On the 30th and 31st August Niamh Bailey took part in theprestigious EAP 18th International Combined Events Meeting in Manchester.
In an extremely high quality competition Niamh started offday 1 with a pb and club record in the u20 100m Hurdles, breaking her 15 second target with a time of 14.97 seconds. The high jump followed with a disappointing 1.54m, 11cm less than her pb, it seemed the end of a long and emotionally challenging season was taking its toll on Niamh, but she battled through getting an impressive 9.98m in the Shot Putt. The final event of day 1 was the 200m, one of Niamh’s strongest events, where she continued to add to her success on the track with a time of 25.21 seconds setting another new pb and breaking her own club record in the process, leaving her in third overall just 75 points off second position.
Day 2 began with the long jump, where Niamh leapt to 5.25m staying in close contention to the 2 girls ahead, with only the javelin and 800m to go. The Javelin followed, with a distance of 23.15m leaving the KTH athlete annoyed as her practice throws had floated out to around 30m. Not all was lost though, with a good performance needed in the final event, 800m, in order for Niamh to medal. Niamh finished off in style, with a performance of 2.30.29 ensuring that she remained in 3rd position overall, with a final points total of 4573. A great individual performance considering how emotionally draining the weekend had been.
This brilliant performance is even more impressive when you consider the season that Niamh has had. Just a week prior to the event her combined events coach and friend Trevor Marsay sadly passed away, whilst her sprint coach and friend KTH legend Dick Capliss also sadly passed away this year. Her performances throughout the year despite everything show her outstanding talent and commitment to the sport, with her attitude towards training and willingness to help showing what a role model she is as well as being a true asset to Kettering Town Harriers.
The top 3 are pictured below.
