Athletics

Championship and stadium records tumbled, as fine performances from the likes of Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet), Amy Hunt (Marco Airale, Charnwood) Molly Caudery (Scott Simpson, Thames Valley), Elise Thorner (Helen Clitheroe, Wells City) and Anna Purchase (Notts) headlined day one of Novuna UK Athletics Championships at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham.

Doubling up as both the national championships and the official trials ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September, the men’s and women’s 100m finals brought the curtain down on a fine day of action.

Lining up as event favourite after a commanding and controlled 10.02 (+0.2) in his semi-final, British record holder Zharnel Hughes took a popular win in the final event of the day. After a green card reprieve for the field after an initial re-call, Hughes pushed out of lane four with world indoor champion Jeremiah Azu (Helen Patricia James, Cardiff) inside of him.

Azu enjoyed a fine start to make the initial running and find himself out in front at 50m or so, only for Hughes to come back at him and scorch through, moving away and even enjoying a look around him as he crossed over in 9.94, only a slightly illegal tailwind of +2.2m/s denying both Hughes and Azu – who motored in for silver in 9.97 – sub-10 clockings.

Champion last time out, Louie Hinchliffe (Richard Kilty, Sheffield & Dearne) ensured he made another domestic podium, his time of 10.01 good for bronze on the day and marking a return to form after injury.

After reclaiming the 100m title won back in 2023, Hughes said: “I really knew I could win today and I got a sub-10, which is really important for me. I really wanted to be here and get a run in and feel my legs in the rounds. It could have been faster but I can build on this.  It is nice to hear your name being called out from the stands.”

The first of the two sprint finals, the women’s 100m began with drama as Daryll Neita, who had earlier in the day achieved the world qualifying mark of 11.07 courtesy of a 11.00 (+0.1) clocking, suffered an agonising false start disqualification having gone too early at the gun.

When the field were resettled, and having appeared to be left a little in the blocks, the hugely in-form Amy Hunt (Marco Airale, Charnwood) quickly found her running to move through the field in commanding and powerful fashion, the lead only growing as she crossed the line in 11.02 (+1.5), a personal best by 0.01 seconds and a performance her spot on the plane to Tokyo.

Desiree Henry (Steve Fudge, Enfield & Haringey) produced a time of 11.32 to take silver, and will no doubt now go in hunt of the qualifying time after a promising 11.12 in mid-July. Faith Akinbileje (David Sadkin, Blackheath & Bromley) did enough to secure British 100m bronze behind the pair, holding on to run 11.34 and narrowly edge out Joy Eze’s (Gateshead) 11.35 to take the final step of the podium.

Post-race, Hunt reflected on her 100m success and what else is to come, saying: “We wanted to view this Championships as another step in the road to Tokyo. I am happy to get my first senior outdoor UK title and book that plane ticket, and I am excited to do it all over again tomorrow in 200m.

Adding stardust to proceedings at the Alexander Stadium, world indoor champion Molly Caudery was in a league of her own to bring up a third consecutive women’s pole vault British title with 4.85m.

Entering at 4.35m, clearances followed at 4.45m, 4.60m and 4.75m, before a crowd-pleasing 4.85m – coming at the third and final time of asking – finished up her series for the day.

After three clean clearances at her opening three heights, Tilly Hooper’s (Kate Rooney, Birchfield Harriers) clearance at 4.35m was unable to be matched by bronze medallist Felicia Miloro (Kate Rooney, Thames Valley) – who exited at 4.25m – as the two decided silver and bronze respectively.

The women’s 3000m steeplechase was a strung-out affair, with a lead pack of three breaking away from before the midway point of proceedings had even been reached. Spearheaded by Elise Thorner, the UK leader, the trio of Thorner, Sarah Tait (Linda Smith, Lasswade) and Cari Hughes (Andrew Walling, Cardiff) continued to clip round and leave the other five in the field in their wake as the pace crept up.

Being pushed all the way by Tait, Thorner – who holds the qualifying time for Tokyo – kept her cool to move away and extend her lead, ultimately crossing over the line with much room to spare to bring up a time of 9:22.05, a new championship record by some seven seconds.

Tait’s tenacity saw her rewarded with a deserved British silver – her time 9:25.17 – while Hughes, typically a 1500m and 3000m specialist, hung in for an impressive bronze with 9:41.66.

Relieved to get the job done and punch her ticket to Tokyo, Thorner said: “It has been really nerve-wracking all week, but I knew I just had to execute my plan. Honestly – I wanted to get top two to guarantee selection – I didn’t really mind so much about the time. With steeplechase you need to be able to sight the barrier, sometimes it is better to be at the front to be safe. I was taking big deep breaths at the bell to keep myself calm. I attacked each barrier, so I am so happy to get the win.”

In a field of 15 led by two athletes with the qualifying time for Tokyo – Hannah Nuttall (Helen Clitheroe, Charnwood) and Innes Fitzgerald (Gavin Pavey) – the women’s 5000m proved a cagey and bunched affair as running got underway.

