Brilliant victory for Hannah Viner in the England U23 5000m Championship

Highgate Harrier Hannah Viner, 20, gained a remarkable victory in the England U23 5000m Championship at Bedford. Three of the other four race entrants had posted faster times than Viner over the distance. "The air temperature was 30 degrees so we started conservatively, and I made a real push over the final lap”, commented Viner. The King’s College London student built up a 7 seconds lead over the final stages to finish in 17:05.96. James Bongart, now 21, took bronze in the U23 javelin with a throw of 60.81m.

Joshua Firsht, 16, gained a full set of medals at the Independent Schools Association National Championships in Birmingham. Firsht took gold in the U17 400m in 52.16, bronze in the 200m in 23.87 and silver in the sprint relay. "The hot conditions were perfect for racing", Firsht said. "But the last 100m in the 400 was the hardest of my life!" Younger brother Adam Firsht, 14, gained silver in the U15 800m in 2:08.25. Both athletes are pupils of Shoreham College, Sussex.

Highgate Harrier Idan Gal-Shohet, 17, placed second in the South of England U20 long jump championship at Crystal Palace, breaking the sand at 6.81m.

Richard Goodman, 24, cut his 5000m personal best to 14:02.46 with a close second place finish in the British Milers Club at Watford. David Stone, 15, reduced his 3000m best to 9:00.54 in the Youth Development League at Reading.

Ellie Edwards, 20, demonstrated exceptional form by setting a 100m PB of 12.28 at the Trafford AC Grand Prix at Stretford. Younger sister Allana Edwards, 17, placed second in the U20 400m hurdles in 77.69.

Roger Bruck, now 78, made a successful return to the Alexander Stadium Birmingham, 60 years after first competing there as a student. Contesting the British Masters Championships, Bruck won gold in the long jump (3.32m) and high jump (1.20m),  silver in the 200m (35.23) and bronze in the 100m (17.00).

Success for Eden Davis and Sophie Dowson at England U20 Championships

Eden Davis, 18, produced a remarkable display of sprinting to finish fourth in the England U20 100m Championships at Bedford. In the course of contesting heats, semi-final and final, Davis successively reduced his PB from 10.60 to 10.46. The Herts Phoenix athlete now stands 7^th in the UK U20 rankings. "I was visualising everything in the call room beforehand, and trying to stay relaxed", Davis commented. "The weather certainly helped, plus the fact that I had two of the fastest runners on either side of me".

Competing in the same championships as Davis, Blackheath & Bromley vaulter Sophie Dowson cleared 3.75m to earn the U20 pole vault bronze medal. "I was delighted to earn my first national medal", said Dowson, 18. "It was just frustrating to be so close at the next height, 3.90m. I cleared the bar but knocked it off as I came down".

Brighton & Hove AC’s Adam Firsht, 14, achieved an Under 15 800m England Schools Standard in the South Eastern Schools Inter-Counties Championships at Basingstoke. Firsht finished fifth in 2:04.92 and in the process reaffirmed his standing as the top young middle-distance runner in Sussex. "The hot weather made the conditions difficult, but running against such strong opposition helped me bring the most out of myself", he stated. "I have been working all season towards beating 2:05 so to achieve it is fantastic".

Richard Goodman improved a long-standing 5000m PB by 19 seconds, recording 14:03.20 to finish fourth in a British Milers Club Gold Standard race at Watford.

Dowson places fouth in Welsh Senior pole vault championship

Sophie Dowson, 18, placed fourth in the Welsh Senior pole vault championship with a clearance of 3.65m.

Ellie Edwards, 20, set a 100m personal best of 12.37 in her heat of the Northern Senior Championships at Sportcity, but took no further part in the competition.

Hannah Viner, 20, finished ninth in the South of England Senior 1500m championship in 4:40.90.

Adam Firsht, 14, took victory in the 800m in the Sussex U15 League at Eastbourne, recording 2:12.2.

