Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Flying start to season
Teenager Qi’-chi Ukpai will aim to build on a good start to the season at a national indoor championships. Canterbury’s Ukpai already has achieved two new personal-best distances in the high jump and the triple jump, ahead of this weekend’s England Athletics U20/U17 & U15 Indoor Championships.
“My next competition is the nationals in Sheffield,” she said. “I did those last year and I’m going back. I know what to expect.” The event comes after she started her indoor season at Lee Valley Athletics Centre at the Regional South of England Indoor Age Group Championships in fine fashion. There were two golds - and two personal-best distances - for Ukpai in her first competition as an under17 athlete as she competed in both events within four hours of each other.
She recalled: “First event was the high jump. It was in the morning. “There were quite a few girls there, it was quite a packed championship. It was the first one of the season, so everyone wanted to see how they’re doing.
“I got a PB of 1.73m. I was very pleased with that performance. “There was a bit of a break and then I came back for the triple jump. “I got a PB of 11.62m, so it was a really good day.”
Of her two best-ever distances, the 14-year-old cleared her previous best in the triple jump by some way. “I was more shocked with that,” she said.
“That was a massive personal-best, compared to the high jump, although that was still really good.”
The championship was held where Ukpai trains and she believes that helped her.
“I think so,” she said. “They’re always held there, so it’s quite familiar.”
It’s been a productive start in an older age group for her and Ukpai is already ranking highly nationally in both events in the under-17 category. She explained: “I was going in, still having faith and confidence, but I hadn’t competed against some of these girls before.
“It was just about seeing how it went and I was really pleased. “I don’t think I need to do lots of [indoor] championships and burn myself out early on in the season.
But I’m quite used to doing indoor championships.”
Off the track, it’s a busy time at school, too, for the Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School pupil. She said: “You have to really balance the two. I’m in Year 10 so I have my first mock exams in April. “Around that time, I will really focus on my studies.”
Ukpai leads both the high jump and triple jump under-17 UK rankings. There was double success at the BUCS Cross-country Championships for Canterbury runners Matthew Stonier and Alex Millard last Saturday.
They were both representing Loughborough at the university event at Pembrey Country Park, Wales, with Millard winning the women’s long-course race and Stonier, of Sturry, second in the men’s main race.
Both having worked under the guidance of Invicta East Kent coach Peter Mullervy, Millard clocked 28min22sec while Stonier (32.26) was second behind Mahamed Mahamed of Solent.
Stonier enjoyed a breakthrough season last year and was seventh in the 1,500m at a home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, as Millard has also put in impressive displays.