Start lists announced for combined events Home Countries International
Teams have been announced for the Combined Events Home Countries International, which takes place this weekend (4–5 August) in Manchester.
Seventeen athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will battle at the Manchester Regional Arena, where the England Athletics U15 and U17 Combined Events Championships will also take place.
In heptathlon, the English team is led by Ellen Barber (Yeovil, David Feeney), who this year has improved in every individual event. Her development was clear in May, when she improved her personal best heptathlon score to 5529-points to secure silver at the U23 England Athletics Combined Events Championships.
Lucy Turner (Sam Stanislaus) has also been in good form. The Gateshead athlete scored 5402-points – within 33 of her personal best – to win the Hexham EAP International Combined Events title last month. Elsewhere in the field, four athletes have scores that rank them inside the UK top-30 this year, so a terrific contest should play out over the two days.
Likewise, the men’s competition should be a hotly fought affair. Scotland’s Andrew Murphy (Kilbarchan, Colin Sinclair) put together a brilliant decathlon to finish second at the European Athletics series event in Arona in June, collecting a personal best haul of 7320-points. England’s Lewis Church (Tonbridge) is not far behind in the rankings, though, having also improved his best score this year. The David Hull-coached athlete finished fifth in Hexham with 7319-points.
Further competition will be provided by England’s James Finney (Leeds City, Sam Stanislaus) and Harry Kendall (Tonbridge, Mike Corden), who are both ranked in the UK top 10 for 2018, having also produced personal best scores.
FULL TEAMS
England
Ellen Barber (Yeovil, David Feeney)
Alice Hopkins (Oxford City, Marcia Marriott)
Natasha Smith (Stroud, Kerry Eddie-Jury)
Lucy Turner (Gateshead, Stan Stanislaus)
Lewis Church (Tonbridge, David Hull)
James Finney (Leeds City, Stan Stanislaus)
Gavin Phillips (Team Bath, Ian Grant)
Harry Kendall (Tonbridge, Mike Corden)
Wales
Lauren Evans (Cardiff, Matthew Wood)
Lauren Davey (Carmarthen, Denis Doyle)
Harry Hillman (Cardiff, Ian Grant)
Scotland
Andrew Murphy (Kilbarchan, Colin Sinclair)
Tom Chandler (Central, Ian Grant)
Joel McFarlane (Central)
Cal McLennan (Edinburgh)
Anna Forbes (Whitemoss, Alan Forbes)
Northern Ireland
Sarah Connolly (North Down, Laura Turner-Alleyne)
Naomi Morgan (City of Derry, Tom Reynolds)
The Combined Events Home Countries International, with U17 and U15 Combined Events Championships, takes place this weekend at the Manchester Regional Arena. First events begin at 10:00.