England U20/U23 and European qualifying champs

[sprintdude]

England age group champs in Bedford this weekend. Looks like its going to be good weather so am hoping to see some good results.
I believe its being shown on RunJumpThrow and the Online service of the BBC.
Entry lists are out and with a fair few European qualifying times still to get it could get very interesting in both the field and track events.
Any guesses who we should be looking at ?

[RunUnlimited]

England age group champs in Bedford this weekend. Looks like its going to be good weather so am hoping to see some good results.
I believe its being shown on RunJumpThrow and the Online service of the BBC.
Entry lists are out and with a fair few European qualifying times still to get it could get very interesting in both the field and track events.
Any guesses who we should be looking at ?

One athlete I'm looking at in particular in the U-23 category is Naomi Ogbeta. I've said on here before that she's the most talented triple jumper we've seen from Great Britain since Ashia Hansen came on the scene in the early 1990's, so I've been following her progress in the last couple of years. She's already jumped over 14 meters indoors in the winter (14.05) and so far outdoors has been around the 13.60m - 13.80m range, often jumping in less than ideal conditions. (Like she did at the Folksdam meeting earlier this week where the wind was flip-flopping from head wind to tailwind to cross wind throughout)

In the U-20's, the sprinters Amy Hunt and Jeremiah Azu definitely are two to look out for, with how well they have done already this season. Hunt is only 17 yet has dramatically improved her times from last season, lowering her 100m PB down substantially to 11.31, and hacked over a second off her previous 200m PB to 23.17 (a time achieved whilst run into a -1.1 m/s wind too!), ranking 4th and 3rd respectively in the world in the U-18 age group. In Europe Hunt is ranked 1st in both sprints, the 100m (by a long way) and the 200m.
Welsh athlete Azu came to people's attention during the indoor season, going to 3rd on the UK U-20 all time list for the 60m when coming 3rd at the British Indoor Championships in February, and he has continued his good form into the outdoor season. He's run PB's in the 100m (10.27 +1.1 m/s at the Loughborough International meet in May) and 200m (21.09 +0.6 m/s at Swansea, also in May), moving up to 15th on the UK U-20 all time lists for the 100m at just 18 years old. And there seems to be plenty of scope for improving on those times further still in this season, with the European U-20's on the horizon next month.

Other athletes to look out for:

Men U-20's

Ethan Brown, the 400m silver medalist from last year's Euro U-18 Champs in Gyor who has run a PB's in the 100m and 200m so far this year, and come within 0.01 his 400m PB in his second outing at the distance outdoors.

Max Burgin, for rather obvious reasons! (Also Oliver Distin and Alex Botterill currently occupy the 3rd and 4th spots on 800m times for U-20's in Europe this season)

Joshua Zeller in the 110m hurdles, ranked 3rd in Europe in the U-20's age group with 13.58 so far this year.

Alastair Chalmers, 400m hurdles. Recently lowered his British junior record at the Geneva meeting last week, and is top of the Euro U-20 rankings.

Dominic Ogbechie, which ever event he decides to focus on. Has the high jump standard from the indoor season, and the long jump standard too, also from the winter. He's not bad at the 200m either! Also still 17 years old(!!)

Lewis Byng, shot put. Went 2nd all time for UK U-20 shot putters earlier this month and ranks 5th in Europe this season. Is still just 17 years old. Fingers crossed that he doesn't go the same way as the guy who is #1 on the UK U-20 list...

Max Law, javelin. Another 17 year old. Hasn't got the qualifying standard yet for the Euro U-20's (71 meters) but he certainly has the talent to get it. Of the junior level javelin throwers on the current U-20 in Europe, Law is pretty much the youngest one on there, so has scope to further improve (hopefully).


