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Five Welsh medals at the British Senior Championships
26/08/2019 00:00, In Blog / Track & Field /
The sun came out for the Muller British Championships at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham last weekend to provide some hot conditions for the athletes chasing selection for the World Championships in Doha later this year.
There were five Welsh medals in total across the weekend.
Bethan Davies (Andi Drake) secured her British Title for a consecutive year taking the gold in the 5000m Race Walk in 21:56.45, the first time she has dipped under 22 minutes this season. She said,
“I'm really happy, I've had a tough season so far. Everything has been picking up but it's all coming together now. I took myself to Spain for a couple of weeks because I predicted that the end of the season would be pretty hot depending on what race I was coming to so it was warm so I threw a lot of water over myself, but not too bad. Next weekend I'm going to try and do the Doha qualifying time out in Switzerland and that's my last chance and fingers crossed I can do it.”
Dai Greene (Benke Blomkvist) made his return after having to start his season late due to injury. He clocked 51.22 in his heat making it into the final but after a quick 300m he managed to hold on and get the silver medal in 49,67 which is just shy of the qualifying standard for Doha. He said,
“It’s a real mixed bag because I went flat out and ran 51-seconds and my hip has been giving me real problems. It wasn’t as bad today but it still affected me because if felt I was good enough for gold and to get the standard. I know that my body is capable of running the time for Doha but I just can’t shake that issue and this was a good opportunity to do that. I didn’t have any further races lined up because I hadn’t run that fast until today. If there’s something available I’ll try and do it, otherwise that might be it.”
Osian Jones (Carys Parry) came away with his first medal at the British Senior Championships by extending his Welsh Record to 73.89m. On his bronze medal win, he said,
“I still have a bit more there, I've never got a podium here, so I'm very happy. For me it's just about trying to get to Tokyo next year. It's been good because the Commonwealth was so early last year I got used to it but I'm tired.”
Beth Rees took her third British Senior Bronze medal showing her consistency. She threw just short of her personal best with 49.19. She said,
“It's really good. It's my third British champs and my third bronze medal.”
Ieuan Thomas (James Thie) took the bronze in some very hot conditions in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, running 8:44.09. However, he still hopes to try and chase down the qualifying time for Doha before the selection. He said,
“It’s been a tough season because we started late and racing hadn’t been going great but I came out and performed when it mattered and you don’t realise how tough the conditions are. All respect to the sprinters for battling it out in those conditions. We get a water jump and a bit of cooling every lap or so but the 3000m steeple takes it out of you. Now I have to find something to hunt to give myself the best chance of making the Doha team.”
Hollie Arnold (David Turner) who already has the standard for the World Para Championships in Doha, threw a season’s best in her preparation for the championships. She said,
“It’s so hot out there and it’s all about dealing with the conditions. This is only my second competition and I’m really happy to come away with basically 42.00m to my name. I still have a long season ahead of me and I’ll take that. Most of my training partners are out there and I take that moving forward as a good base for a strong competition. It’s all about progression and today was all about technical work rather than distances.”
Olivia Breen (Aston Moore) was just shy of her personal best and commonwealth Games record in the Long Jump but she already has the qualifying standard for the World Para Championships and is excited to compete. She said, “I’m happy, I’m healthy and I’m jumping really well. I’m really looking forward to and hopefully some medals, fingers crossed.”
Jade Williams ran a strong and controlled heat in the women’s 1500m to make the final. In a tough final she finished 9th in 4:27.49. Adele Nicoll (Ryan Spencer-Jones) finished 4th in the women's shot put final, despite picking up a slight injury coming into the champs, throwing 16.17m.
Sam Gordon (Matt Elias) battled through some tough rounds to make it the final in the 100m. He finished 6th, running short of his personal best, in 10.43.
Melissa Roberts (Matt Elias) made it to her first senior British Championships 200m final, finishing 7th just off her personal best in 24.40. Sarah Abrams finished 7th in the Long Jump with a new personal best of 6.39m. Charlotte Arter and Jenny Nesbit finished 7th and 8th in the women’s 5000m final respectively. It was a season’s best for Charlotte in 15:56.11 with Jenny right behind in 15:57.56.
Youngsters Owain Lloyd Hughes (Kevin Williams) and James Tomlinson (Paul Jenson) performed strong n their first Senior British Championships. Owen came away finishing 7th in the 100m semi final in 10.59 and James finished 7th in the Discus final throwing 50.62m.