News

06/03/2021 00:00, In Blog / Track & Field /

Emile Cairess and Lily Partridge gatecrashed the Elite Only Winter 10k in Newport overcoming their Welsh opposition.

The pair had accepted the invitation to join some of the top Welsh Athletes at a well-received Elite Only Winter 10k event that hoped to give athletes an opportunity to race ahead of the Great Britain & Northern Ireland Olympic Team Trial for Marathon in Kew Gardens at the of March.

For others it was an opportunity to test fitness and see how close they could get to qualification standards for major Championships.

Conditions were ideal with almost no wind and cool temperatures when the men’s race began at 13:00. Pace-maker Ieuan Thomas did his best for the field of athletes leading them through the early laps in 68 second splits, in line with the suggested 28:30 pace.

Cairess, Kris jones, Dewi Griffiths and James Hunt went through half-way in 14:10 in-line with the target pace that mimicked the Welsh Commonwealth Games qualification standard for Birmingham in 2022.

Kristian Jones was the last athlete to remain with Cairess when Griffiths lost ground with around five laps to go. Soon after Cairess began to pick the pace up and build up a commanding lead on Swansea Harrier Jones.

The Leeds AC Athlete increased the pace further over the last lap to lower his lifetime best to 28:14.30 with an emphatic victory. Swansea Harrier Jones then came agonisingly close to the desired 28:30 mark finishing just outside it in 28:33.17 and taking over half a minute off his 29:05.66 P.B. from 2017.

Griffiths was the third athlete home in a solid 28:45.72, signalling that his preparations for the Kew Gardens spectacle on March 26^th were going to plan.

Hunt recorded an impressive new P.B. of 28:59.63 on his 10,000m track debut and some way under his 29:43 road P.B. from the Lisburn 10k last August. Mike Ward came home in 29:43.92.

Charlotte Arter led the early stages of the women’s race, ‘putting in a shift’ to help training partner Jenny Nesbitt who was chasing the women’s qualification mark of 32:30.

Arter, Nesbitt, Clara Evans and Lily Partridge remained intact past the halfway point where they were on target pace to the second.

Nesbitt then took a turn to lead but when the pace slowed in the latter stages, Partridge pulled clear of the others and finished strongly in 32:33.16.

Jenny Nesbitt was next home outside her P.B. with 32:44.26 but nonetheless putting in a strong performance. Her Cardiff club mate and training partner Clara Evans was third in 32:49.01 some way ahead of her 36:20.35 P.B. from 2016.

Sarah Astin had been chasing a qualification mark for the European U23 Championships in Birgen   this summer but had to settle for a debut over the distance of 34:25.35.

The 10,000m Race Walks were next up and also intended to offer athletes a preparation race ahead of the election event in Kew gardens.

Callum Wilkinson of Enfield & Haringey scored a dominant solo victory here to break his own national record by nearly 50 seconds, setting the new mark at 39:05.85.

Heather Lewis unlucky to miss her Commonwealth Games qualification target of 46:00 because of a penalty due to a technical infringement. Her time of 46:44.77 did not do her performance justice following the 60 second penalty but her time was still a new lifetime best.

The races were preceded by an elite only discus event which featured current British women’s Champion Kirsty Law of Sale Harriers who followed up a victory at Loughborough last week with a throw of 54.96 in Newport. Samantha Callaway was the runner-up behind Law in Loughborough and threw 48.71 today.

Talented Welsh youngster James Tomlinson threw 51.36 with Decathlete Curtis Matthews posting 45.10. There were throws for Disability Sport Wales Athletes Harrison Walsh and Zachary Tandy of 54.81 and 41.39 respectively.

Results here.