5th February 2023
WEEKEND UPDATE (2-5 FEBRUARY 2023)
World Indoor Tour Silver, Hustopece, Czech Republic, 4 February
Morgan Lake (coach: Robbie Grabarz, club: Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow) cleared an outright British record height at the Hustopece meeting, taking the bar up to 1.99m.
Five years on from her last personal best, this record-breaking height was cleared under pressure on her final attempt at 1.99m. At the iconic high jump meeting, Lake used the great atmosphere to make history and become the third athlete to achieve a British record so far in 2023.
Not only was it an outright national record and a personal best, it was also well over the qualifying standard for the European Indoor Championships next month.
In the men’s B final, Joel Clarke-Khan (Robbie Grabarz, Thames Valley) earned victory after clearing a season best of 2.17m.
World Indoor Tour Gold, Boston, 4 February
Neil Gourley (Ben Thomas, Giffnock) ran the third fastest indoor mile by a Briton in history as he won the International Mile race in Boston. The Scottish athlete clocked the time of 3:52.84 to start his 2023 season in style.
In the women’s 3000m, there was much to cheer about for the British contingent as there was a 1-2-3-4. Laura Muir (Andy Young, Dundee Hawkhill) opened her season in superb form, winning in a time of 8:40.34.
Muir, and all three athletes directly behind her across the line, ran inside the qualifying standard for the European Indoor Championships. Glasgow 2019 medallist Melissa Courtney-Bryant (Rob Denmark, Poole) ran a rapid 8:41.09, while there were personal bests for Katie Snowden (Herne Hill) and Hannah Nuttall (Helen Clitheroe, Charnwood), who dipped under the standard (8:48.00) in times of 8:47.41 and 8:47.72 respectively.
In the men’s 3000m, James West (Ben Thomas, Tonbridge) also revised his lifetime best as he finished third in 7:42.89, which was also within the qualifying standard for Istanbul 2023. In the same race Thomas Keen (Mark Vile, Cambridge and Coleridge) improved his PB to 7:48.99.
In the 800m races, Issy Boffey (Luke Gunn, Enfield and Haringey) again impressed as she ran under the Euro Indoors qualifying time for the second time this season as she crossed the line third in the women’s race. In the men’s contest, Daniel Rowden (Woodford Green Essex Ladies) ran bang on the Istanbul qualifying standard of 1:46.75 as he finished fifth in the race.
Improving by over a second on his season opener, Alex Haydock-Wilson (Benke Blomkvist, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow) was another athlete who achieved a qualifying standard in Boston, as he clocked 46.29 in the men’s 400m.
European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country in Oropesa del Mar, Spain, 5 February
Central AC were the highest-placed British team in the senior men’s race as they finished 12th overall, pipping Leeds City who were 14th on points.
Hamish Hickey (Easton) was the first across the line for Central athlete in 29th place overall, with Jamie Crowe (coach: Derek Easton) next in 37th. Luca Fanottoli and Calum Phillip (Easton) were the next two counters in 53rd and 59th overall.
Graham Rush was the highest-placed Brit in the field as he just finished ahead of Hickey in 28th by two seconds. Linton Taylor, Joshua Woodcock-Shaw (Philip Townsend) and Mohamed Abshir (Townsend) crossed the line in 46th, 55th and 65th respectively.
Meanwhile, the senior women’s race saw Shettleston Harriers finish 20th overall. Hannah Terrance came home first in 60th with Aoife Carr (John Montgomery) one place further back, Ruth Joss (Montgomery) in 63rd and Avril Manson (Montgomery) in 94th.
In the senior mixed relay, Leeds City ended the race in 11th place.
World Indoor Tour Bronze, IFAM Gent Indoors, 4 February
Reece Prescod (Marco Airale, Enfield and Haringey) improved his season best to 6.59 in the 60m as he won in Gent, while Laviai Nielsen (Enfield and Haringey) ran a solid 52.44 to win her 400m race.
Loughborough Indoor Open Meeting, 5 February
Jazmin Sawyers (Aston Moore, City of Stoke) jumped 6.75m in the final round of the meeting to claim an indoor personal best in the long jump. The mark is also a qualifying standard for next month’s European Indoor Championships.
World Indoor Tour Silver, Czech Indoor Gala, 2 February
Jeremiah Azu (Marco Airale, Cardiff) continued his impressive start to the 2023 indoor season as he improved his SB to 6.58, just 0.02 outside his lifetime best. It was the second win so far this year after victory in Dusseldorf last week.
He had earlier recorded a time of 6.60 in the heats.
World Indoor Tour Challenger, Erfurt, Germany, 3 February
There was an indoor personal best for Guy Learmonth (Lasswade) as he ran inside the Euro Indoors qualifying standard in Germany. He won the race in 1:46.36, while George Mills (Brighton Phoenix) was second in 1:47.30.
There was another British winner, this time in the women’s 1500m where Cari Hughes (Andrew Walling, Cardiff) crossed the line in 4:15.46.
World Athletics Combined Events Tour Silver, Tallinn, Estonia, 4-5 February
Lewis Church (David Hull, Tonbridge) and Jordanna Morrish (Rafer Joseph, Bracknell) were the top British finishers in the indoor heptathlon and pentathlon respectively in Estonia.
Church was 10th overall with a points total of 5486, while Morrish finished in 16th in the women’s pentathlon with a total points score of 3728 after five events.
New Mexico Collegiate Classic, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 3-4 February
Racing at altitude, Victoria Ohuruogu (Christine Ohuruogu, Newham and Essex Beagles) impressed as she ran times of 51.89 and 52.47 over 400m across the two days of competition.