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01/08/2022 00:00, In Blog / Track & Field / Commonwealth Games /

It has been a quiet weekend of competing for our athletes, with the England Senior Championships, held in Bedford, being the key event away from the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

England Senior Championships, Bedford

Making the trip over the bridge, a few of our athletes headed to Bedford to compete in the England Senior and Disability Championships.

In the women’s long jump, Rebecca Chapman (Cardiff) placed 4th with a leap of 5.90m, whilst Emily Thomas (Cardiff Archers) was just one place behind, with a best jump of 5.80m.

In the women’s pole vault, Carys Jones (Swansea) cleared a best height of 3.62m which was good enough for 9th place overall.

The F23 women’s javelin throw was won by Holly Arnold (Blackheath and Bromley) with a best throw of 36.15m.

On the track, Rhi Linington-Payne (Cardiff) came agonisingly close to a medal over the women’s 800m, finishing fourth with a time of 2:08.44, 0.3s off third, whilst over the one lap event, Sian Harry (Belgrave) was also fourth, with a 54.98s performance.

Welsh Athletics Junior Mountain Running Championships, Betws-y-Coed

Betws-y-Coed hosted the Welsh Athletics Junior Mountain Running Championships on Saturday 30th July (Incorporating the British & Irish Junior Mountain Running Championship Trial Races).

Utilising the trails on the South side of Gwydyr Forest towards Llyn Elsi, the challenging race route produced some excellent racing in damp but warm conditions.

In the combined under 15 and under 17 races on a 4.95km/260m course, Finley Bruce (Carmarthen Harriers) was a clear winner in a very good time of 21:41 ahead of Aled Breeze (Maldwyn Harriers) 22.21, only 13 seconds separated the 2nd to 5th finishers. Mackenzie McCourt (Maldwyn Harriers) was the first female finisher in a time of 25.34 ahead of club colleague Maddison Hughes 26.37 who took the under 15 Welsh title. Deri Hockley was the first male under 15 finisher in a time of 25.48 ahead of Chris Benson (Maldwyn Harriers) 26.08.

The under 20, 5.65km/290m race produced a close finish as Ed Woodhead (Deeside AAC) held off the challenge of Noa Vaughan (Eryri Harriers) to cross the finish line in 26.14 ahead of Noa 26.17 while Maddison Griffiths (Maldwyn Harriers) took advantage of Beth Rawlinson’s (Wolverhampton & Bilston) route detour to take the Welsh title in a time of 31.42 ahead of a bloodied Beth 33.27 who had run into the undergrowth of nettles and thorns!

Overall, the Welsh medal winners had to really earn their awards on the challenging race route. Thank you to the volunteers who assisted on the day, to the Betws-y-Coed community for their warm welcome and assistance throughout and to Natural Resources Wales for permission to use their land.

Full results can be found here

BMC, Exeter

Welsh U15 1,500m record holder, Libby Hale (Swansea) ran a new personal best over 800m, clocking a time of 2:13.66. Even Eirys James (Cardiff) and Isobel Davies (Cardiff) also set a personal bests in the 800m with times of 2:25.06 and 2:34.96.

In the men’s 1,500m A race, Spencer Smith (Newport) ran 4:07.50 which was also a new personal best.

Full results can be found here

Tenby 10k & Magor Marsh 10k

On the roads, there was double glory for Parc Bryn Bach with Phil Matthews winning the Magor Marsh 10k in 31.43 and Jamie Parry coming home first at the Tenby 10k in 35:14. First woman at Magor Marsh was Donna Morris in 36:24 - Full Results , and first lady home in Tenby was Sioned Howells of Swansea Harriers in 37:17 - Full results

Folksam GP, Sweden

Preparing for the Commonwealth Games, Piers Copeland (Pontypridd) ran a 3:40.31 over 1500m.