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16.Jun.12 Records fall as throwers impress on day one in Bedford

It was an action-packed first day at the England Athletics Aviva U20 and U23 World Trials and Championships in Bedford as throwers Sophie McKinna and Lawrence Okoye set Championship Bests, while there were some top quality and exciting races on the track. See results and follow the action from day two here.  You can also now watch every event on EATV.

Great Yarmouth's Sophie McKinna did all she could to book her place on the flight to the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona. With the qualifying mark already in the bag, McKinna threw over 16 metres for the first time ever to win the U20 women's shot, setting a new Championship Best of 16.16m in the process.

Sophie said: "It's absolutely fantastic to produce a PB and something like that here today, now was really the time to do it."

London 2012 discus hopeful Lawrence Okoye, came back to the scene of his fantastic breakthrough in 2010 this time as an U23 ranked number four in the world. The Croydon man didn't disappoint, battling against strong winds to record a winning distance of 63.66m - a new Championship Best.

Sophie McKinna U20 BedfordThe 100m finals were also packed with quality and didn't lack excitment either. In a much anticipated U20 men's 100m final, David Bolarinwa had to fight off strong competition from Chijindu Ujah and Joshua Street to win in 10.40 seconds.

Commonwealth Youth Champion Sophie Papps was in a similar position in the U20 women's race, especially with the athletes chasing her in such good form: Dina Asher-Smith sliced more than two tenths off her lifetime best with 11.54 to go fourth on the UK U17 All Time lists in the heats. But it was Papps who was able to win, with a new best of 11.47.

Sophie said: "It was a really high quality race and we all knew it was going to be hard with a lot of girls running PBs to get into the final, and in the final, so it was really exciting to be a part of it. I'm happy that I won it, but I'm really happy for the girls because everyone did so well."

Treymayne Gilling and Ashleigh Nelson were the winners in the U23 races, with 10.42 and 11.46 respectively, while Laura Wake won the U23 women's 400m in 55.15. Liverpool Harrier Rebecca Linney won the U23 women's 800m in 2:11.52.

Jessica Judd won yet another national title by stretching out on the final lap to win the U20 women's 1500m in 4:29.14, in a race which saw Spenborough's Jenny Walsh - the senior champion and only other athlete with the World Junior qualifying mark - forced to sit out with a cold.

There were two 5000m finals on the track. Aldershot, Farnham & District's Joshua Grace took the U20 men's title in 14:53.19 while Thomas Anderson of Winchester powered clear in the home straight to win a tactical U23 men's race in 14:59.87.

Sophie Papps U20 BedfordBrighton & Hove's William Gray was well clear in the U20 men's 3000m steeplechase, winning with 9:29.02, while there was some excitement in the U23 men's race as Ben Nagy took a tumble over the water jump, only to recover and go on to record a fine victory to add the national U23 title to the BUCS one he won at the Olympic Stadium last month.

Edinburgh's Emma Nuttall and Sale's Christopher Baker took the U23 high jump titles with 2.14m and 1.86m respectively. Elliot Safo won the U20 men's long jump with 7.51m on the same runway he bagged a World Junior qualifying mark last week. Blackheath and Bromley's Lorraine Ugen won a close U23 women's long jump with 6.15m.

The U23 men's triple jump was also a close affair with Kola Adedoyin edging it with 16.25m to win a strong competition. Ahtollah Rose took the U20 women's triple jump with 12.11m.

Shadine Duquemin won the U23 women's discus with 50.63m, while Kai Jones became one of the youngest ever champions at just 15 years of age, winning the shot with 16.96m.

Ben Nagy U23 steeplechase BedfordAbbi Carter retained the U20 women's hammer title she won in 2011 with 59.21m and Michael Painter won the men's event with 72.34m. The U20 women's javelin saw Freya Jones win with 52.73m while in one of the last events of the day Matti Mortimore bettered the World Junior qualifying mark with 70.54m to win the U20 men's javelin.

Day two looks set to be just as action-packed and you can buy your tickets on the door or if you can't be there, catch all the action, including live updates, full results, today's timetable and interviews here and watch the footage early next week on EATV.

  • Click here to view results during the weekend
  • Watch the excitement in Bedford - tickets on the door £5
  • Follow @EnglandAthletic on Twitter
  • Leave your comments, good luck messages and congratulations on Facebook
  • Watch every athlete in every event on EATV next week
  • Take a shopping spree at the Sweatshop stall - if you've got a voucher to spend, now's the time!
  • Visit the PUMA Bolt Speed Test team who will be there to give you the opportunity to record your top speed

 


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