Hannah Viner warms up for track season with fast 5K

Hannah Viner moved to the top of the UK U23 rankings for the distance when she completed the Mid-Cheshire 5K in 16:44. Highgate Harrier Viner placed ninth overall. Viner reported, "It had been raining all day but it cleared up an hour before the race so conditions were perfect. I went out hard but I wasn't wearing a watch and wasn't aware of my position in the women's race. I am a little disappointed in my time, but it was a road PB and the race came at the end of a heavy training block. It should be a good springboard for the summer."

Eden Davis, 19, contested his first 100m event of the season at the Lee Valley Sprint Open, recording 10.71. Honing his speed at the same meeting, middle-distance specialist Gilad Nachshen, 14, reduced his 200m PB by more than a second to 24.25.

Matti Harris, 15, improved his personal bests for 800m and 1500m in the space of four days, with times of 2:14.04 at the Watford Open Graded Meeting and 4:40.4 in the Eastern Young Athletes League.

Fine performances on the hottest London Marathon day on record

Maayan Radus led Barnet home  to team gold in the Virgin London Mini Marathon Under 15 Borough Challenge. In her first year of the age group, Radus placed sixth individually, recording 18:08 for the officially measured 3 mile course in unseasonably hot and difficult conditions. The previous weekend Radus had demonstrated her fitness by cutting her 1500m best to 4:55.7 in the Eastern Young Athletes League at Watford. Remarkably, that same morning, she had placed fourth in a duathlon (1500m run, 7.5km bike ride, 1500m run) setting the fastest time in the age group across both girls and boys for the second running stage.

Lia Radus and David Stone both placed eighth in their U17 age group in the Mini Marathon Borough Challenge. Their times were 18:02 and 15:50 respectively, with Radus suffering a quadriceps cramp in the latter stages.

Jack Davis-Black finished 14th in the U13 event in 17:56, leading home the Islington team. His mother, Sara Black, completed the full marathon in 3:24:51. Despite drinking  a lot of water during the race, Black suffered sunstroke and severe dehydration and was admitted to hospital overnight. 

Gilad Nachshen finished 27th in the U15 Borough Challenge in 17:11. The previous week he gained a double victory over 300m and 800m in the Eastern Young Athletes League at Watford, setting a 300m PB of 39.1. Nachshen followed that up three days later by reducing his 800m best to 2:01.48 at the Watford Open Graded Meeting, reinforcing his position at the top of the national U15 rankings.

Good start for sprinter Eden Davis

Last year's Maccabiah double gold medallist Eden Davis, 19, opened his outdoor season with a victory in the Southern League at Harrow. Herts Phoenix sprinter Davis raced 200m in 21.9.
Lia Radus, 16, recorded 10:22.13 for 3000m at the Watford Open Graded Meeting.

David Stone caps an outstanding season

David Stone capped an outstanding season by earning team silver in the World Schools Cross Country Championships in Paris. Competing against athletes two years his senior, Stone was the only Year 11 member of the six-strong England team. Stone finished in 31st place, completing the 5.5 km course in 17:08, an average speed of 19.2 km per hour. With 105 runners representing 18 countries contesting the race, team gold was won by Morocco.

Running in warm temperatures over a flat and dry course, Stone faced very different conditions from those of his domestic races this year. "The race started fast and I did not feel too good, although I moved up a few places later on. I really think I am better suited to the mud and the hills," Stone commented. His mastery of those conditions saw him win the England Under 17 title in his first year in the age group, as well as winning the Schools Home Nations International last month.

Gilad Nachshen and Maayan Radus began their track seasons by setting personal bests that placed them top of the national U15 rankings. Nachshen recorded 2:03.28 for 800m at the Highgate Open Meeting at Parliament Hill, while Radus set a 3000m time of 10:20.41 at Watford. At the same meeting Biny Bloom, 14, set a mark of 4:42.52 for 1500m while Rosalind Zeffert moved to top of the national V55 rankings with a 100m time of 15.88. Hannah Viner set a parkrun personal best of 17:12 at Hackney Marshes.
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Australian walker Jemima Montag, 20, took the Commonwealth Games 20 km gold medal at the Gold Coast, setting a time of 1:32:50. Including fellow Australian Jewish athlete Steve Solomon amongst those who had inspired her, Montag has been a medal winner on the global scene since age 16. Montag had been contesting the race lead with fellow Australian Claire Tallent, and was assured the gold when Tallent was disqualified after her third "lifting" offence as the race neared its end.Steve Solomon himself placed seventh in the 400m final, recording 45.64.

Good pickings at the Middlesex indoor championships

Southbank International School student Idan Gal-Shohet took U20‎ long jump gold in the Middlesex indoor championships at Lee Valley, achieving a jump of 6.49m. Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Gilad Nachshen likewise secured U15 300m gold in 39.72. Also competing for Shaftesbury Barnet in the senior division, Rosalind Zeffert took long jump gold, 200m silver and placed fourth in the 60m.