England Athletics U15/U17 Indoor Combined Event and Junior Para Championships: A grand finale
Day two of the England Athletics U15/U17 Indoor Combined Events, powered by Citroën, saw a string of personal bests from the very first race to the final, hard fought 800 and 1000 metres over eight action-packed hours.
In what was a great conclusion to what has been a super successful indoor season, England’s best combined eventers put the finishing touches to their winter training in the best possible way – competing with distinction on a national level. And of course, there was a little bit of history occurring as this was the final championships that features these age groups. The individual age records will remain in place, but next season will be all about establishing brand new championship best performances. So, get training now, the record books await (as one athlete superbly demonstrated in the invitation masters’ 400 metres)!
U17 Men's Heptathlon
Sunday morning started in a similar way to Saturday’s conclusion with the three overnight leaders setting the pace. Charlie Reilly (Brendan Reilly, City of Sheffield and Dearne), third placed after the opening four events was first across the line in the 60H with 8.12. That did chip a couple of points off his rivals’ lead, but Alexander Giles (Alex Pope, Blackheath & Bromley) in second with 8.18 and the overnight leader Caleb Green (Marie Burnett, Cheltenham & County) who was third in 8.21 made sure it was just a handful – 22 to be precise. Reilly and Green were rewarded with personal bests.
Green had to settle for 3.20 in the pole vault, which presented his two closest, ever-present competitors with an opportunity to take over in pole position. Giles cleared 3.40 to not only equal his personal best, but also sneak into the lead overall. Reilly went higher still, going over a personal best of 3.80 which edged him past Green by just two points, fifteen behind Giles. That equated to less than two seconds, meaning it was very much all to play for in the final discipline, the 1000 metres.
However, Green definitely had a trump card to play. He’s a two-minute 800m runner and used that speed and strength to power away, crossing the line first to win the title with 2:47.33. Reilly tried to cover the gap and paid for that bravery in the final 100 metres as Giles eased by to secure the silver medal, 3:00.61 to 3:06.75.
Result: 1, Green 4299; 2, 4880; 3, Reilly 4807.
U15 Boys Pentathlon
In an open looking competition with three or four capable of mounting a challenge for the gold medal, Thomas Kennerley (Guildford and Godalming) was the first to stake his claim. After a 9.40 60H, he followed that with a solid 5.36 in the long jump to build up a seven-point lead. Behind him Monty Bowden (Darlington) was equally consistent, clocking 9.30 and jumping 5.22 while Victor Watling (Tonbridge) rounded out the top three. His 9.10 in the 60H and 4.99 long jump meant he was in third place but given just 14 points separated first from fourth, no real favourite was yet to appear. Perhaps the shot would change that?
And the answer to that question is: yes it did. Bailey Smith (Priory Ruskin) threw a huge 12.79 which catapulted him from just inside the top 10 to first overall and a 36-point lead from Watling, who recorded 10.17 in the first round. It was still close though as still only 37 points separated second from fourth which meant Bowden and Kennerley were still very much in the running.
Finally, it became a little clearer who would be competing for podium spots after the high jump. First Smith jumped a personal best with 1.56 to keep him in the hunt for a medal in third place but ahead of him Watling moved from second to first overall thanks to a personal best, second-time clearance at 1.71. Meanwhile, Bradley Stone (Hillingdon) climbed from fifth to second after his 9.70 in the 60H, 5.59 long jump, 9.48 shot and 1.68 high jump.
In the 800 metres, the final event, the top three immediately went clear as the race for the medals intensified. Still closely packed together at 400, passed in a tick over 68 seconds, it was difficult to call as it had been all day. Stone did open up a couple of metres at the bell, but Watling clearly had something left in the tank, covering that move down the back straight. With just 100 metres to run, he kicked off the final bend to win in 2:16.21 to Stone’s 2:16.59. Smith was close behind in 2:23.73. Close, as it had been all day!
Result: 1, Watling 2802; 2, Stone 2727; 3, Smith 2622.
U15 Girls Pentathlon
Nothing could separate the early leaders in this event as the 60H resulted in blanket finish. Saorise Casey-Bond (Stephen Lott, Harlow) was awarded the first win of the day, clocking 9.52 but that was just one thousandth of a second faster than Shindara Ayo-Adeyemo (Chelmsford) who in turn was only 0.03sec quicker than third placed Esme Rutter (Blackpool Wyre and Fylde) with 9.55. Casey-Bond did then create a little more daylight between her and the chasing pack after her 1.56 in the high jump stretched her lead to 82 points. Faultless until 1.59, her first-time clearance at 1.56 was 3cm more than anyone else.
But that lead didn’t last too long as it changed hands with almost every throw in the shot. First, Summer Biggs (Joe McColgan, Amber Valley and Erewash) took over as the overall leader thanks to a lifetime best of 9.97 (following her 9.62 60H and 1.44 high jump) only for Ayo-Adeyemo to throw even further with 10.16. Biggs responded with 10.36 only for Ayo-Adeyemo hit back with 11.01. And although Casey-Bond was well adrift in this discipline with 7.53, the top three were still tightly packed together with less than 100 points between first and third.
That changed slightly after the long jump and it became a two-athlete battle to see who would emerge England champion. But in terms of who led overall, it was a similar story to the shot in that neither could quite settle into the gold medal slot on their own for very long. In what was now proving to be a straight battle between Biggs and Ayo-Adeyemo, it took a final round jump to concertina the top two with nothing to choose between them. First, Ayo-Adeyemo inched further away from Biggs thanks to her 4.60 compared to her rival’s early best mark of 4.50. But a massive 4.84 by Biggs in the round three meant she would toe the line in the 800 metres in equal first. Very rarely, it meant that first across the line would take the title, no points tables required!
In the end, Biggs, who has a far faster personal best for 800 metres emerged as the England champion, clocking 2:41.47. Ayo-Adeyemo battled hard through three laps but just couldn’t live with the pace on the final lap and had to settle for second overall with 2:55.31.
Battling all the way to the final 200 metres after eight hours; it doesn’t get any better!
Result: 1, Biggs 2965; 2 Ayo-Adeyemo 2819; 3, Bond 2764.
Masters
There was a British, European and World record of 55.44 by John Wright, M65 (Northern Masters) in the 400 metres. Smooth and powerful throughout, he clipped half a second from the 2004 mark. Tracey Ashworth, W50 (Rossendale) was equally impressive in her 400 metres, finishing in 61.80.