Three athletes from the sprint squad competed at the England Athletics U15/U17 Championships in Bedford over the weekend. The two day event attracted an entry list of 972 of the best athletes in the country.
Erin Healy, competing in the meeting for the 4th year, faired best out of the squad members, reaching the U17W 200m final. In her heat she finished 5th in a time of 27.16 seconds, which was enough to see her qualify as a fastest loser into the final. In the final she ran a strong bend, and finished 7th, recording a time of 26.99 seconds. It was a creditable performance as times on the day were affected by a sodden track due to heavy rain and a headwind. On the Saturday she had also competed in the 100m, finishing 5th in her heat in a time of 12.89 seconds. These were Erin’s final races for the season, and it was good to see her go out on a high.
Erin Healey (left) & Cynthia Ike both enjoyed a successful final race for the season
It was Josh Gray’s first time competing at this meeting. He competed in the U17M 100m hurdles, in which he is ranked 36th in the UK, and 400m hurdles, which he only decided to start competing in mid-season, in which he is ranked 41st. In the 400m hurdles on Saturday he finished 6th in his heat in a time of 61.61 seconds, and in the 100m hurdles the following day, he finished 7th in his heat in a time of 14.77 seconds. His performances in both events indicate that with hard training in the winter, he will improve his rankings even more next season.
Josh Gray a successful transition into 100m & 400m hurdling this season
Cynthia Ike opted to only enter the U15G 100m at the meeting this year as it is her preferred event. She ran 12.73 seconds in her heat to finish 5th, which unfortunately wasn’t enough to progress through to the final. That was also Cynthia’s last race of the season, which has seen her improve her ranking in the UK over 100m to 25th, and over 200m to 52nd.
Well done to all three athletes who all represented the club so well, and will inspire other squad members to join them at the meeting next season.