Olympic medallist Eilidh Doyle won gold and there were silvers for Dave King and Cameron Chalmers as University of Bath-based athletes impressed at the British Indoor Team Trials in Sheffield.
Doyle, coached by Malcolm Arnold at the Sports Training Village, secured her place at next month’s European Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, by winning women’s 400m gold in an exciting last race of the weekend.
Leading at the halfway stage, she had to use all her experience to hold off strong challenges from twins Laviai and Lina Nielson to take the victory in 52.63.
“I’m delighted to just get the win and secure the spot for the European Indoors,” said Doyle, who remains unbeaten during 2017.
“I knew it was going to be really tough. I raced Laviai out in Vienna and she really pushed me, and that was where I ran my season’s best, so I knew it’d be more of the same here today. Over the final lap I could feel people behind me but I didn’t really know what was going on, so I just thought ‘keep digging and digging’.”
A dramatic men’s 60m hurdles final saw MJ Church sporting ambassador King book his place on the plane to Belgrade by finishing runner-up to former University of Bath athlete Andrew Pozzi.
David Omoregie and Edirin Okoro were both disqualified for false starts but King, coached by James Hillier, kept his composure to take the silver medal in 7.76 behind Pozzi, who had earlier set a world-best time of 7.44 in the heats.
Sports Performance student Chalmers was also on the podium as he finished runner-up to Jarryd Dunn in the men’s 400m final in 47.31, having earlier won his heat and semi-final.
Thompson Education Trust scholar Chalmers, also coached by Hillier, is back in Sheffield next weekend for the BUCS Nationals along with dozens of other University of Bath students across a range of sports.
Report courtesy of Team Bath Press Office via Matchtight Ltd.
