Indoor News
WGEL athletes continued their indoor season with domestic meetings, at Lee Valley, Sheffield and Birmingham. At Lee Valley there was a new personal best over 60m for Joseph Dewar.
Lee Valley hosted the second weekend of the London Indoor Games, for U/15 and U/17 athletes. In the U/17 60m Joseph Dewar, won his first race with a new personal best of 7.05 secs, and although not able to replicate that form in his second race where he clocked 7.19 secs, that time of 7.05 secs was enough to move him up to 5th on this season's UK rankings in the U/17 age group, where he also currently heads the long jump lists. Also in action at Lee Valley was Kingsley Annor who raced in the U/17 200m and 400m and recorded 25.03 secs and 56.19 secs respectively.
Several of Woodford's senior athletes were getting in some final competitive prepartion ahead of next weekend's UK Indoor Championships and World Indoor Trials, and on Saturday at Sheffield, which will host those Championships, the McCain Indoor City Challenge took place. Sarah Claxton placed 2nd over 60mH to Jessica Ennis and recorded 8.29 secs, Oli Heeks raced over 1500m and was 6th with 3m57.19 secs, and HCA member Moe Sasegbon was 6th in the high jump with 1.73m
On both Saturday and Sunday the Birmingham Indoor Games were held at the National Indoor Arena. In the senior women's 60m, both Elaine O'Nieil and Kitty Eleyae made the final, which Elaine won with 7.48 secs. Kiitty placed 8th with 7.80 secs, but she had earlier recorded 7.67 secs in qualifying and also placed 3rd in the long jump with 5.75m. In the men's 60m heats, Jason Greenidge recorded 7.21 secs. Over 200m, Eugene Ayanful just missed out on a place in the final after placing 3rd in his semi with 21.82 secs, as Paul Scanlan recorded 22.77 secs in his heat. In the women's 200m, Shana Cox was second in her heat with 24.19 secs, but did not contest the final. The previous day, although pulling up in the 400m final, she had recorded the fastest time of the heats with 53.08 secs. In the women's 800m, Tara Bird made her indoor season's debut but lost out to regular rival Charlotte Best as she finished 2nd with 2m06.67 secs. Also finishing second was Richard Alleyne in the 60mH with 7.89 secs, after qualifying with 7.87 secs, and Alasdair Strange with 4.80m in the pole vault.
Overseas news included of HCA member Simeon Williamson, disqualified from the 60m final of the Russian Indoor Cup, after recording 6.65 secs to qualify, and from Hobart, Australia, where Lachie Chisholm attempting to return to high level racing following persistent Achilles problems lined up in a good quality 1500m, but did not finish.