Controlled throughout by Nuttall, who led at the bell from Fitzgerald, with India Weir (Andrew Hobdell, Thames Valley) then taking her shot at the front of the race, the pace left the race as a three-way shoot-out for the title.

Needing to grit her teeth to to hold off many an advancing attack from Weir, Nuttall – champion from last year – dug in and then moved away down the home straight, crossing the line arms aloft to register a time of 15:46.90 and secure her spot for Tokyo.

Behind her, Fitzgerald rallied to make the required automatic qualifying top two finish, but the impressive Weir had something left in the tank to keep her at bay, taking silver for herself with 15:47.98 to Fitzgerald’s 15:48.66 for bronze.

Delighted to confirm her Tokyo spot, Nuttall said: “The main goal today was to come top two, and it all went to plan, so I am buzzing. I thought it would go out slow, but I was planning on someone taking it on with a kilometre or so to go. No-one was taking it on and I was feeling good, so I thought ‘let’s just wind this up’ and keep doing that.

“It is about 10 years ago that I won English Schools here (at Alexander Stadium), so I have good memories of this track, so it was great to be able to perform here again and win the UK title.”

There was a spectacular performance from Anna Purchase as she produced the second-best throw of her career, a 72.96m effort in round two, to smash the Championship record previously held by Sophie Hitchon.

After asserting her authority with a 70.73m effort in round three, Purchase cashed in the huge near-73m throw to the delight of those inside the stadium, the effort just 5cm shy of her personal best.

Multi-British medallist, Charlotte Payne (Ian Payne, Newbury) won silver courtesy of her 67.59m mark set in round one, while Amber Simpson (Wrexham) secured bronze following a consistent series, and a best effort of 65.64m.

Somewhat blown away by her own feat, Purchase said: “I feel very overwhelmed at the moment. This type of performance has been building but you often lose a bit of confidence when you don’t throw well for quite a while. It is my furthest throw since April 2022, so to finally get a mark on the board reinvigorates your belief in yourself. I think that is where the emotion came from after that throw.”

After an initial 21 athletes were narrowed down to nine following three heats earlier in the session – Abigail Pawlett (Ashley Bryant, Trafford AC) the quickest through qualifying with 13.00 (+0.2) – the women’s 100m hurdles final took to the track just after 5PM to kick-start a run of back-to-back track deciders.

In a dramatic race which saw no less than three fallers, Alicia Barrett (Sheffield & Dearne) kept both her form and composure to come through for the win in 13.06 (+0.4), the time her quickest in three years, while bringing up her first British outdoor title since 2018.

Adding British silver to the indoor gold won earlier in the year, Pawlett was a few metres back on Barrett as she clocked 13.12, with Emily Tyrrell (Exeter) running a monstrous personal best of 13.44 to get up for bronze.

The first final action of the day, the men’s javelin saw the lead change hands multiple times before Michael Allison (Tom Dobbing. Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) took command with a monster personal best 78.48m. In doing so, Allison edged ahead of eventual silver medallist and 2023 champion, Ben East (John Trower, Team Kennet), who also produced a personal best, throwing 77.40m on the day.

Notching bronze to match the colour won last year, Daniel Bainbridge (Tom Dobbing, Shaftesbury Barnet) completed the podium after a consistent series of throws topped off with a personal best 76.86m – bettering his previous best by over a metre – in round five. Also competing, Paralympic and world champion Dan Pembroke (John Trower, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) produced a best throw of 63.62m, the effort coming in the sixth and final round.

On his victory, Allison said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic – it’s nearly a two metre PB, but more importantly it’s an 11m season’s best. It was awesome to compete here – I competed two years ago in Manchester and the crowd here is five times the size. The fact all three of us on the podium PB’d just shows how good the crowd is.”

The final field action of the day, there was an astonishing 20^th British title for Scott Lincoln (City of York) as he wrestled controlled of the competition early and never slowed down. Kicking off with 19.28m before moving into 20m+ territory with throws of 20.77m and 20.62m, Lincoln rounded off with 20.25m to add yet another domestic title to his haul.

Best throws of 18.15m and 18.14m saw Patrick Swan (Ryan Spencer-Jones, Cornwall AC) do more than enough to take silver.

In consideration for Tokyo having gone over 21m this year, Lincoln said: “It is always nice to come and win the UK Championships, especially with the big crowd today that really got behind us. It feels like athletics is on the up, which is great news. It is really nice to have that buzz in the stadium again.

“It has been a challenging few weeks with a few niggles to sort out, but I am excited going forward and getting out to Tokyo to see what I can do there.”

The women’s triple jump saw Adelaide Omitowoju (Benjamin Davies, Harrow) produce the competition of her life, leading from round one to six and jumping a personal best to win her first ever British senior title.

Kicking off with 13.27m (+2.2) to set her stall out, Omitowoju sailed out to 13.58m (+1.9) in round two to improve her personal best by 19cm, before solidifying her lead with 13.62m (+2.0) in round four, only a marginal tailwind denying her another lifetime best.

