Senior, U20 Combined Events, Para and Walk Championships – Day 2, a great Sunday for Church

Day two of the England Athletics Senior and U20 Indoor Combined Event Championships - incorporating the Senior Para and Walk Championships picked up where it had left off on day one – with a superb string of lifetime bests. Before 10am had even ticked by on the clock, one thing was very clear: to compete at this level only the best would suffice. And indeed that’s exactly what it took to feature on the podium in all three of the Combined Events. Tonbridge’s Lewis Church led the way in the men’s championship defending his title, as did Anna McCauley in the women’s event, while Brendan Reilly proved a popular hometown winner in the U20 men’s competition.

Here’s how the action unfolded:

Women's Pentathlon

In what proved to be a really open competition – certainly for the silver and bronze slots – the first event did little more than act as a warm-up for what followed. Jodie Smith (Rafer Johnson, Windsor Slough, Eton and Hounslow) looked sharp and in control as she powered to 8.49 in the 60 hurdles to establish a small lead on reigning champion Northern Ireland’s Anna McCauley (City of Sheffield and Dearne) who finished just a stride down in 8.59. However, Smith then passed her opening height in the high jump and scored zero points, so her challenge was effectively over.  She did compete brilliantly in the disciplines that followed but wouldn’t feature in the event as a whole.

McCauley wasted no time in seizing the advantage, clearing 1.75 in the high jump, the next event. Lily Holt (Rafer Joseph, Shaftesbury Barnet) did match her with 1.75 which was an indoor best. However, even though she almost equalled her PB time in the 60 hurdles with 9.08 – missing it by just 0.02sec – she still found herself more than 100 points adrift in equal second with France’s Ysee Le Philppe (Julie Holman, LSAC) whose first two events – an 8.73 60 hurdles and 1.69 high jump – gave them both 1809pts to McCauley’s 1913pts.

The shot did little in terms of deciding the destination of any of the medals even the gold. Had the leader McCauley thrown what she’s capable of, it perhaps would have been ended any of her rivals hopes to challenge her. But she was well below her best and could only hit 11.36, compared to the lead throw of Amy Kennedy (Glasgow Jaguars) who threw 14.46. Veteran athlete Jo Rowland (Doncaster) emerged from the chasing pack to find herself in second thanks to a 14.09 throw (and 9.20 60 hurdles and 1.60 high jump). And given her long jumping prowess in the past and not too shabby 800 metres, also a few years back this event was potentially far from over. McCauley did enjoy a 127pt buffer, but such was the way things had unfolded, nothing was certain.

To calm things down McCauley needed a great long jump and she responded perfectly with a superb 5.99 in the second round. It was a 1cm PB although frustratingly just shy of the magical six-metre barrier. It didn’t matter. Philippe did go beyond that mark with 6.17 but in terms of the competition overall it was too late to make much difference. She eased back into second, but fully 101 points off first. Rowland, who jumped a solid 5.62 with her second attempt, continued her great day lining up for the 800m in third with close to 80 points advantage over fourth and fifth. Everything to play for.

McCauley was more than ready for the challenge and ran a very exciting 2:16.51 leading for all but the final metre. It ended a great Sunday in the best way possible for the Sheffield based athlete; a gold medal and a new PB of 4250pts. Rowland, too had plenty to celebrate, crossing the line in third in 2:17.79 for 3994pts in what turned out to be a thrilling competition.

Final scores: 1, McCauley 4250; 2, Le Philippe 4149; 3, Rowland 3994

Senior Men's Heptathlon

Lewis Church (David Hull, Tonbridge) was slightly sluggish out of the blocks in the 60 hurdles but it took no more than three hurdles to find his form and return to winning ways. Normal service resumed, Church powered off the final flight, stopping the clock at 8.19 to ease a few more points clear of his Tonbridge teammates. Behind him, Steven Simmons (David Hull, Tonbridge) ran a solid 8.33 while Harry Kendall (David Hull, Tonbridge) was a little below par with 8.81. At this point, the Kent club’s one, two three was still on, but Conrad Winter (Denis Costello, City of Norwich) would have something to say about that as he started his day two with 8.45 and closed to within 12 points of the podium.

