18th February 2019
WEEKEND UPDATE
Away from the Muller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham, there was a whole host of athletics action taking place around the world.
BUCS Indoor Championships, Sheffield, 15-17 February
The women’s 60m final served up an enthralling encounter as Nottingham’s Hayley Mills (coach: Maxine Robbins) edged out Loughborough University’s Alisha Rees (Leon Baptiste) to take the British Universities’ title in a season’s best of 7.32. She also went on to win the 200m title on Sunday in 23.49. Runner-up Rees was rewarded with a personal best, the Scottish international running 7.38, having already set a PB in the semi-finals.
In the men’s 60m hurdles Khai Riley-La Borde (Ray Gibbins) produced a season’s best of 7.81 to take the title ahead of Miguel Perera (Jerzy Maciukwiewicz) who was rewarded with a 7.87 personal best. Jessica Hunter (Scott Grace) ran a brilliant personal best of 8.23 to win the women’s equivalent, getting the better of favourite Alicia Barrett (Toni Minichiello), who did run a season’s best of 8.32 for silver.
In the field, Morgan Lake (Fuzz Caan) took a routine victory in the women’s high jump with a best of 1.86m, 11cm higher than any of her competitors.
Zak Skinner (Aston Moore) was just 0.01s outside his personal best in the 60m as he finished second based on RAZA points behind T20 athlete Jordan Andrew (Matthew Grainger) in the ambulant 60m, both clocking 7.33 and 7.52 respectively.
2019 Scottish Athletics Combined Events, Relays & Masters Championships including Parallel Success, Glasgow, 16-17 February
Maria Lyle (Jamie Bowie) opened her season with a PB over 60m at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. Clocking 9.09, she took 0.16s off her previous best set last year, a bright start to the 2019 season.
Metaswitch Games Open, Lee Valley, 16 February
A trio of men went under 6.70 for 60m at Lee Valley on Saturday, Andrew Robertson leading the way with his 6.64 clocking, a season’s best that puts him fifth on the Power of 10 rankings. He led home John Otugade and Dwain Chambers, who also set also set season’s bests of 6.65 and 6.69 respectively. In the field Nathan Fox (Tosin Oke) was just shy of his 2019 best as he won the triple jump with a leap of 16.01m.
Armagh International Road Races, Armagh, 14 February
The Armagh road races once again wowed the endurance community with fast times and a string of personal bests. In the men’s race Finland’s Topi Raitanen took victory, but such was the depth of the field on the night he dragged a further 11 men under 14 minutes. 2018 breakthrough act Adam Craig (Mark Pollard) led the British finishers, second in 13.45 as he edged out Sam Stabler (Rob Denmark) who was awarded the same time. Marathoner Jonny Mellor (Steve Vernon) also set a personal best of 13.46 in fourth. Overall a remarkable 113 men broke 15 minutes.
In the women’s 3km race, Steph Twell (Geoff Wightman) broke both the tape and the nine minute barrier as she took the win for Scotland in 8.59, with Blackburn Harrier Jess Judd (Mick Judd) pushing her all the way. Judd took second in the end in 9.05, with Amy Griffiths (Denmark) third in 9.10, one second ahead of Kate Avery.
AIT Grand Prix, Athlone, Ireland, 13 February
Rechmial Miller (Ryan Freckleton) continues to get quicker and quicker in 2019, as on Wednesday night he set yet another personal best over in Ireland. Smashing his old mark, the former GB junior international stopped the clock at 6.65 seconds to win his heat and go eighth on the Power of 10. In the women’s equivalent Corinne Humphreys and Molly Scott were also in the form of their lives, running personal bests of 7.37 and 7.39 in their heats, before equalling those times to finish second and third in the final.
Competing over two laps of the indoor track, Meghan Beesley (Michael Baker) and Lina Nielsen (Freckleton) improved upon their British Championship form with season’s bests of 53.00 and 53.29, good for first and third respectively. In the longer distances Sol Sweeney (Andy Young) continued the outstanding form of Scottish middle distance athletes as he broke the four minute mile barrier for the first time as he finished fifth in 3.59.86.
Continuing his incredibly consistent indoor season David King (James Hillier) won the 60mH in 7.66, just two hundredths down on his season’s best and three hundredths outside his personal best. That is the seventh time the Bath based hurdler has gone under 7.70 this year, as he sits pretty at the top of the UK rankings.
Newham & Essex Beagles 60m Sprint Series, Newham, 13 February
Chijindu Ujah was in action for the first time in 2019 racing to an impressive 60m clocking of 6.59 in the first of two races that he won down in London, running 6.61 in the second series.
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