U15/U17/U20 Indoor Championships - Day 1, a world class start to the weekend
Day 1 of the England Athletics U20, U17 and U15 Open Indoor Championships, powered by Citroën, saw a string of superb performances in eight intense, action-packed hours of world class action.
To make a final is always sensational, but to win a place on the podium was particularly magnificent this season given the quality and depth of the fields. As ever, that was especially true for the 60 metres, where nothing short of international standard times were needed just to make sure of those all-important final places, let alone top the podium.
For two of the six finals, only a Championships Best Performance and two national records would suffice. And there were no easy options elsewhere. A national record (for the Isle of Man) was also needed to win the high jump, while gold in the pole vault required a UK and Championships record as it did for the triple jump winner who also took the lead in the world rankings (for U18s). It was that kind of day.
Here’s how the action unfolded on Day One:
U20 Women
The qualifying rounds in the 400 metres early on in the programme set the scene for a cracking final. Four athletes clocked inside 56 seconds with Lucia Bertacchini (Winchester, Andrew Fisher) leading the way with a lifetime best of 54.48. The question would be: who recovered best after such a tough qualification? An opening lap of 25.83 answered that. Bertacchini looked full of running as she cruised to a comfortable victory in 54.58.
In the short sprint, and clearly keen to emulate her fellow sprinters who had flown to national bests and event records, Sophie Thomas (Dunfermline, Augustin Osorio) set a Scottish indoor record of her own with 7.33 in the 60 metres.
And to cap a great first day, the final field event on the programme saw the win sealed early on. The first valid jump in the long jump was 6.10 by Daisy Snell (Blackheath and Bromley, Guy Spencer) which was enough to secure the gold medal. She was in great form and followed that with 6.01 and 6.06 before touching down at an indoor best of 6.20 in the fourth round.
U17 Women
The 60 metres was a superbly tight race with the first five clocking personal bests. But it was all about the winner, Annabella Fasuba (City of Plymouth, Neal Edwards) who flew to a CBP of 7.36. That was just 0.02 seconds off the UK record, while a time of 7.51 didn’t even win a medal. What a race!
“I felt good today and I feel like I’ve improved,” said Fasuba. “I can’t thank my coach enough. He’s helped such a lot and I can feel myself getting better.”
In the field, Coach Dave Johnson enjoyed a magnificent day as Leila Newth (Ealing, Southall and Middlesex) took the long jump title by just 1cm. Her 6.02 fifth round jump meant the 15-year-old joined an exclusive club of six-metre jumpers (Tiana Odugbesan (Cardiff Archers, Phillip Warwicker) followed one round later with 6.01). And this is her secondary event; Sunday sees her take on the triple jump where just possibly 13 metres is on the cards.
The day was brought to an outstanding close with a great win by Holly Ryan (Shaftesbury Barnet, Ty Holden) in the 300 metres. Through 200 in a very swift 25.2 she hung on for 38.73 victory. Behind her Cara Monachello (Kilmarnock, Kevin Mitchell) ran a Scottish record of 39.19.
U15 Girls
Florence Matten (Brighton and Hove, Richard Pilling) was in a class of her own in the pole vault. She sailed over 3.62 at the second time of asking to set a new Championships Best Performance before a fabulous clearance at the record-breaking height of 3.76.
“I’m very happy with that,” she said afterwards. “Now I’m going to try and get the outdoor record (3.81) which also happens to be the county (Sussex) record,” she added.
The favourite going into the 60, Honor Oteng (BFTT Academy) looked slightly sluggish in her semi-final and many thought perhaps Araya Williams (BRAT, Michael Plummer) would be the name to watch given her controlled looking 7.48. But Oteng was lightning quick out of her blocks in the final and won in 7.47, but barely. She was awarded the gold medal but by only by two one thousandths from Williams who also stopped the clock at 7.47.
U20 Men
Earlier in the day, it had needed a 44cm to secure gold in the U17 triple jump. In this age group, it required an even better performance – a world leading mark – to take the title.
Tito Odunaike (Marshall Milton Keynes, David Johnson) jumped a PB in the third round with 15.91 – just four centimetres shy of the CBP to get things going. That was the best in Europe by some margin and the best for a decade in the world for an U18. But he wasn’t finished. He followed that with two close-but-not-quite jumps of 15.88 and 15.89, superb in their own right, before improving the CBP to an eye-opening 16.01, a UK U18 record.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” he said. “I’ve been jumping well off a shorter approach, but for a season opener this was really unexpected. I can’t thank my coach enough. He switched my take-off leg about a year ago and things have really improved.”
The 60 metres saw Dylan Williams (BFTT Academy) run a superbly controlled race to win the gold medal in 6.71.
U17 Men
When Divine Iheme (Radley AC, Nkiruka Iheme) lines up for the 60 metres, it’s fair to say there’s a real buzz of expectation in the air. That’s because at his best, he’s capable of world leading performances. His 6.79 first round suggested he meant business and he followed that with a CBP of 6.71 in the semi final before a scintillating British record of 6.68 in the final. But he needed that kind of speed as Haneil Sloley (HHH) was barely a stride behind in 6.75, a massive personal best.
“The goal for today was 6.6 and I did that,” said Iheme. “I knew I had to push out stronger in the final and thank goodness I did as I could feel them on my shoulder,” he added.
Huge improvements were certainly order of the day. Ellis Yeboah-Afari (Dartford Harriers) came to Sheffield as a solid 13.82 competitor with nothing more than a 13th in last summer’s English Schools as a career highlight. However, he left with a national title and a super impressive 14.26 in the closing round. And that was no fluke as he opened his account – and the meeting as a whole – with a mighty impressive PB of 14.01, along with a 14.14 in the second and 14.06 in the fifth round before that huge final jump. It set the tone for the day perfectly; this meeting is all about moving up a level – a huge 44cm in this instance.
The high jump saw one athlete do exactly that – raising their game when it counts – to all but secure a Commonwealth Games place on the way. Regan Corrin (Manx Harriers, Emma Lowry) took the title with a soaring third-time clearance at 2.15 for an Isle of Man U20 indoor record of to go with his long jump record he also holds.
U15 Boys
Emmanuel Ofori-Manteaw (Ealing, Southall and Middlesex, Trevor Matthews) may only be 12 years old, but he ran with the maturity and power of a sprinter far older. He powered to 7.08 for a comfortable victory in the 60 metres, hinting that there’s more in the tank.
Dartford Harriers enjoyed two victories in the triple jump as Southern champion, Caleb Faleye (Dartford Harriers) won the gold with his second-round jump of 12.37. In the same competition, at exactly the same time Yeboah-Afari had been as dominant, making it a great morning for the Kentish club.
Over in the high jump, Alexander Marvell (Ipswich Harriers, Grant Brown) won with 1.83 to add the national title to the Southern gold he won last month with 1.84. Arthur Woyton (Reading, Ibrahim Turay) was equally impressive in the 300 metres. He held off all challengers going into the final bend to win in 37.24.
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