Coming in behind Omitowoju, Shanara Hibbert continued her personal best form this year, saving her best jump for last with a sixth round 13.25m (+1.4) to also add 19cm to her best ever and claim silver in the process. Silver Nwabuzor (Glasgow University) won bronze behind the pair, a windy sixth round jump of 12.90m (+3.2) good to seal her place on the podium.

Fellow horizontal jump finals action saw a topsy-turvy men’s long jump competition unfold, with just 8cm separating the top four come its finale.

Winning his first ever British title with what was his first jump of the day, Alessandro Schenini (Glasgow Jaguars)’s 7.85m (+2.7) led the way and offered a mark for the rest of the field to shoot at.

That they did, with silver medallist Archie Yeo (Lukasz Zawila, Kingston upon Hull) giving it a serious scare following 7.81m (+2.2) in round five, a mark he then repeated with his final jump for a final jolt of drama. Just 1cm further back, Samuel Ebonine (Michael Fennell, Sale Harriers Manchester) produced the definition of a clutch jump, jumping 7.80m in round six to set a personal best by 14cm, and bump himself from sixth to bronze.

On his title win, Schenini reflected: “I got a bronze indoors last year, so I’ve been manifesting a gold for the last few weeks – I am buzzing. It is an unreal feeling to have this gold medal around my neck.”

There was a share of the gold in the men’s high jump, with Divine Duruaku (Julian Reid, Harrow) and Charlie Husbands (Deirdre Elmhirst, Birchfield Harriers) unable to be separated following mirrored scorecards, their best clearances on the day coming at 2.14m.

UK leader this year, bronze medallist Kimani Jack (Julian Reid, Shaftesbury Barnet) also went clear at 2.14m at the third time of asking – his scorecard carrying one more failure at the height leaving Jack to settle for British bronze.

Victory was accompanied by a Championship and stadium record for Lawrence Okoye (Zane Duquemin, Croydon) in the men’s discus, his second-round mark of 65.93m putting him in a league of his own as he reclaimed his British crown after missing last year’s championships.

The battle for silver behind Okoye proved a tight one, Nick Percy (Zane Duquemin, Harrow) coming out on top by just 6cm as his fourth round best of 58.95m beat out coach Zane Duquemin’s (John Hillier, Shaftesbury Barnet) 59.89m.

Showcasing the best of Britain’s para-athlete talent, Dan Greaves (Charnwood, Zane Duquemin), Harrison Walsh (Swansea) and Aled Davies (Ryan Spencer-Jones, Cardiff) all lined up in the same event. Greaves threw a best mark of 55.63m, while Walsh went out to a best of 54.04m, and Davies found his best throw – 46.59m – in round two.

Assessing his performance, Okoye said: “I’m actually really happy as I rarely perform well at the UK Championships – this is my best result at this event by a long way, and it felt nice to be able to do that in front of a home crowd. There is quite a lot still to come, because I didn’t quite get it altogether out there, but I’m encouraged with where it is going.”

There was a razor-tight finish in first round of the ambulant men’s para-athletics 100m, Thomas Young (Joe McDonnell, Loughborough) taking the spoils with a lean on the line, his time of 10.98 (+0.8) bringing up a season’s best. On his shoulder, silver medallist Kevin Santos’ (Michael Utting, City of Norwich) clocked 11.00, also a season’s best, while Dan Gladman (Leigh Harriers) finished third with 11.54.Returning to the track for a second run out later in the session, Young again took the win as he streaked away to a comfortable victory in 11.19 (+1.3) for gold. James Ledger (Matt Elias, Swansea Harriers) claimed second in 11.75, with Euan Murray (Graham Mattacks, Team Bath) third in 12.14.

On his performance, and his gold, Young said: “The heat showed I can go sub -11 seconds – I was hoping to go a bit quicker in the final. Ultimately these Championships are about one thing, and that is winning, so I’m happy to win the title and move on to the rest of this season.

On track before the to 100m finals took centre stage, the women’s 800m wheelchair final was dominated from gun to tape by Kare Adenegan (Job King, Coventry). Leaving the field in her dust to go through 400m in just shy of 1:07, Adenegan showed no sign of relenting, pushing an even quicker final 400m to romp home in 2:12.87.

Motoring on some 60m behind, the duo of Daina Donnelly (Job King, Coventry) and Anya Waugh (Kirkby) fought a hard battle for the silver, with Donnelly doing enough to keep Waugh at bay and come over the line just shy of two seconds in front, their times 2:47.15 to 2:49.02.

On the race, and the experience of racing close to home, Adenegan said: “I felt amazing to be out there and winning here in Birmingham. I live and train in Coventry, so it feels close to home, and it was amazing to be competing in front of such a great crowd. It is fantastic to win the gold medal. I don’t get too many opportunities to get gold medals, so I am really proud of myself today.”

Results from today’s Novuna UK Athletics Championships can be found here. Action resumes tomorrow from 11:30AM.