GB&NI PARA ATHLETES SHINE AT GRAND PRIX

The World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Switzerland took place from 23-25 May, with 22 athletes from Great Britain racing, including many up-and-coming athletes from England Athletics.

Hannah Cockcroft (Paul Moseley, Leeds) topped the podium three times in Nottwil. A standout performance in the women’s 100m T34, winning just under 3 seconds with a time of 16.98, followed by women’s 400m T34 – 55.57 and women’s 800m T34 with a time of 01:52.36.

An impressive performance from Nathan Maguire (Steve Hoskins, Kirkby AC) in the men’s 1500m T54, finishing closely behind Olympic Champion Marcel Hug (SUI) in second with a time of 2:45.25. Danny Sidbury (Christine Parsloe) finished fourth with a time of 2:55.01 in his first competition back since injury.

Maguire took the win in the men’s 400m in a fast time of 45.55, beating Paralympic silver medalist Paeng-Nuea Athiwat (THA) on the way. He finished seventh in the men’s 100m T45 (14.21) in a field of 38 athletes. In a close 800m T54, Maguire finished just behind Hug with a time of 1:20.54, with Sidbury once again coming in a close fourth with a time of 1:31.02 in a field of 36 racers.

Rounding off his grand prix, Sidbury got his third fourth place of the meet in the men’s 5000m T53-54 with a time of 10:23.27.

A personal best time of 16.72 for Marcus Perrinaeu-Daley (Weir Archer Academy) in the 100m T52 finish in third in an extremely close race, a remarkable performance considering his prep has been interrupted with a bad shoulder injury. On Sunday, he finished seventh out of a field of eleven with a time of 1:03.63 in the men’s 400m T52 but struggled with a shoulder injury in the race.

Mel Woods (Rodger Harkins, Red Star) topped the table in the women’s 800m T54 with a time of 1:45.81, beating Paris Paralympic bronze medalist Susannah Scaroni (USA). However, the USA athlete beat her to second spot in the women’s 1500m T53-54 race.

She finished second in the women’s 400m with a time of 53.42, a new personal best for the Scottish athlete. In her final event she finished seventh in the 100m T54 (16.94).

Fabienne Andre (Richard Chiassaro, Harlow) took second place behind GB&NI teammate Cockcroft in the 400m T34 with a time of 1:05.90 and again in the 800m T34 with a time of 2:13.83. She finished third in the women’s 100m T34 (19.78).

Coming off the back of the road marathons in Boston and London, Eden Rainbow-Copper (Arno Mul, Red Velvet Racing) finished seventh in a field of 14 athletes in the women’s 1500m T53-54 with a time of 3:25.32. In the women’s 5000m T53-54, Rainbow-Cooper finished fifth with a time of 11:18.24 and Mel Woods in fourth 11:17.98.

Full list of results from Nottwill can be found here.

Closer to home at the Stratford Speed GP meet, Zach Shaw (Leon Baptiste, Cleethorpes) put down a solid performance in the men’s 100m with a time of 11.03, whilst Thomas Young (Joseph McDonnell, Loughborough Students) ran 11.14 in the 100m. In the women’s 100m, Didi Okoh (Tony Hadley, Birchfield) ran 14.64, whilst Ali Smith (Leon Baptiste, Guildford & Godalming) finished with a time of 13.00.

Photo credit Team Urs Sigg