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2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships Round-Up
19/02/2024 00:00, In Blog / Club Notice Board / Track & Field /
It was a successful weekend for Welsh athletes at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham, which saw Jeremiah Azu (Cardiff Athletics), Olivia Breen (City of Portsmouth), and Piers Copeland (Pontypridd Roadents) crowned Champions of their respective events.
There was further success, medals and personal bests from a strong contingent of Welsh athletes that travelled to the Utilita Arena for an action-packed weekend of competition.
Jeremiah Azu (Cardiff Athletics) set the standards high as action got underway on the first day of competition, setting the fastest time in the men’s 60m heats. As the fastest qualifier, he headed through to the semi-finals with a time of 6.70 seconds.
Team-mate Dewi Hammond (Cardiff Athletics) also qualified for the semi-finals, heading through to the next round with a time of 6.78 seconds.
Azu returned in the semi-final with another strong performance, setting the fastest time of 6.62 seconds. Hammond also progressed to the final after finishing seventh fastest overall in the semi-finals.
After picking up silver at last year’s edition, Azu upgraded to gold in the final with a time of 6.60 seconds. Whilst Hammond finished outside of the podium positions in fifth place with a time of 6.76 seconds.
Jeremiah Azu competing in the 60m at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships © British Athletics
Jeremiah shared after the race:
My goal was to get the win and the time for the Worlds. I am glad I did that, but I will need to go quicker to reach the final in the Worlds. I messed up my start in the semi-final and even a little in the final. I wanted to be ahead by 20m but I didn’t panic and I tried to drive as long as possible and then pull away from the others.
Next Friday I race in Berlin, then back home for a few days before Glasgow. Of course, for outdoors my target is to run sub-10. I ran 10.04 last year but I really want to get in that exclusive club of sub-10 this year and I think I can. My main goal is to make the British team then make the final in Paris.
Further sprint success came for Welsh Athletes as Olivia Breen (City of Portsmouth) took the women’s para 60m title. Breen clocked a time of 8.22 seconds. This was just shy of her personal best time set earlier this year, when she returned to racing over the 60m distance for the first time since 2016.
It was a busy day of competition for Breen who also competing in the women’s long jump and finished with a best distance of 4.69m.
Olivia shared:
It wasn’t a great start, but I just wanted to get out the blocks. It was a good battle between me and Maddie. It is great to have the Para events here, so I really wanted to compete although it was hard with the long jump going at the same time. I did the warm-up for the long jump then popped over the 60m.
I have had a really good block of winter training and it is a huge year ahead so we need to be on our game. It has been a very positive start to the season after being injured last year so I am very excited going forward.
The long jump (4.69m) wasn’t great but it is what it is. It was hard to come back after the 60m but there is a lot to learn from. I am not too disappointed as it is all part of the build-up to the important summer.
The positive results continued in the sprint races, as Thomas Wilcock (Northampton AC) progressed to the final of the men’s 60m hurdles. For the second successive year, Wilcock finished narrowly outside of the medal positions in fourth with a time of 7.89 seconds.
Thomas Walley (Wrexham AAC) continued the medal success on Day 1 as he picked up bronze in the men’s pole vault. The eight-time Welsh Champion cleared a new personal best height of 5.16m to secure his podium finish.
Thomas Walley celebrates winning bronze at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships © British Athletics
Thomas shared after the event:
The season has been pretty average but consistent, so to peak at the right time at the Champs and come away with a medal is brilliant. I thought I could be in the mix so I am pleased with today’s performance. I knew I was in form so delighted to get the PB today.
There was strong representation in the women’s 400m as a quartet of Welsh athletes including Hannah Brier (Swansea Harriers), Sian Harry (Belgrave Harriers), Tess McHugh (Sale Harriers), and Ffion Mair Roberts (Menai Track & Field) took their place on the start line.
There were two new personal bests set in the heats, with Brier (Swansea Harriers) running 53.43 seconds to progress to the semi-finals as the fifth fastest qualifier. Harry (Belgrave Harriers) also ran a new personal best running 55.16 seconds to finish fourth in Heat 3. McHugh (Sale Harriers) also progressed to the next round and headed into the semi-finals as the eighth seed with 53.91. Roberts (Menai Track & Field) bowed out in the first round, finishing fourth in Heat 1 with 56.13 seconds.
Hannah Brier competing in the 400m at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships © British Athletics
Brier went on to extend her personal best in semi-final to 53.57 seconds, which saw her qualify for the final on Sunday. Meanwhile, McHugh narrowly missed out on a spot in the final finishing as the seventh fastest athlete, setting a new personal best of 53.80 seconds.
