Miles Weatherseed (photo), from Tonbridge Athletic Club, produced one of several excellent performances from club members last week, when he finished third over 1500 metres at Birmingham, on Wednesday evening. Lowering his personal best to 3.44.93, not only gave him a 2.2 seconds improvement, but more significantly qualified him for the British Championships and Olympic Trials later in June.
Also at Birmingham, competing in the same meeting, was Kirsty-Anne Ebbage, who threw the 4kg Hammer 42.53m, which set a new Tonbridge under 20 women’s record, adding more than a metre and a half to her own mark from 2019. Ebbage also produced a Discus throw of 33.72m, at the same meeting.
Ben Murphy raced his first 800 metres of the season when winning a midweek British Milers Club race at West London in 1.51.63. Murphy won by two seconds, after leading throughout the second half of the race and is due to race again this coming weekend. At Loughborough, Simon Coppard had his first race for over a year and lowered his personal best for 1500 metres, when finishing third in 3.50.93. This was a huge improvement from his previous best, from four years ago, having been frustrated intermittently with injuries.
On the road, at Ardingly Showground, Nicole Taylor won the women’s 5km race, on Wednesday evening, in a swift 16.08. This moved her to 10th on the UK rankings for the year. The improving Verity Hopkins just pipped Phoebe Barker at the finish, as both recorded 17.02 to finish 5th and 6th. Stuart Brown led the men’s race for much of the first half, before eventually finishing 2nd in 14.48, whilst under 17 age group runner, Huxley Crush, ran 16.19 to finish 49thand take more than two minutes from his previous best. On Sunday, Dan Bradley and Nichola Evans won the men’s and women’s races at the Betteshanger five-mile road race by significant margins.
In the USA, James West showed improved form when he finished 2nd in his 1500 metres heat, on Friday, at the PAC 12 Conference Championships in 3.42.02. He then ran a season’s best in Sunday’s final of 3.41.42 to place 4th, before also adding a point, for the Oregon team, in the 5000m soon afterwards with a 14.20.83 clocking in 23rd.
Also in the USA, Chris Olley had a disappointing run, by his standards, when he finished 13th in 14.09.30, over 5000 metres, at Irvine, California.