AIKINES-ARYEETEY SHINES AS GB FINISH SECOND AT BERLIN FLIEGT

European champion Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (club: Sutton & District; coach: Benke Blomkvist) claimed victory in a season’s best as the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team finished second at the Berlin Fliegt international match in Germany.

Aikines-Aryeetey was part of a four-strong British team – Jodie Williams (Herts Phoenix; Stuart McMillan), Abigail Irozuru (Sale Harriers Manchester; Tom Cullen) and Harry Coppell (Wigan & District; John Mitchell) all also in action – and clocked a victorious 10.11 in the second of two 100m races to help the team to second overall against Germany, USA and China.

The European 4x100m relay champion from Berlin last year opened up with 10.20 to finish second before going 0.09 quicker to win the second of the men’s 100m in his fastest legal time since his 10.08 in Loughborough in July 2016.

In the women’s 100m races, Williams opened up with 11.33 for second before clocking 11.20 for second again in the second race as Tempelhof Airport was transformed into an athletics arena for the day – her times her third and second quickest of the season having lowered her personal best to 11.17 in the US at the start of May.

Coppell, fresh himself from a personal best of 5.50m in Geneva last weekend, produced a best of 5.42m for another second place for the British team. Irozuru, wearing her second British vest of the year having competed at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March, jumped 6.51m for third – her seventh jump of more than 6.50m in 2019.