HHH student athletes won one individual gold and one silver medal at the British Universities and Colleges Sport Athletics Champs at Bedford this weekend. With track heats mainly on Saturday, semi finals on Sunday and finals on Bank Holiday Monday it was a long three days of endeavour for those who made it through.
Our star performance came in the women’s 400m hurdles, in which Brunel University’s Aisha Naibe-Wey clawed her way back from 4th position in the closing stages to dramatically snatch the gold medal in 59.01 seconds. Our other medal was also won in a women’s final as Katie Snowden of Nottingham University won a superb 800m silver medal clocking 2.05.86 in a fast race and within a second of her outdoor PB – a good opener for her summer track season.
We had three other club members in finals, as Jessie Knight 56.09 in the women’s 400m, Isaac Ogunlade 53.18 in the men’s 400m hurdles and Rushane Thomas 14.81 in the men’s 110m hurdles all placed 5th after tough qualification. Jess and Isaac were particularly busy, as Jess ran three individual 400m races and two 4 x 400m relay legs (her Loughborough team won gold), while Isaac got through his three rounds of one lap hurdles races and also ran the heat and semi final of the flat 400m.
Although not reaching her 800m final, Hannah Edwards only just missed out with the 10th fastest time overall, placing 3rd in her semi with a season’s best of 2.14.14 off a slow 70 seconds first lap, so plenty in the tank to take 3 or 4 seconds or more off that as her season unfolds. Lewis Lloyd tried to go with eventual event winner Jake Wightman in an 800m semi final where only the winner was guaranteed qualification and faded in the final 150m to end up 6th in 1.57, but having blown away any early season cobwebs he is now keen to get in some more track races including Saturday’s British Athletics League meeting at Eton.BUCS Champs.
Geoff Jerwood