Aviva UK Indoor Championships and European Indoor Trials
This weekend, Sheffield hosted the UK Indoor Championships, and Trials for the Paris European Indoor Championships. WGwEL athletes collected six medals at the Championships, led by golds from Ezekiel Ewulo in the men’s long jump and Joice Maduaka in the women’s 200m. There was also a silver from Hannah Frankson in the women’s triple jump, and other Woodford performances were led by bronze medals for each of Jeanette Kwakye, Nick Leavey, Carl Fletcher and Kim Murray.
Long jumper Ezekiel Ewulo, who last summer made a significant improvement to 7.70m, came close to that form on Saturday picking up his first national title with an indoor personal best of 7.60m. Woodford’s other national champion was again Joice Maduaka who won over 200m with a season’s best of 23.63 secs, a time which moves her to the top of this season’s UK indoor rankings. That 200m victory came on Sunday, and on Saturday Joice had placed 5th in the 60m final with 7.40 secs, as Jeanette Kwakye placed 3rd in 7.33 secs after a 7.30 secs heat clocking. Joice had clocked 7.38 secs in qualifying. That event saw Azaria Francis disqualified from her heat.
In the women’s triple jump, Hannah Frankson would have been delighted with a new personal best of 13.02m to pick up an unexpected silver medal, her first national medal in the senior ranks. Another setting a lifetime best, and picking up a bronze medal, was Kim Murray in the women’s long jump who added 2cm to her best ever for 6.11m for her 3rd place. Nick Leavey, who has been busy racing around Europe over the last 10 days, also placed 3rd in a good men’s 400m final with 47.72 secs, having recorded 47.54 secs in qualifying from his semi-final. Carl Fletcher was another to pick up bronze, in the shot, with an indoor personal best of 17.00m.
Woodford had finalists in both the men’s and women’s 800m, and both finished 6th. Chris Reynolds recorded 1m53.56 secs after qualifying in 1m51.67 secs, and Emily Moss 2m11.11 after qualifying with 2m10.53 secs. Christian North cleared a season’s best of 4.96m for 12th in a very good men’s pole vault competition, with Maria Seager 9th in the women’s event with 3.76m. Dan Davis, in the 60mH, was 3rd in his heat with 7.97 but, although missing a place in the final, contested the “B” final where he was 2nd with 8.10 secs. In the men’s 200m heats Eugene Ayanful was 3rd with 22.00 secs, but did not progress to the final.