2 Golds, a bronze and a host or road racing success
01 March 2022
Double Gold for Jane Horder at the European Masters Indoor Championships!!
After smashing the W65 60m hurdles world record just a few weeks ago Jane Horder headed to Portugal as the clear favourite, but with hurdle races especially anything can go wrong and it requires a calm head to get everything right on the day. Horder though of course had no problem dealing with the pressure having been in this position many times before. The Harrier was streaks ahead of 2nd place crossing the line in 10.39, securing gold number 1 and while the time was slower than her own world record it was still quicker than anyone else has ever run before.
The following day Horder went down an age group to form part of the Great Britain 4x 200m relay team. The team destroyed the competition finishing a massive 16 seconds clear of 2nd place and giving Horder her 2nd gold of the weekend.
(Photo: Jane Horder proudly showing her two gold medals)
Back in England it was time for the English Cross Country Championships held at the iconic Parliament Hill. Gloucestershire and South West U17 Champion Kiya Dee always puts on a brilliant battle over the mud, having won the U15 event back in 2020, Dee knows what it takes to compete on the national stage. Dee looked at her best in London, running a smart race, pushing hard throughout and taking the hills in her stride. The race came down to a tight finish with Dee sprinting to a well earned and impressive 3rd place, just 14 seconds behind the winner. This is Dee’s third medal at the Championship in as many appearances.
(Photo: Kiya Dee leading the way; Taken by Gary Mitchell)
In the U20 race Kaitlyn Sheppard had a fantastic run to finish in 21st against a tough field of athletes. The ever determined Harrier started hard and showed strength to maintain a top 25 finish.
Over 2000 athletes took part in the men’s race Harrison Miles was the first Harrier home in 975th, Matt Evans was 1232nd and Rowan Tibbs was 1403rd
At the Bourton 10k Rupert Denny ran a huge PB to finish in 33:23 and 13th overall. Nick Holliday was just 1 second slower than his PB running 37:47 and taking home the prize for 1st M60. Sam Gilder ran 40:43, Jane Fairbairn was 5th L45 in 42:24, Steve Bradley finished in 42:44 and Jo Wilkie ran 43:20. Kathryn Morton impressed with her fastest time since 2017, 45:25 earnt her 3rd L60. The performance gained her selection for England at the Bristol 10km in September, her second England qualification in the space of just 3 months. Nicola Whiteman was close behind in 45:53, Mark Potter ran 47:58 and Caroline Cotterall completed the Harriers contingent in 48:21.
Over the Half Marathon distance Sophie Bewstiwck knocked close to 4 minutes off her PB running 1:34.02 in Treviglio and at the Wokingham Half Clare Hawling ran a fantastic race to finish in 1:44.01. Over at the Wokingham Half Clare Hawling ran a fantastic race to finish in 1:44.01
In America George Watson competed at the MVC Indoor Championships in Chicago. After breaking the club indoor 3000m and 5000m records early this season Watson was clearly entering the event in good form. Watson ran two brilliant races running just fractionally slower than his PB in both events. Over 3000m Watson finished 3rd in 8:05.42 and over 5000m Watson ran 14:16.19 for 2nd.