That momentum continued for Winter in the pole vault as his 4.40 clearance moved him past Kendall who had been in bronze and then Simmons who was in second. Kendall cleared 4.10, while Simmons could go no higher than 4.20. Winter, however, sailed over 4.60 at the second time of asking to move 12 points ahead of Simmons. Albeit only marginally, but he even closed the gap on long-time leader Church, who had called it a day at 4.50.

That meant the 1000m, the final event took on a slightly different meaning for all three. Winter, if it went perfectly would secure second after starting the day in fourth, while Church had needed at least a 4.60 clearance to take on a serious shot at his personal best. Instead, his five laps would be all about defending his title rather than chasing points.

In what turned out to be a fantastically exciting race, Church did exactly that and took the gold medal thanks to his 2:44.52. Behind him, the races within races were superb as Simmons closely tracked Winter hoping to nip past in the final lap and take back those 12 points.

Simmons ran a four-second PB, but Winter was every bit as good and he too ran a lifetime best as nothing could separate the two on the line, 2:51.40 to Simmons’s 2:52.08. Winter also scored a PB overall, but this was all about Church, consistency and an uncanny ability to get it right when it matters most – on the big day!

An understandably happy Church was pleased with the way thing went. “I was a little bit more tired than I thought I might be because of all the high jumps I did on Saturday,” he said. “But it’s been a great winter, and everything has gone pretty much how I hoped it would.”

He’s secured a much-sought-after entry to Gotzis, the premier meeting on any combined eventer’s calendar and of course, the Commonwealth Games is now very much on his radar.

Final scores: 1, Church 5767, 2, Winter 5368, 3, Simmons 5349

U20 Men's Heptathlon

The best way to start day two of a heptathlon is do run a massive lifetime best. Enter Ryan McCaffery (Alexander Wort, Sale) who flew to 8.28, fully 0.4sec faster than the time on his entry form. If there were any doubts about his vastly improved form, this race ended that. He was a legitimate challenger. Behind him, Sam Newton (Tonbridge) who occupied the overnight silver medal slot was equally impressive with a PB of 8.31, while the leader of the competition as a whole, Arthur Reilly (Brendan Reilly, City of Sheffield and Dearne) also got in on the lifetime best action with 8.42. That meant Reilly still had the lead, but it was now only 121 points separated the top three.

It remained equally tight in the high jump as the big three all found themselves still in the competition at 1.81. However, for Newton that meant it was because he had passed all the earlier heights choosing to watch Reilly and McCaffrey duel it out up to 1.78. To stop what looked like a certainty and allow Newton to take over in pole position given the Tonbridge’s man credentials in the high jump – he’s a 1.98 performer at his best – either Reilly or McCaffrey needed to go higher. McCaffrey couldn’t this time around and had to settle for that 1.78, but Reilly duly obliged with a soaring clearance. On paper his 1.81 didn’t look like it would be enough, but Newton then passed 1.90 after a comfortable clearance at 1.87 and couldn’t then go any higher, fouling out at 1.93. It meant that going into the last event, the 1000 metres, Newton was still 23 points behind Reilly which equates to just two seconds. This would be about who could handle five laps the best. 

And that was Reilly who surprised everybody. On paper Newton was a clear favourite but Reilly tracked him for four of the five laps before launching a fabulous kick finish. He was rewarded with an 11-second PB and 2:49.19, a heptathlon PB of 5143, and more significantly an England Championships gold medal.

Final scores: 1, Reilly 5143, Newton 5084, McCaffrey 4876

Walks

The women’s 3000m was a cracking race. Ireland’s Dublin-based Ciara Wilson took the lead early and made two-time British champion Abigail Jennings (Verity Snook, Aldershot, Farnham and District) work hard every step of the way. However, with two laps to go she couldn’t respond, and Jennings surged away for a comfortable victory in 14:29.42 to add to her lengthening list of national titles. That list is also growing for Cameron Curbishley (Andi Drake, Medway and Margate) as he hit the front from the gun in the men’s 3000m and simply powered away from the field to win his third title in 12:03.93. That marked a hat-trick of wins and his fourth title overall.

For the results and a full list of participants click here.