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07/02/2026 00:00, In Blog /

The first day of 49^th Welsh Senior and Under-17 Indoor Championships lived up to the pre-event expectations.

The Cardiff crowd enjoyed the spectacle of a reigning World and Paralympic Champion competing on home soil - Sabrina Fortune (Deeside AC), who is also the F20 shot put world record holder for good measure.

They were also treated to a consummate display of sprint hurdling as world class heptathlete Abi Pawlett (Trafford AC), twice broke the senior women’s 60m hurdles championship best.

There were a host of other outstanding performances to thrill the large crowd, which included World Indoor 60m champion Jeremiah Azu, who along with Welsh 400m sprint legend and fellow world champion Jamie Baulch, was on hand to help with the medal presenting duties. Azu was sitting out the championships as he prepares to defend his UK and global crowns over the next few weeks.

Pawlett, who last season won silver at the European Under-23 Championships, where she also broke the Welsh heptathlon record, was in imperious form on Saturday.

At last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the 23-year-old suffered a fall in the hurdles before bouncing back to impress with a high jump PB in the next event.

The Welsh indoor 60m hurdles record holder, was once again in action over the barriers at the National Indoor Athletics Centre and glided through her heat to win in a rapid 8.22 and eclipse the 21-year-old championship best of 8.31 set by Cardiff’s Rachel King.

In the final, Pawlett went even faster as she powered to victory in 8.14, missing out on claiming the UK lead this season by 0.01.

Speaking afterwards, Pawlett said:

It was my opener indoors, so nice to dust off the cobwebs and get a couple races in before British champs next week.

 

The first round was clean and comfortable, so then the focus into the final was to attack a little bit more. And I definitely did that. Still a clean race, but maybe a little bit more hectic, a little bit scrappier.

 

So yeah, now just go back to training for the UK champs and just tidy up and keep the speed.

 

Hopefully next week I can take that down a little bit more and maybe re-write my Welsh record again.”

Looking further ahead, Pawlett is hoping she can qualify for next month’s world indoor championships in Poland, but her main aim for the season is the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

My uncle swam from Wales, so it'd be nice to continue that tradition in our family of representing Wales at the games.

 

It’s a relatively home championship, friends and family will be there supporting and I want to go there and do well for Wales and for the team and the support staff, because they've been so amazing. It's not so much for me anymore. It's for them.

Fortune, who smashed her own world best with a mammoth throw of 16.75m to retain her world title in Delhi last summer, wasn’t quite in that kind of form on Saturday as she builds towards next weekend’s Novuna Indoor Championships in Birmingham and chases the Glasgow Commonwealth Games B standard.

However, the North Wales athlete did produce a best of 14.12m to take the Welsh Senior women’s title.

Despite not challenging her best, Fortune is aiming to step on at next weekend’s event:

I’ve got British Champs so we go again. I’m feeling good about next week.

 

Although today didn’t go so well (distance wise), it gives you that push to go further next weekend and correct what’s not gone so well today.

With no para category in her event at the Commonwealth Games, Fortune is bidding to gain the overall qualifying standard for the shot put.

I’m aiming to hit 17.07m this year, I’ve got to hit it by April. “Training’s been going really well.

 

It would be incredible to get there, because it would show that Paralympians can push and compete there. I’ve always wanted to do the Commonwealth mainstream event and be able to stand with those girls.

Another athlete with his eyes on a spot at the Commonwealths is pole-vaulter Mark Mellor (Cardiff Athletics), who is looking to strengthen his case for selection having already surpassed the B standard when he jumped 5.33 in Cardiff last month. The A standard is 5.47m.

Mellor was a comfortable winner on Saturday, but he wasn’t able to improve on his season’s best as he cleared 5.08m, but failed with three attempts at 5.29m.

Like Fortune, Mellor is now targeting an improved performance next weekend in Birmingham.

We’ll go on to British and hopefully do better there,” he said. “The aim is to go and compete with the boys, just to be surrounded by good vaulters, a load of height, a big crowd, and just enjoy it.

On his Commonwealth hopes, Mellor added:

I want to cement it, I want to give no reason why I shouldn't be put forwards to the team Wales panel. I want to tick everything off, turn every stone over.

 

The goal is to put ourselves in the best place possible with all the data, jump as high as we can, and then see what happens after that.

Elsewhere, there were a number of eye-catching displays including from multiple UK championship medallist Patrick Swan (Cornwall AC) who warmed up for next week’s event by taking the senior men’s shot put title with 17.03m.

In the senior 60m sprints, Jessica Mantle (Cardiff Athletics) defended her title in 7.50 ahead of Maltese Olympian and clubmate Charlotte Wingfield.

With world champion Azu and Baulch looking on, there was thrilling finish to the men’s 60m final as Sam Gordon (Cardiff Athletics) came storming through to take the Welsh title in 6.72, but was just edged out of the open title by Irish athlete Max O’Reilly, who clocked 6.71.

In the senior women’s long jump Amy Hughes (Cardiff Archers) impressed the NIAC crowd with a brilliant fourth round PB of 6.31m to take gold.

Amongst the many stand-out performances across the under-17 events, hugely talented NDP multi-eventer Aidan Angilletta (Deeside AC) just missed out on a championship best time in the 60m hurdles as he won gold in 8.35.

RESULTS