An exciting battle was promised in the women’s 60m hurdles as athletes who were on the podium at the 2024 Welsh Indoor Championships podium went head-to-head once again. It was Grace Morgan (Cardiff Archers) who clocked the fastest time of the Welsh athletes, running 8.61 seconds to finish fifth in Heat 2, closely followed by Lauren Evans (Cardiff Athletics) who ran 8.68 seconds to finish fourth in Heat 1. Sophie Lisk (Cardiff Archers) ran 8.71 to finish fourth in Heat 4 at her first appearance in the UK Athletics Indoor Champs.
Grace Morgan competing in the 60m hurdles at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships © British Athletics
The women’s long jump concluded the field action on Day 1, with Rebecca Chapman (Cardiff Athletics) finishing in tenth place, jumping 5.61m.
The first day of competition concluded on the track with the 1500m heats. In the men’s event Piers Copeland (Pontypridd Roadents) qualified as the fourth fastest for the final on Day 2, running 3:46.66. In the women’s event, Cari Hughes (Cardiff Athletics) put in a great performance to qualify for the final on the Sunday, clocking 4:20.58. Emily Lowery (Belgrave Harriers) set a new personal best time of 4:26.75 to finish seventh in Heat 1.
Hannah Longden (Cardiff Athletics) got the second day of competition off to a strong start for the Welsh contingent progressing all the way to the final of the women’s 200m. The Cardiff athlete clocked the third fastest time in the heats with a SB of 23.92 seconds, before extending the time of 23.69 seconds in the semi-final. Longden went on to finish fifth in the final, with a time of 24.22 seconds.
Sabrina Fortune (Deeside AAC) got the field action underway on the Sunday. The North Wales athlete finished eighth in the women’s shot put, throwing a distance of 13.66m.
Hannah Tapley continued the field action in the women’s high jump, (Cardiff Athletics) clearing a height of 1.74m to finish ninth.
Back on the track, Jenny Nesbitt (Pontypridd Roadents) put in a great performance in the women’s 3000m to finish fourth with 9:09.07 behind Laura Muir, Hannah Nuttall and Kate Axford. In the men’s race Ben Reynolds (Cardiff Athletics) set a new personal best time of 8:04.32 to finish in thirteenth.
Jenny Nesbitt competing in the 3000m at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships © British Athletics
Gracie Griffiths (Pembrokeshire Harriers) got the medal tally up and running on Day 2, upgrading her bronze medal from 2023 to silver in the 3000m Race Walk, setting a new personal best time of 14:12.62 and continuing a strong race-walking tradition for Welsh Athletes.
Patrick Swan (Cornwall AC / Swansea Harriers) made his addition to the medal count, picking up silver in the men’s shot put with a throw of 18.33m and also setting a new personal best. Fellow Welshman Jacob Matthews (Halesowen AAC) finished just outside of the medal positions in fourth while also setting a new personal best of 16.15m.
Hannah Brier (Swansea Harriers) was back in action for the women’s 400m final, where she finished fifth in a time of 53.57 in her first Indoor season competing over 400m.
Piers Copeland (Pontypridd Roadents) produced a controlled tactical effort and a strong sprint finish to secure the victory. For much of the contest, it looked to be a two-horse race between Callum Elson and Adam Fogg but Copeland came through on the finish line to steal the gold medal in a time of 3:48.43, topping off an outstanding performance.
Piers Copeland wins the 1500m title at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships © British Athletics
Piers shared his thoughts post-race:
I had a few race plans depending how the race went and it went off slowly, so I just wanted to stay with but out of trouble. I felt much better today compared to yesterday so I just stayed patient - you can really lose the race if you go too early but if you’re patient you can win it. I wasn’t really worried as my training is going well. That hasn’t really been reflected in my times, so I knew I had it there.
I haven’t got the time for Glasgow as I couldn’t get a race to secure it, so that will be a case of going away and getting a good block of training in and then I am hoping to get a full injury-free season for the first time in three years. If I can secure the standards then that will be a bonus. The main thing is to enjoy it again.
Following Copeland’s superb gold, it was time for Cari Hughes (Cardiff Athletics) to take on the women’s 1500m. The Cardiff athlete finished sixth in the final, clocking 4:18.09.
Rounding off an action-packed weekend in the penultimate race of the Championships, Justin Davies (Team Bath) rounded off a successful championships for Wales, securing bronze in the men’s 800m in a season-best time of 1:49.44.