Sarah Wilson and Josh Hood produced a stunning laser run as they surged through the field to take silver in the Under 19 mixed relay at the Youth World Championships. After ending the Under 19 Euros with mixed relay bronze, the TASS supported British duo upped that to world silver as they claimed Pentathlon GB’s first medal of the week in Sofia.
In the Under 17 girls’ final, Larissa Hannam finished 24th with Gina Speakman 30th as both athletes recorded their best ever major championship finishes in hot conditions in the Bulgarian capital.
The mixed event concluded the Under 19 relays after Toby Price and George Case finished 5th in the boys’ relay on Thursday whilst Annabel Denton and Emma Whitaker came home 9th in the girls’ relay yesterday. The opening two days of the Championship also saw Under 17 qualifying with Larissa and Gina needing to make it through to the last 36 in the girls’ competition whilst Sam Cobb and Charlie Brown qualified for the boys’ final yesterday, despite having to borrow other people’s kit after their luggage failed to arrive.
Story of the Day – Under 19 Mixed Relay
On their last international start, Trowbridge’s Wilson and Hull’s Hood teamed up to claim mixed relay bronze at the Under 19 European Championships and the young British duo were looking to continue that momentum as they began their Under 19 World campaigns.
Despite not being the favoured discipline of either athlete, a solid start in the swim saw the Brits record a 2:16.80 for the 200m. In the fencing hall, some superb hits from both athletes saw Wilson and Hood record 25 victories and just 15 defeats from their 40 bouts, the third best result in the discipline.
Although they couldn’t add to that tally in the bonus round, their fencing performance moved the 18-year-olds up to 8th after the opening two disciplines and within striking distance of the medals heading into the laser run.
Although there wasn’t much to choose between the leading nations at the first shoot, a devastating first 800m loop from Wilson saw her move the Brits into third by the end of the first lap. That was a position she maintained to the changeover whilst continuing to put distance into those behind. Hood continued the team’s good work, consolidating third before making his move at the final shoot with a 10-second visit to the range. That saw him vault into second ahead of his Mexican counterpart, a place he maintained with a determined final 800m run to claim a superb silver medal with South Korea taking gold. It was a brilliant run-shoot display from the Brits as they clocked the quickest time for the laser run and backed up their European performance with another excellent relay demonstration.
Celebrations will be limited for the young Brits though with both facing a busy schedule this week. Wilson will be back in action tomorrow for Under 19 girls’ qualifying along with Annabel Denton, Emma Whitaker and Georgina Mitchell whilst Hood returns on Monday when he competes in Under 19 boys’ qualifying with Toby Price, George Case and Ross Charlton.
Story of the Day – Under 17 Girls Final
The Under 17 girls’ final began in the pool with both British athletes in action impressing as they improved on their times from Thursday’s qualifying. West Yorkshire’s Speakman was in particularly impressive form, recording the second quickest time of 2:16.49 with Lancashire’s Hannam stopping the clock in 2:26.34.
With the Under 17 age group a modern triathlon, it was straight to the laser run where some sharp shooting from Hannam helped her to cross the line in 24th, two places higher than she managed at last month’s Under 17 European Championships.
Despite some struggles on the range, strong running from Speakman saw her come home 30th in Sofia, her best finish at a major championship with another season in the Under 17 age group still ahead of her.
Tomorrow sees the Under 17 boys’ final taking place in Sofia with Sam Cobb and Charlie Brown both in action for Pentathlon GB before Hannam and Speakman will team up in the Under 17 girls’ relay on Monday.
Courtesy of Pentathlon GB
