The Novuna Great Britain & Northern Ireland team ended the World Athletics U20 Championships in style as they claimed a further two medals on the final day of action.
With silver in the mixed 4x100m relay and bronze in the men’s hammer throw (6kg), women’s 800m and men’s high jump already secured, day five in Eugene saw those sporting the Union Jack win a silver medal in the men’s 4x100m relay and bronze in the women’s 4x400m relay.
The male quartet, consisting of Divine Iheme (Radley Athletic Club, Nkiruka Iheme), Jake Odey-Jordan (Be Fit Today Track Academy, Kevin Schnexnayder), Ethan Franklin (Woodford Green AC with Essex Ladies, Gladys Bird) and James Arminio (Gloucester AC, Justin Smith), stormed to second place in the men’s 4x100m relay in a European U20 record time of 38.90 seconds, breaking a 26-year British record in the process.
“It feels amazing to be able to bring back a medal to Great Britain,” said Odey-Jordan. “Next time we are getting gold, know that.”
“It is so inspiring seeing other members of our team medal, so we had to do it as well,” said Franklin, while Arminio continued: “It feels incredible and to break a record that has stood for so many years as well, it is a great feeling.”
Just over an hour and a half later at Hayward Field, Caitlin Hadfield (Derby Athletic Club, Keith Bullock, Juda Simpson), Shiloh Omotosho (Basildon AC, Sarah Robinson), Casey Musgrave (City of Sheffield and Dearne AC, Mark Fowler) and Camiah Bennett (Coventry Godiva Harriers, James Wright) returned GB & NI’s sixth medal of the competition in the women’s 4x400m relay as they ran a season’s best time of 3:32.08 to earn their spot on the podium.
“I just wanted to go out there and try to make the team proud, I could not have done it without them,” said Hadfield, while Omotosho continued: “I was so proud of them, and we knew we just needed to showcase how good GB is. Seeing our other teammates get medals motivated us even more to end the competition on a good note.
“It was crazy, I had incredible faith in my teammates,” said Musgrave, while Bennett added: “I am really grateful the girls put me in a great position, and I am just really happy I pulled through to secure a bronze medal.”
In the women’s and men’s 1500m finals, Lyla Belshaw (Colchester Harriers AC, David Smith) came home in eighth place while James Alexander (Garscube Harriers, Alex Chalmers) finished 11th.
The total medals of two silvers and four bronzes along with the nine other top eight finishers saw Novuna GB & NI place sixth on the overall placing table, with the best medal haul at a World U20s since 2018.
UK Athletics Head of Performance Pathway Dan Wagner said following the positive competition:
We’ve seen some really strong performances and results across these Championships, but equally important has been the experience the athletes have gained along the way. We’ve seen athletes step up on a major international stage, handle pressure, learn from setbacks and celebrate each other’s successes. That combination of performance, experience and learning is what makes a Championships like this so valuable. The athletes should be proud of both what they have achieved and how they have represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland throughout the week.