Super results at English Schools
The Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, fresh from hosting the Commonwealth Games last year after a £72 million refurb, provided the spectacular backdrop for the 92nd ESAA English Schools’ Track & Field Championships.
Over 1800 athletes, representing 46 county schools’ athletics associations, competed on 30th June and 1stJuly. Essex have won the championships more times than any other county, their strict policy of only selecting athletes who have achieved the ‘national standard’ (not just the ‘entry standard’) whenever possible clearly having paid dividends since the Championships were first contested in 1925.
In light of this, it’s testament to WGEL’s athletes and coaches that this year the club provided more athletes for the Essex team than any other club in the county. Just being selected is an achievement itself, and for many young athletes, competing at ‘English Schools’ is the primary target of their season.
Marcel Winter was first up in the Intermediate Boys’ 100m. Capable of sub 11s, Marcel will have been disappointed with the 11.54s (-2.1m/s) he ran to come 7th in his heat, missing out on qualification for the final. No doubt juggling GCSEs and training will have taken its toll, but this talented young man will bounce back, and we can’t wait to see him challenging for a medal at next year’s English Schools.
Next was Rebecca Wright in the Intermediate Girls’ 80m Hurdles. Third place in her heat in a time of 11.77s (+2.9m/s) wasn’t quite enough to see her qualify for the final, but as a lower age group athlete she’ll be looking forward to competing next year either in the 80mH or the shot put - another event she excels at.
Another lower age group athlete, Lucas Emeagi, competed in the Intermediate Boys’ 400m, winning his heat in 48.74s. Not only was it a huge PB (he hadn’t broken 50s prior to English Schools), but he also broke the WGEL outdoor club record, which has stood since 1969. He broke 50s again in the final, his time of 49.80s earning him a place on the podium and a well-deserved bronze medal. With another year in the ‘Intermediate’ age group, Lucas will be one to watch for next year.
Abigail Reid is another talented athlete who has been juggling exams and training. Ultimately, her time of 4:42.49s and 10th place in her heat in the Intermediate Girls’ 1500m meant she didn’t progress to the final, but now her exams are out of the way she’ll be looking forward to getting back on track with renewed focus.
Issey Kyson’s 45.61s and 5th in her Intermediate Girls’ 300m hurdles heat wasn’t enough to see her through to the final, but it’s great to see her back competing at the highest level, having struggled with injuries over the last year or so. Under the guidance of coach Gladys Bird and with confidence renewed, we expect Issey to go from strength to strength.
Natasha Wynn came into the Championships as favourite for the Junior Girls’ 800m title – and a comfortable win in her heat in a time of 2:13.62s suggested the expectation wasn’t unwarranted. But sadly it wasn’t to be, as uncharacteristically Natasha found herself unable to respond when her rivals kicked for home in the final, where she finished 7th (2:19.72s). However, we have no doubt normal service will be resumed shortly, with Natasha returning to winning ways in due course.
Thomas Niewczasinski-Kirkland had been struggling to get ready for English Schools, having pulled a hamstring at the County Championships 6 weeks earlier. Fit, but understandably still a bit rusty, his 23.99s (-1.0m/s) run for 7th place in his heat of the Junior Boys’ 200m unfortunately wasn’t enough to see him progress to the final.
Alex Foster has also just returned to training, finally fit again after a longer-term injury. His run of 23.56s (-0.2m/s) was enough to win his heat of the Junior Boys’ 200m and earn him an automatic qualifying place in the final. But 23.71s (+0.0m/s) saw him place 4th, missing out on a medal by the narrowest of margins.
Caitlin Hancock was another athlete carrying the perhaps unwanted label of ‘favourite’, in her case for the Junior Girls’ Long Jump title. But a win was by no means a certainty, with a number of athletes snapping at her heels – not least of all her rapidly improving Woodford teammate Remi Salako. But Caitlin jumped a PB of 5.52m with her first effort, and that was to prove enough to win her gold and the title ‘English Schools Champion’ – with her final jump of 5.56m making the victory even more emphatic. Remi’s best jump of 5.33m secured her the bronze medal, a remarkable achievement for a lower age group athlete. If she continues to progress at this rate she must surely be one of the favourites for the junior girls’ title next year.
Kharina Partridge was the third athlete from jumps coach Anny Chan’s training group to be selected by Essex, in her case for the Senior Girls’ Triple Jump. Kharina’s best jump of 11.33m was close to her PB, and good enough for a creditable 6th place.
The closing events of the Championships were the team relays. The decision to only finalise the quartets a few hours beforehand meant the athletes had hardly any time to practise together, so there was a certain amount of trepidation as their call times approached.
Caitlin Hancock and Remi Salako were selected for the Junior Girls’ 4x100m, with Issey Kyson and Rebecca Wright in the Intermediate Girls’ equivalent. But as feared, the lack of practice time took its toll, as both quartets failed to finish after mix-ups with changeovers.
However, the Championships were to finish on a high for the WGEL contingent. Alex Foster and Thomas Niewczasinski-Kirkland ran brilliantly in the junior boys’ 4x100, the quartet storming to victory in a time of 44.64s. That time should see the ‘Essex Schools’ 4x100m team ranked No1 in the UK, and winning gold will no doubt help ease Alex and Thomas’s disappointment at not having medalled in their individual events.
All our athletes had an amazing experience at English Schools, and can feel proud that they did their bit for Team Essex - but what of the overall result? We are still awaiting final confirmation, and this report will be updated in due course…