We have ALOT to update you with here, so stay tuned for all the latest from within the club!
First things first, let’s give you a roundup of the Microplus British Championships, where 7 LWAC athletes qualified, and 6 competed (only Sam Atkin didn’t, due to illness. With the Olympics in mind, it wasn’t worth the risk). This meeting was an Olympic trial, one of the last chances to gain qualification for Paris 2024!
400m star Georgina Adam finished 5th in her heat, with an impressive 53.33s, which also featured the likes of Amber Anning, the eventual winner in the final. A brilliant effort considering Amber took home the ‘Champion’ title against Keely Hodgkinson, Hannah Kelly, Victoria Ohuruogu, Laviai Nielsen, amongst others.
In an absolutely stacked field, Abbie Donnelly and Sophie Wallis both produced fantastic 5000m PBs. In a race that nobody wanted to take, it was a LWAC 1-2 for the first few laps, in which the rest of the field can thank our athletes for making it an honest and competitive race in ‘taking it out’. Abbie came home in 11th place in 15:31.02, and Sophie finishing blisteringly to take home 5th place, in 15:21.72. An incredible achievement from both, in what was difficult conditions with the rain coming down, and both would be new County records. Abbie breaking her own by 11 seconds, and Sophie finishing another 10 seconds ahead in this particular race.
In the 100m, Mabel lined up next to GB Olympian, Daryll Neita, finishing 3rd in the semi-final and unfortunately missing out on a place in the final. With the likes of Asha Smith and Amy Hunt running in the third semi-final, Mabel’s time was outside of her best which meant she didn’t progress. A great experience for the GB Junior, still at just 17 years old.
With a fantastic display by the women, it’s now over to the men. Callum Winchester-Wright progressed from the 100m heats with a 10.58 PB (taking 1/100th of a second off his previous best). Meanwhile, in the final heat, Kaesi Opara ran a 10.69, finishing 7th in his heat and didn’t make it through the round with a result a little below his best of 10.44s which he ran just a few weeks before! Callum then ran in the semis and finished 5th with a time of 10.81s in a race that was won by eventual winner, Louie Hinchliffe. Kaesi then went again in the first heat of the 200m, a demanding day for sprinters, finishing in 21.55 and bowing out of this years champs at this stage.
A magnificent day for Lincoln Wellington athletes, and lots to be very proud of. Up the Welly!