Fine debut 3000m by Maayan Radus

Maayan Radus established herself as one of the country's top young runners in her first ever track race over 3000m. Fresh from celebrating her 13th birthday the previous day, Radus completed the distance in 10:32.74 at the Watford Open Graded Meeting. This raised her to sixth on the UK U15 list.

"As it was my first race over the distance I decided not to go off too fast," Radus said. "Then I gradually increased the pace as I grew more confident. I am now looking forward to tackling the distance again this weekend at the South of England Championships at Crystal Palace."

Brighton & Hove AC’s Adam Firsht, 14, improved his 800m time to 2:06.86 at a paced British Milers Club event at Brighton. Firsht will race the same event at the Independent Schools Association National Finals in Birmingham this month, having won the ISA Southern Region title in May.

Ellie Edwards, 20, gained a sprint double with victories over 100m and 200m in the Warrington Open. Her times of 12.4 and 25.6 were very close to her personal bests. Edwards commented, "My season is going well and I am running faster than at this stage last year. It augurs well for next month’s Maccabiah, where I am running the senior 100m and 200m." Edwards has been chosen as GB Maccabiah Track & Field captain.

Richard Goodman, 24, placed third in the 5000m at the British Athletics League Premiership match at Lee Valley. His time of 14:30.16 was his fastest for several years.

Rachel Ayrton, 17, recorded an 800m PB of 2:29.8 when placing fourth in a Southern League Division 1 match at Harrow.

Emma Taylor, 16, racked up multiple points for Shaftesbury Barnet by contesting discus, hammer and javelin in the Youth Development League at Bromley. Her recorded marks were 18.62m, 26.23m and 27.07m respectively.

A batch of excellent performances this week

Highgate Harrier Hannah Viner, 20, followed up a mid-week 1500m PB by improving her 5000m best three days later. Viner set a mark of 4:33.46 for the shorter distance at a British Milers Club (BMC) event at Eltham, then recorded 16:45.36 for 5000m at the BMC Grand Prix in Sportcity, Manchester.

Viner commented, "I'm very pleased with how the longer race went, considering the blustery conditions. I was running in a good group of four or five athletes for the first two kilometres but then the pace slowed a little. I wasn't comfortable with forging on alone because of the wind. But after three kilometres another girl came past me and we worked together for the rest of the race.   

“I'm extremely happy with how my season is going. I feel as though there is a lot more in the tank. It is just a matter of keeping up the training and racing.”

Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Richard Goodman, 24, contested two mass participation events in London on successive days, finishing 19th in both. He recorded 4:11 in the Westminster Mile before returning the following day to complete the London 10,000 in 30:48. Goodman said, "I am looking for better results in my next races, as my training is definitely going better than those performances suggest."

Gilad Nachshen, 13, set an 800m PB of 2:09.18 in the Watford Open Graded Meeting while Biny Bloom, also 13, recorded 2:20.31. Nachshen improved again to 2:07.05 at the Cambridge Open Meeting at St Ives, and he is now the fastest of his age (Year 1 U15) in the country. Nachshen said, "It was an Under 20 race, won in under 2 minutes, and I tried my best to go with the leaders. I'm delighted with my time.”

JFS pupil David Stone,15, set a remarkable 3000m time of 9:05.28 when winning the event at the U17 Youth Development League in Bromley. It improved his personal best by 27 seconds. "I started off quite fast, to get a good position, and my first 200m took 33 seconds," Stone reported. "I stayed close to the front throughout then increased the pace and pulled away over the final two laps."

Sale Harriers pole vaulter Lucie Wolfenden, 15, improved her best to 2.85m at Sportcity Manchester. Wolfenden then raised the bar higher to clear 2.90m when winning the U17 Youth Development League at Trafford. "I am really happy with how the season is going," Wolfenden said, "and I am looking forward to competing in this summer’s Maccabiah”.

Rachel Ayrton, 17, also contested the Westminster Mile, setting a personal best of 6:10.

Anna Barnett, 18, set a season's best discus throw of 31.80m at the Blackheath & Bromley Open, while V55 multi-eventer Rosalind Zeffertt recorded 33.0 for 200m in the Barnet & District AC Club Championships.