The HORWICH Harriers will be celebrating two world-class performances this week at the U-20 World Championship in Colombia and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
In South America, Great Britain’s Sophie Walton ran the 200m in spectacular surroundings at the Pascal Guerrero Stadium in Santiago de Cali.
Inevitably, heavy rains set in at a stunning stadium that would likely host the World Championships in the mountains of nature, delaying the 200m final by two hours.
However, Walton took it all in stride, becoming the third fastest qualifier on Day 4 and reaching the semi-finals four hours later, where he was drawn in the same heat as eventual gold medal winner Briana Liston of Jamaica. rice field.
With a new personal best of 23.24 seconds, Walton performed well enough to qualify for the final the next day. There, too, she got off to the fastest start of any athlete, finishing sixth of her eight in her first appearance on the world stage. .
In the last 12 months, she’s gone from national finals to European U-20 Championships and now on the world stage, each time stepping up to meet the challenge.
She said this was unimaginable and commented:
Usually Walton was quick to express his gratitude for the support he received from everyone around him.
With 1,387 athletes from 126 countries participating in the championship, World Athletics CEO John Ridgion said Cali was the birthplace of great track and field champions.
Walton is a champion with all the right values: hard work, talent and respect for the sport.
Meanwhile, Ola Abidgan is also a great role model for these values, reaching the final of the 100m T45/47 at the Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, setting a season best time of 11.13. I recorded it and won a bronze medal. Behind Emmanuel Oimbo Coker, who set a new game record for wins.
Abidogun has an impressive career record in sprint events, including a gold medal at the 2011 Paralympic World Cup, a silver medal at the 2014 European Para Championships, and a second-place finish at the World Para-Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai earlier this year. I have.
Both athletes benefit from access to the track facilities at Bolton Arena, and Harriers coaches are working hard to enable more young people to pursue careers in athletics.
That includes taking advantage of local trail running, and this week the club hosted its annual Club Trail Championship race in nearby Rivington.
Grace Flairie won the junior 2k race with a bang, while Sam Fairhurst led by over 30 minutes in the senior 5k race during a great season of trail running at several regional events. and won. It’s the wrong route, but it’s recovering nicely.
Hailey Winder, who made her debut as Harrier, was the female winner.
There was even more good news for the Harriers on the national stage this week, with Gareth Webb receiving an invitation to represent England in the 2023 MBNA Chester 10k following his recent results in the Wrexham 10k qualifying race. As running is the most-attended sport in the country, it is highly competitive and it is credit to his commitment that he was elected to his Masters in England.
Parkrun is one of the reasons running has become so popular. Phil his Marsden returned first to Bolton this week, while Richard his Pollitt continued his tour of events in Ireland, returning first to Brickfields, Dublin.
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