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Weekend Round-Up (7 - 8 February)
09/02/2026 00:00, In Blog /
WELSH SENIOR, U17 & PARA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS - NIAC, CARDIFF FEBRUARY 7-8
HOME NATIONS AND CELTIC COUNTRIES INTERNATIONAL – PARLIAMENT HILL, LONDON, FEBRUARY 7
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Welsh sporting teams in London on Saturday.
While Steve Tandy’s Wales were being dismantled by England at Twickenham in the Six Nations rugby, Welsh cross country athletes were enjoying success at a muddy Parliament Hill.
A squad of 30 athletes, ranging from Under-17 to Seniors represented Wales in London at the Home Nations and Celtic Countries International, held as part of the London Cross Challenge.
A four-woman Welsh team performed superbly in the Under-20 women’s race, returning three top 10 finishes.
Millie Pearce (Swansea Harriers) led the way in 24:30 for a third placed finish, while Holly Humphreys (Swansea Harriers) was a place back in 24:36. Bryony Boyce (Cardiff Athletics) was seventh in 24:47, while Heather Watson was 11th in 25:02.
Their individual results meant the Welsh team also claimed the Under-20 women’s team title ahead of England, Scotland, North of England, Midlands, South of England and Eastern Counties.
In the men’s Under-20 race, Iwan Thomas (Carmarthen Harriers) was the top team Wales finisher in 28:14 for 15th place.
In the Under-17 men’s race, the first team Wales athlete home was Nate Greig (Bridgend AC) in 22:31 for 18th place.
In the overall London Cross Challenge Under-17 men’s race, Osian Parry, representing Menai Track and Field was 14th in 21:54.
Eleanor Wright-Nicholas (Rhymney Valley AC) led the Welsh team home in 26:40 for 24th place in the Under-17 women’s race.
In the men’s senior race Larry Ryan (Belgrave Harriers) was the highest placed member of the Welsh team crossing the line in 35.29 for 23rd place, the highest placed Welsh Under-23 athlete was Matt Benson (Maldwyn Harriers) in 36:10 for 31st position.
Eden O’Dea led the way in the senior women’s race in 32:17 for 22nd place, while the top placed Under-23 athlete was Beth Rawlinson (Wolverhampton and Bilston) who was 24th in 32:44.
The Under-13 boys London Cross Challenge race saw Zac Munn (Cardiff AC) produce an excellent performance to finish second in 10:59, while Alesha Santos (Rhondda AAC) was fourth in the girls race in 12:01. Gwen Hayes (Deeside AC) was sixth in 12:15, while Ella Hayes (Deeside AC) was eighth in 12:23.
ENGLAND ATHLETICS UNDER-15/UNDER-17/UNDER-20 INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 – FEBRUARY 7-8
A host of young Welsh performance pathway athletes shone in Sheffield at the English national age group championships where two Welsh records were broken.
On Saturday, National Development Programme 400m runner Harry Bradley (Newport Harriers) ran a brilliant new Welsh Under-20 400m record of 47.51 to win his semi-final and book his place in Sunday’s Under-20 men 400m final as the fastest qualifier.
Bradley’s time eclipsed the existing record of 47.74 set in 2006 by Bruce Tasker (Carmarthen Harriers) who went on to become a bobsledder, winning a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Bradley continued his blistering form as he blasted to victory in the final, lowering his new Welsh record to a superb 46.95, seeing him finish almost a second-and-a-half ahead of the rest of the field.
There was another Welsh age group record in the Under-15 boys 1500m final where Lewis Durston (Bridgend Harriers) won gold in 4:12.99. The time surpassed the Under-15 boys Welsh record of 4:15.61 set by Elliott Hardee in 2008.
On Sunday, NDP athlete Aliyah Afolabi (Cardiff Archers) won her Under-17 200m heat in 25.29 before going through the gears to win her semi-final in 24.56.
In the final, Afolabi put on the afterburners to scorch to gold in a winning time of 23.95.
Meanwhile, Olivia Coote (Cardiff Athletics) struck gold in the Under-15 women’s 60m hurdles final in 9.08. Her sister, Madison, was fifth in a PB of 9.27.
NDP sprinter Nell Desir (Cardiff Archers), enjoyed a productive Saturday as she lowered her PB from 7.42 to 7.34 finishing second in the women’s 60m final.
Fellow performance pathway sprinter Darcy Coslett (Llanelli AC) was also second in the Under-20 women’s 400m final in 55.07.
Multi-eventer Cobie Phillips (Cardiff Archers) celebrated a new PB and a silver medal in the Under-17 men’s triple jump with a leap of 14.18m on Saturday.
