10th August 2020
WEEKEND UPDATE - 10/08/2020
Brussels Grand Prix, Brussels, Belgium, 9 August
Jessie Knight (coach: Marina Armstrong; club: Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) took almost eight tenths off her 400m hurdles personal best and moved inside the top ten on the all-time British list with a storming run in Brussels.
Knight blitzed the field with a near perfect run to move second on the world rankings for 2020 and dip below the 56-second mark for the first time in her career, stopping the clock in 55.27s. British compatriot Lina Nielsen (Ryan Freckleton; Shaftesbury Barnet) clocked a season’s best over the hurdles in 58.90s that saw her home in fourth place.
Also on the track, there was delight for Danny Talbot (Vince Anderson; Birchfield) as he donned his spikes for his first 200m race in almost three years and secured victory in 21.00s (0.1).
The Birchfield man has had an incredibly unlucky run with injuries but showed he is returning towards his best with an excellent run from lane three that saw him home almost four tenths ahead of France’s Ryan Zeze for a memorable win.
Big Friendly 4, Portland, Oregon, United States of America, 8 August
Middle-distance specialist Josh Kerr (Danny Mackey; Edinburgh AC) kept up his fine form in the 2020 outdoor season as he pushed Botswanan Nijel Amos all the way in the men’s 800m, finishing a matter of hundredths behind him in Oregon.
Amos was stalked by Kerr for the two-lap race and sat right on his shoulder at the bell, but Amos just did enough to hold off the fast approaching Kerr, with Amos stopping the clock in 1:49.23, marginally ahead of Kerr’s 1:49.29 that earned him second position. Jake Heyward (Mark Rowland; Cardiff) recorded a season’s best 1:50.43 as he cut the tape in fifth position.
Podium 5k, Barrowford, 8 August
Marc Scott (Jerry Schumacher; Cambridge & Coleridge) broke Nick Goolab’s British 5k record on the roads of Barrowford by virtue of a swift 13:20 in blustery conditions. Having already broken the British 5000m record indoors back in Boston in February, Scott put the hammer down from the off and recorded a second British record of his career, seven seconds under the previous time.
Alex Yee (Kenneth Pike; Kent), who took second place behind Scott, was also inside the previous record by virtue of a 13:26 personal best showing, with Phil Sesemann (Andrew Henderson; Leeds City) third in 13:39, a personal best.
In the elite women’s race, it was Beth Potter (Shaftesbury Barnet) who took her first win of the season outdoors in her first 5k road race since 2014, setting a personal best 15:24 in doing so. Potter was followed home by Jessica Judd (Mick Judd; Blackburn) in 15:36, who just did enough to hold off Verity Ockenden (Tony Houchin; Swansea), who finished one second further back in third place.
Trafford Open Series, Stretford, 8 August
Lawrence Okoye (John Hillier; Croydon) continued his excellent return to discus action as he produced the longest throw by a British athlete on home soil since 2013 with a 64.85m effort in Manchester that saw him comfortably win the men’s discus.
The distance backed up Okoye’s 65.15m effort that he threw in Germany only a fortnight ago as he continues to show he has not lost his touch on a return to the sport.
The women’s equivalent was a much tighter affair with Jade Lally (Zane Duquemin; Shaftesbury Barnet) hanging on to beat Kirsty Law (Zane Duquemin; Inverness) with 57.86m and 57.24m the respective distances, with Law recording a season’s best.
Kevin Metzger (Stephen Ball; Sale Harriers Manchester) continued his excellent progression over 400m as he shaved another seven tenths off his personal best to take victory in 46,74s and move up to fifth on the British rankings for 2020.
It was a case of the Manchester man against the clock as he obliterated the field for victory, stopping the clock more than two seconds clear of clubmate, Luke Chesters (Sale Harriers Manchester).
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