Gilad Nachshen beats two minutes for 800m

Immanuel College pupil Gilad Nachshen, 14, has become the first UK Under 15 athlete this year to beat two minutes for 800m. Nachshen cut his personal best by over a second to record 1:59.10 in the latest Watford Open Graded Meeting.

"I was placed in a field of older athletes who were aiming for 1:55, and I was knocked around a lot during the race", Nachshen said. "I passed halfway in 59 seconds, two seconds slower than I had planned. But I maintained my pace and made a final push in the home straight".

Nachshen trains twice a week at Allianz Park under the guidance of Jeremy Sothcott, in a group that includes several Jewish athletes including David Stone. His programme also includes a Sunday morning session at Parliament Hill. He reported, "My training at Shaftesbury Barnet has been going really well recently, with a lot of sprint repetition work with short recovery periods.”

Nachshen will spend two weeks in Israel on a school trip before representing Hertfordshire in the England Schools Athletics Championships in Birmingham next month.