The NDP athlete emulated that performance the following day as he finished second in the Under-17 long jump final where he notched another PB of 6.72m.
There was yet more NDP silver and another PB in the Under-17 women’s long jump final where Tiana Odugbesan (Cardiff Archers) leapt out to 6.01m – pipped to the gold by just one centimetre.
Odugbesan would go on to win double gold at the Welsh Indoor Championships in Cardiff the following day.
Great Britain age group international Owen Garrett (Yate and District) earned a silver medal in the Under-20 shot put thanks to a new PB of 15.26m. Fellow NDP athlete William Richards-Baldwin (Gloucester) was third in a season’s best 13:15m.
The Under-20 women’s long jump saw NDP athlete Orla Kissane (Deeside AAC) win silver with 1.71m.
In the Under-20 men’s 800m, NDP athlete Lucas Salvage (Newport Harriers) missed out on a medal as he finished fourth, but enjoyed the consolation of running a new PB of 1:53.25.
Another to just miss out on a podium place was Rebecca Harries (Cardiff Athletics), who was fourth in the Under-20 women’s 1500m final in a season’s best 4:39.81.
Elis Summers (Newport Harriers) was fifth in the Under-15 boys 800m final in a season’s best 2:13.40, while NDP athlete Olivia Scrimshaw (Deeside AAC) finished sixth in the Under-20 women’s 60m hurdles.
JOHN H. COLLINS GWENT CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE – RACE 4 – CHEPSTOW, FEBRUARY 7
Match Four of this year’s John H. Collins Gwent League went under starter’s orders at the famous Chepstow Race Course on Saturday.
In the senior women’s race, Georgia Palmer (Les Croupiers) cantered home in 29:07 ahead of former Welsh cross country champion Lauren Cooper (Parc Bryn Bach) in second place with 29:36 and clubmate Lucy Williamson in 29:39.
Felix McGrath (Bristol and West) booked his place in the winner’s circle in the senior men’s race as he raced away from the field to win in 32:09. Ben Rawlins (Westbury Harriers) was second in 33:12, while Phil Matthews (Parc Bryn Bach) placed third in 33:51.
Among the age group results, Sam Boyce (Cardiff Athletics) claimed the win in the Under-17/Under-20 men’s race in 15:40.
The Under-15 boys race saw another winner from the capital as Howard Machado Lucas (Cardiff Archers) took the honours in 13:14.
Molly-Mae McQueen (Swansea Harriers) was triumphant in the Under-13 girls race, crossing the line in 10:52, ahead of Daisy Mosley (Cardiff Athletics) in 11:03.
In the Under-13 boys race, Jacob Moss (Cardiff Athletics) took the honours in 9:43 ahead of clubmate Farley Pritchard in 9:55. Noah Howells (Aberdare Valley) was third in 9:57.
The full results and league placings will be published at the link below by the middle of this week.
TATA STEEL LLANELLI HALF MARATHON AND 10K – FEBRUARY 8
More than 1,800 runners took part in the event at Llanelli’s Festival Fields on Sunday.
The men’s 10K race was won in convincing style by World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games marathoner Josh Griffiths (Swansea Harriers).
Griffiths crossed the line in 31:07, ahead of Craig Burrows (Bridgend Athletics) in 33:53 and Sam Lucitt-Rees (Team GJE) in 33:55.
Olivia Tsim (Pontypridd Roadents) claimed the win in the women’s race, clocking 35:32. Donna Morris (Builth Wells) was second in 36:36 with Kirsty Smith (Swansea Harriers) third in 39:36.
The half marathon was won by Daniel Hamilton (Pontypridd Roadents) in 1:07.15 from Matthew Nelson in 1:08.18. Sam Griffiths (Caldicot Running Club) was third in 1:08.56.
In the women’s race, Lizzie Dimond (Lliswerry Runners) took the honours in 1:21:26 ahead of Gabriella Booth (Porthcawl Runners) with 1:21.46. Third place went to Lauren Cooper (Parc Bryn Bach) in 1:23.28.
SALE HARRIERS WINTER INDOOR SERIES – SPORTCITY, MANCHESTER, FEBRUARY 8
In the 1,000m race walk, Under-15 boys athlete Spencer Jones (Wrexham AC) took the overall win in 4:55.99.
Under-13 boys athlete Ellis Jones (Wrexham AC) was fifth in 6:36.15 and Under-13 girl Taylor Williams (Carmarthen Harriers) was sixth in 6:49.93. Under-15 boy Owen Weatherall (Menai Track and Field) was seventh in 6:59.25.