Women U-20's

Immanuela Aliu, 200m. 19 years old, Aliu has run on the US collegiate circuit this year, where she has broken 24 seconds for the very first time, her 23.44 (+1.6 m/s) time from April placing her 3rd in Europe this season behind teammate Hunt and ANA athlete Polina Miller (23.20). (She's also pretty handy in the 100m too, and a couple of windy runs in Newham last Sunday (11.44 +3.1, 11.51 +3.2 m/s) to complement the 11.50 (+0.1 m/s) she ran in Tuscon in April that place her 2nd in Europe behind Amy Hunt.)

Amber Anning, 400m. Still 18 years old until November, Anning has been a rising star through the youth levels and during the winter set a new UK indoor junior record (53.00) over 400m during the UK Indoor Championships and as a result represented Great Britain at the Euro Indoors in Glasgow in March, where she performed admirably in her first senior international competition. And in her first outdoor appearance this season, Anning opened up with a new outright personal best of 52.64 at the Geneva meet last Saturday, going to 2nd on the European rankings this year. (Behind the athlete who beat her in that same race, Irish starlet Davicia Patterson, who ran a 52.57 NJR)

Keely Hodgkinson, Isabelle Boffey, 800m. Will be interesting to see how the Euro U-18 800m champion last year in Gyor has developed in the year since. Already close to her PB from last year and is currently ranked 3rd in Europe behind teammate Boffey, who is ranked 1st. Boffey will look to improve on her poor showing at the World Juniors last year when she came dead last in the semi-finals.

Molly Caudery, Pole Vault. Now in college in America, Caudery is finding things much tougher than she did last year, where she set the British junior record of 4.53m at Mannheim. However after that obvious high, along with coming 5th at the Commonwealth Games, she suffered a big low when she could do no better than 4.10m in the final. And so far this season, Caudery has struggled to get back to that same level. She managed to get the qualifying height for the Euro U-20's indoor's (4.18m on the 1st of Feb), but since then she hasn't managed to vault higher than 4.08m this year. Worse, in the two outdoors performances she's had this season, Caudery has no-heighted in both and hasn't jumped since the 10th May.

Charlotte Payne, Charlotte Williams, Hammer. Both have made substantial progress this season and have both gone over 60m (Payne 61.83m, Williams 61.80m), which has them ranked 6th and 7th in Europe this season's U-20 rankings, at age 17.

Holly Mills, Heptathlon, Long Jump. Has compiled a score of 5722 this season which puts her 4th among European juniors this year. Has also got the long jump qualifying distance 6.29m and the standard for the 100m hurdles too.

(And so endeth my long form effort post! Sorry for boring you guys with my waffle!)

[camerajuan]

U23 men's 100m should be very interesting with Dom Ashwell & Oli Bromby both PB-ing 0.02 apart already this year.

[LuckySpikes]

...

(And so endeth my long form effort post! Sorry for boring you guys with my waffle!)

Nah, it's good.

Further to your comments about Keely Hodgkinson ... it wouldn't surprise me if she went 2:01-high/2:02-low this year. She pushed Lynsey Sharp very close at the first BMC GP closing the last 200 very fast in 29-mid (albeit off a slow first 600 in 1:37). The 2:02 might even come this weekend, weather permitting? She won here in 2:04 last year.

[RunUnlimited]

After a day where every sprint race was hampered by strong headwinds (sometimes registering -4 m/s!) but otherwise good weather, the forecast for Sunday seems to indicate that the wind will shift to being more helpful (hopefully), so the 200m runners and the long jumpers will enjoy that.

[RunUnlimited]

Alastair Chalmers wins the U-20 400m hurdles title easily, though he did smack the last hurdle quite hard, which might have ended up costing him the chance to go sub 50 seconds. Still though, his time of 50.58 is still faster than anybody else has run in this age group in Europe this year. Seamus Derbyshire also confirmed his place on the plane to Boras as he came in second with a 51.52 time, a new personal best.

[RunUnlimited]

In the U-20 women's 400m hurdles final, 18 year old Marcey Winter enters new territory as she utterly crushed her previous PB, taking it out from the gun and finishing strongly to run 58.36... She takes over a second and a half from her previous lifetime best and in the process also achieved the qualifying standard for the Euro U-20s, very well done!
That run places Walker joint 9th on the UK U-20 all time list for the event, and she is now ranked 6th on the 2019 European U-20 list.

