Late-summer success for Derby athletes at Birmingham championship meetings
Some amazing performances by Derby Athletic Club athletes in the late-summer track and field season have seen them competing against world-class athletes.
DAC members were in action at three weekend meetings at the impressive Alexander Stadium in Birmingham – the England U20 and Senior Championships, the British Championships and the England Age Group Championships.
In the England champs, held over three days at the end of July, Levi Heath and Ellis Cameron featured in the U20 400m heats, with Ellis qualifying for the semi on Saturday and then the final, finishing in fourth place with 49.03.
Caitlin Hadfield, still an U17 athlete, ran alongside U20 athletes in the 400m, navigating her way well through heats and semi to the final, posting a PB of 55.94 on the way.
Lauren Blakey and Suzzanne Palmer tried to battle their way through the heats of the senior women’s 100m but missed out on the semifinals.
There was joy for Molly Hudson and Valentina Costa in the 800m, which was a straight final, with Molly winning in a time of 2:10.00 and Valentina winning gold in the U23 race in 2:11.38.
Shay Tarbit pulled out another PB in the discus with a throw of 47.28, coming seventh in a strong line-up on Sunday.
Akaylah Lobban U20 ran her first champs in the 200m; she was unable to get through her heats, but it was experience well gained.
Ella Blakey pulled out after the heats of the 200m due to injury, but Lauren navigated her way through heats, semifinals and into the final against Olympians Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Jazmine Moss, with a final finish in seventh in a time of 24.84.
Just a week later, Derby athletes were mixing with the very best the UK can offer in the British Championships in Birmingham, on the first weekend in August. Lauren and Ella Blakey were once again active in the sprints, with Lauren in the 100m heats and Ella in the 200m. Both ran well though were unable to progress further. Ella had the experience of taking the start line alongside eventual event winner Dina Asher-Smith.
In the middle-distance events, Molly Hudson was in action in the 1500, running a strong heat to finish with a time of 4:18.89 which saw her qualify for the final on the following day. In that race she took the line alongside a strong field including international stars Revee Walcott-Nolan, Laura Muir and the eventual winner Sarah Calvert, finishing in 10th place overall.
Then just another week later, seven Derby AC athletes were at the Alexander Stadium after qualifying for the England Age Group Championships – in itself a fabulous achievement.
Oliver Hume and Miles Heath (both U17) ran in the 400m heats on the Friday evening. Oliver made it into the semifinals and just missed out by one place on the final.
Kaylah McKenzie ( U17) ran in the 100m, getting through her heats and into the semifinals. Caitlin Hadfield (U17) in the 300m, also made it through her heats on the Saturday and into the final on the Sunday. Caitlin came fifth in 38.82, just one hundredth of a second off her PB, and with less than one second separating the first five athletes.
Alice May Lincoln (U15), in the 800m ran well in tough heats, missing out on a place in the final. Oscar Fuller (U15) ran in the challenging heats of the 80m hurdles, not making it to the final.
Olivia Lee (U15) in the 1500m, ran in a straight final of 13 athletes, managing to take a huge three seconds off her PB, and coming 5th in a time of 4:29.55, a new club age-group record for her.