The Famous Five

A single HW vest at the British Championships is enough to make us all proud, but the sight of five Club athletes lining up in almost consecutive events last Friday evening was truly memorable. Never mind the chilly night and headwinds which put paid to hopes of PBs, Charlie Eastaugh in the 1500m, Dwayne Cowan in the 400m, Rechmial and Chad Miller in the 100m; and Ellen Weir in the 3000m trials for the U20 European Championships, kept Club members glued to the British Athletics livestream.

Above photograph courtesy of Jon Mulkeen

Despite the conditions, Charlie was happy to take five good scalps to finish 7th of 12 in his 1500m heat (and 24th overall of 48 entrants) in an event currently bulging with talent. 'Not one man or woman ran a PB or even a season’s best in the 1500m heats, such was the tactical nature of racing in cold, windy Manchester conditions', he says, 'so I was pretty pleased to clock my second fastest time ever (3:50.22) and close with a 1:59 last 800m.

'While the result itself was decent enough, what was most worthwhile was the experience of donning the Herc vest on the national stage' he says, 'and to be in the same heat as the second fastest British 1500m runner of all time, Jake Wightman (3:29.47, faster than Coe and Ovett), and finish just five seconds behind him was quite cool, too!' (Wightman, along with Josh Kerr and Jake Heyward, who fought out the medal positions in Manchester, will be representing GB at the Tokyo Olympics).

Charlie's next goals, he says, are 'to run a decent 800m in a couple of weeks, try to shave some time off my 1500m PB at the BMC Grand Prix at Loughborough in July, and have a crack at the 4-minute mile at Wimbledon Park on 28 July.' (see entry details below).

Photograph below by Mark Hookway

There were mixed fortunes in the 100m for the Miller Brothers. Recently returned from training in Jamaica, Rechmial struggled to find his form in his heat, while Chad below, top), having false-started at the England U20 & U23 Championships in Bedford, where he had been looking for selection for the British U23 team at the European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia (8-11 July), was hoping for a last chance to impress. In the heats on Friday night he finished in third place to progress to the semi finals, however on day two of the Championships, with only two automatic qualifiers going through to the final, and nursing a hamstring niggle, he finished third in the first of the three semi finals in 10.47, and could only watch as the two non-automatic slots in the final were clinched in the second race.

For young Ellen Weir in the U20 3000m, the whole experience of being part of the British Championships rather overtook the race itself, which was stretched out mercilessly by Megan Keith of Inverness, the top ranked U20W athlete over the distance. In the circumstances, like all but three of the field, Ellen finished outside her PB (in 8th), dashing any chances of qualifying for the 3000m at the European U20 Championships, also in Tallin (15-18 July). However she is hopeful of being selected for the 5000m – in which she is ranked third in the UK and has the qualifying time – when the final team for Tallinn is announced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, just to underline her versatility, she returns to Manchester next weekend for the English Schools Championships, where she will be competing for Surrey in the 1500m Steeplechase.

In a year in which he lost his father, the much-loved coach Lloyd Cowan, it was good to see HW superstar Dwayne (above with Charlie Eastaugh) back on the big stage in a HW vest. At 36 years old, and competing in his first individual 400m race of this season, it was perhaps inevitable that he would be searching for the kind of speed that saw him win a bronze medal for GB in the 4 x 400m at the World Championships on an exciting night in London in 2017 (a performance he repeated at the European Championships the following year). Although he finished fifth in his heat, his time of 48.41 has shot him straight up to number one in the UKA M35 rankings (and top of the HW all-time M35 list)!

Full results from the British Championships, Manchester here Power of Ten results here

HW Quartet for the English Schools Championships

HW will have four athletes at the English Schools Championships in Manchester next weekend. In addition to Ellen Weir in the 3000m, competing for Surrey, the London team includes U20 Georgie Clarke in the 1500m, U17 Freddie Arkell in the 200m, and U15 Mabel-Rose Scales in the high jump. Due to Covid restrictions this year's Championship format is very different to usual. County team managers were asked to put forward their selections to the English Schools Athletic Association, and from these only those in the top 16 on the Power of Ten were invited to take part in each event. And instead of around 2,000 athletes competing over two days, one age group only will compete each day.

Freddie Arkell gained some good experience in advance of the English Schools Championships by stepping up an age group at the England U20 and U23 Championships in Bedford, finishing sixth in his heat (effectively a semi-final) in 22.19 into a slight headwind, without which he may well have dipped under his target of 22 seconds.

Multi-talents at Lee Valley

Congratulations to young multi-eventers Darcey O'Shea and new joiner Conor Kelly on their fine performances at the South East Schools Combined Events Championships at Lee Valley on 26/27 June.

Conor, in only his second competition, scored 2714 to finish second in the Junior Boys (U15) Pentathlon, competing for Surrey. With PBs across the board, including a stunning 1.71 in the high jump, his overall performance puts him third in the UKA U15 Rankings for the Pentathlon!

Darcey O'Shea, who has graduated from high jump to multi-events, amassed a points total of 4052 competing for London in the Intermediate Girls (U17) Heptathlon, with PBs in the 800m, 80m hurdles, high jump and shot to finish 6th.

Full results

Freddie was in action again at Lee Valley in the Sprint Double 100m Open Series on 23 June, where he clocked 11.09 in the best of the two rounds. And there were PBs for Devonte Casely-Hayford (below) in 11.36, U17 Emmanuel Adeyemi (12.29) and U20 Hannah Bell (12.54).

Full results