Barbaresi (Thames Valley Harriers) will be competing in his first race of the season over 1500m. Earlier this year in the Cardiff Met Gran Prix, he finished first over 3000m with a time of 8:14.29.

Good luck to athletes competing, catch the action live on the BBC.