Jasmine Jolly also entered new territory, getting a lifetime best of 59.58 as she came 2nd, just outside the 59.00 qualifying time required.

[RunUnlimited]

Time for the 200m heats, starting with the U-20 women.

Hannah Kelly wins the first heat, running a new PB of 23.98 from the 18 year old who runs for Bolton. If that's any indication, then it looks like the winds are far more cooperative today than they were yesterday.

In heat 2, Georgina Adam comes through for the win ahead of Cassie-Ann Pemberton, also in 23.98.

Heat 3 features Immanuela Aliu and she wins it easily enough, clocking 24.26.

(An interesting aside to this heat, according to the Vinco/runjumpthrow commentor, the runner in lane 3 Alicia Regis, is apparently the daughter of British 200m record holder, John Regis. Can any athletics nerd on here confirm that?)

Jasmine Moss wins heat 4 in 24.28, just ahead of Kailyah Young and Kiah Dubarry-Gay.

[RunUnlimited]

Now it's the U-20 men's turn....

Heat 1 is won by Sagisse Nguie, in 21.61

Heat 2 is won by Toby Makayawo in 21.48, a new PB for the Watford athlete.

Heat 3 is won by Joseph Massimo in a tight race, running 21.75, just 0.05 outside of his lifetime best.

The final heat is the tightest finish of the lot, with Praise Olatoke who has the U-20 qualifying standard just edging it in 21.55

[RunUnlimited]

Up next is the U-23 200m, featuring the reigning World Junior U-20, Jona Efoloko and Toby Harries, Euro U-20 champion from 2017. Unfortunately Charlie Dobson who won the silver behind Efoloko last year in Tampere, is not here.

Harries wins the first heat comfortably in 21.13

Current U-23 leader on times, Shemar Boldizar wins the 2nd heat just about, with 21.26

In the final heat, Morgan Harrison beats Efoloko with a 21.30 clocking, Efoloko looking like he is pretty far off his 2018 form judging by this performance.

[RunUnlimited]

U-20 1500 final has begun, featuring Joshua Lay and Thomas Keen, who both have the qualifying standard for Boras... And it finishes as expected, with Lay and Keen finishing 1st and 2nd to confirm their places on the plane to Sweden.

[RunUnlimited]

The triple jump could do with some good news, and with Daniel Folade it looks like its arrived.

Hmm... Can't find Folade anywhere on the Power of 10 site. Well done for the win for him, but I'll only take notice when he can start jump 16 meters on a regular basis at least.

[Christy93]

Hmm... Can't find Folade anywhere on the Power of 10 site. Well done for the win for him, but I'll only take notice when he can start jump 16 meters on a regular basis at least.

His name is Daniel Falode. He is still only an U17 and started Triple Jump last year; He has only done nine or ten competitions. One to watch.

[RunUnlimited]

His name is Daniel Falode. He is still only an U17 and started Triple Jump last year; He has only done nine or ten competitions. One to watch.

Just found him! He was on the U-17 listing as you say. The commentators also mentioned that he's just 16 years old. He certainly has made a quick start in the TJ.

[RunUnlimited]

No Aliu in the women's U-20 semi final heat... Hopefully just a precaution.

[RunUnlimited]

In the men's U-23 200m final, Shemar Baldizar edges out Toby Harries to the gold medal and in the process runs a huge new PB of 20.65 (subject to wind speed) and a qualifying time for the U-23 championships in Gavle in a couple of weeks. Harries, returning to the form that got him the European U-20 200m gold medal in 2017 (ahead of Efoloko btw), also sets a potential new lifetime best, running 20.75 (again subject to the wind speed) and going beneath the U-23 qualifying standard (20.80). Great race!

Efoloko, clearly not in the form that got him gold in Tampere at the World Juniors last year, faded to 4th place, pipped on the line by Jahde Williams for the bronze medal.