Katy Ann goes second on the UK all time list for 12 year old 800m runners

A stunning performance by 12-year-old Katy-Ann McDonald over 800 metres was the highlight of a holiday weekend that saw Herne Hill Harriers’ track season burst into life. National cross country champion McDonald clocked 2:13.89 at the Hertfordshire Open Graded Meeting on Monday, placing her second on the all-time list for her age. Only Sarah Hopkinson, who ran 2:13.4 at a meeting in Worcester in 2004, is believed to have run faster.

McDonald’s latest accolade came on a weekend of success for Harriers, with the club’s U13 and U15 squads winning their first fixture in the Youth Development League (YDL) Premier 2, while the senior team also began their season with victory in the Southern Men’s League (SML) match at Mile End.

Among the YDL winners were Kishon Allen (U15 100m and 200m), Feysel Nadew (U15 800m), Dejean Marshall-Brown (U15 shot), Adel Latifi (U13 100m), Denisha Marshall-Brown (U15 100m), Saskia Millard (U15 1500m), Catriona McJorley (U13 75m hurdles), Olivia Robb (U13 javelin), Eloise O’Shaunessey (U13 1200m) and Similda Turay (U13 long jump).

Winners at the SML fixture were Dave Mulvee (5000m), Thomas Ashby (110m hurdles), Miles Davis (discus), Gavin Johnson-Assoon (javelin) and Garry Power (hammer), while the men’s 400m relay team was also victorious.

A clutch of Harriers were in action at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) meeting at Bedford, notably GB junior international Lewis Lloyd who broke his 800m personal best to win his semi-final. Lew finished fifth in the final, but was unable to better his new best of 1:53.46 in the final race after being in the mix for medals with 200m to run.

In other BUCS results, Michael Wheeler was fifth in the shot, Jessie Knight sixth in the 400m and Aisha Naibe-Wey also sixth in the 400m hurdles. Meanwhile, Hannah Edwards was sixth in her semi-final after posting her best time since 2010, clocking 2:15.30 in an earlier heat. Shanice Harrison, who races for Harriers in UKWAL under the HCA rule, won a silver medal in the 100m in 12.00 and bronze in the 200m in 24.39.

Away from the track, Mohammed Ismail ran a season’s best at the Dulwich parkrun, clocking 16.20 on the 5km course, while Jonny Muir finished third in 3:21.19 in the 27.2-mile Three Forts Marathon in the South Downs.