England Athletics U20/Senior Championships and Senior Para Championships: Friday night lights
For athletes and spectators looking for atmosphere and excitement plus a little nostalgia, Friday night in Birmingham was the place to be. It’s been more than a decade since the stadium last hosted this special evening of athletics, but from the moment the very first gun fired at 4.30pm until the final event ended just before 8.30pm it was all about head-to-head racing.
Yes, there were a few field events, but on Friday all eyes were on the middle-distances with the 800 and 1500s, along with the steeplechase and 5000 topping the bill. The result? It got a memorable weekend off to a flying start, highlighted two very different events. There was a Championships best in the women’s hammer and an automatic qualifying slot for the GB team heading to the World U20s later this summer in Peru in the women’s U20 1500 metres. Saturday and Sunday feature a packed field and sprint programme, but here’s how the key events Friday evening unfolded:
Senior Women
This may have been an evening devoted to distance running, but hammer thrower Charlotte Payne (Paul Dickenson, Reading) can rightly claim to have secured the top billing. She ripped out a 69.62 fifth round throw to break her own Championships best performance.
The 5000 proved to be a great race as Katie Olding (David Wilkinson, TVH) hauled back an impossibly big gap in the final 300 metres for a win that looked unlikely with just 40 metres to run. She clocked 16:18.94, swift running in the warm conditions.
Earlier, in the field Jade Ive (Brian Hooper, Sutton and District) won the pole vault with 4.21 in what appeared to be perfect conditions given the beautiful sunshine the spectators and athletes enjoyed all evening. But as she revealed, appearances can deceive. She explained: “It was a great day but there was a tough wind to compete against. Everybody in the field did an incredible job. It was more technical today because of that wind. Today, I dropped down on a smaller pole partly because of the wind and partly because of a niggle.”
Khahisa Mhlanga (Herts Phoenix) retained the title she won last year with a comfortable 4:17.11 victory. “I knew it was going to be tactical, so I just sat in and kicked at the end. It was really fun. I knew I could use my 800 speed at the end,” she said.
U23 Women
Helen Braybrook (Bill Boyd, Corby) took the 800 metres gold in 2:05.51, using a similar tactic to the finals that had gone before her race. She followed the early pace and kicked hard over the final 200 metres. “I feel really good, happy to get the win. It was really hot in the warm-up and I didn’t feel so good, so I’m happy to be consistent,” she said, adding she wasn’t that aware she was pulling away so strongly. “I didn’t know what was going on behind me, I was just running hard for the line.”
U20 Women
Guaranteeing her selection for the World Junior Champs in Peru later this summer was Ava Lloyd (Trevor Painter, Wigan and District) who dominated the 1500m gun to tape. In what was the standout performance of the evening, she ran 4:24.28 for a wonderfully relaxed looking victory. “It was really hard actually,” she countered. “I felt uncomfortable with the slow pace so that’s why I went to the front. It’s been incredible this season; two years ago I came last and now I’m on the team!”
Alice Bennett (Shane Smith, Kettering) ran a personal best of 2:06.96 to win the 800 metres, thanks to a fabulous final 100 metres. Any one of three could have stolen it with 150 metres to go, but nobody could live with the indoor national champion’s finishing pace. “The last 100 was about having to hold on, but I’m really happy. I was so shocked when I crossed the line,” she said.
Senior Men
Rob Shipley (John Henson, City of York), a speedy one lap specialist with a best of 47.29 has been toying with the idea of moving up to 800 metres this season. And that’s proved to be a good plan, as his form has hinted at what could be with a winter of mileage behind him. Already in 2024 off not much base work, he has the Yorkshire, along with the Northern title to his name and now, the England gold medal as well.
“June last year I ran two minutes flat now I’m here with this win, it’s been fantastic,” he said after his victory. It was a perfect race for someone with so much raw speed as the field jogged through 400 metres in 58.38 before Shipley produced a powerful final 200 metres to ease away for the win in 1:51.32.
Harry Wakefield (Ian Grime, Salford) produced a very solid run in the 1500m to win easily in 3:45.45, while Sam Costley (Southampton) took the gold medal in the 3000 steeplechase with 9:01.35.
U23 Men
With 1:45.12 in his locker this season, Reece Sharman-Newell (Dave Ragan, Basingstoke and Mid Hants) was the name to watch in the 800 metres. He was fifth in that titanic struggle at the Olympic trials which, you’ll recall, saw Elliott Giles (Jon Bigg, Birchfield) and Josh Kerr (Edinburgh AC) clash and fall in the final 50 metres, so it was no surprise when he kicked hard with 250 metres to run and open up a huge lead. Up until that point, the field had jogged through 400 metres in a pedestrian 56.3 before he made his move, which saw him close in less than 53 seconds to win in 1:49.03. “I ran to my strengths, kicked, then kicked again,” said Sharman-Newell. “This is my first national title. It’s nice to get a gold medal.”
The 1500m was a traditional championships race in that it was all about the final lap which the winner, Jack Dickson (Kingston and Poly) covered in 55 seconds, clocking 3:48.79.
Dillon Claydon (John Hillier, Blackheath and Bromley) won the discus with a big fifth round throw of 50.92. Up to that point he hadn’t been going too well, but he got his form in order and came through. “I started out a bit shaky but clawed it back in the fifth round. I just focussed on a few technical things I’ve been working on in training so all good,” he said.
The hammer provided a similar story as Owen Merrett (Matt Spicer, Harrow) threw 61.29 in the fourth round to secure the gold medal. “It was a shaky start with a couple of 58s to begin with but in the end, I found my rhythm and it wasn’t too bad,” he said.
The evening ended with the 5000 which saw five athletes battle it out over the final three laps. In the end, it was Matt Ramsden (Blackburn) who proved quickest over the final 600 and he won in 14:17.50 to win the race overall. “I was hoping to sit in and then see where it gets me over the last few laps. I knew it would be a big burn at the end. Next up, I’ll try some shorter races and then it’s the cross-country season.”
U20 Men
In the 1500m the field dawdled through the early laps before it all started to heat up in the final 300 metres. But all the time, at the front and controlling it all was George Couttie (Joanne Day, Harrogate) who ran out the eventual winner in 3:50.86. “It was a good race, good fun. It’s quite windy out there, so it was quite slow. We came through with two laps to go and I felt very good, so I thought I’d take it from there,” he said, describing how he was confident to be at the front in control.
Indoor champion, Brandon Lee (Joe McColgan, Mansfield) added an outdoor triple jump title to his collection with a 14.48 victory.
Para Championships
With nothing less than a perfect display of pacing in the Para Ambulent 1500m, Prince Reid (Blackheath, T20), ignored the early lead that saw James McKibben (North Devon, T20) fly through 400 metres in 62.0, and 800 metres 2:10.9, lagging fully 30 metres behind. But with 450 metres to run, Reid hit the accelerator and smoothly moved into the lead. From there, it was a case of how much he would win by and would he break his personal best. The answer was a lot for both questions. He won by 10 seconds and smashed his old best by close to 10 seconds with 4:07.84.
The women’s U20 champion was Ella Richards 4:53.66 (Hayley Ratcliffe, Torbay, T20) who ran 4:53.66, great running for an athlete still in the U15 age group.
All the results are available here.