Fifth place finish for Team GB in Poland
GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland captained by Loughborough’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey finished fifth at the European Team Championships Super League 2019 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
He led by example, as he anchored the mens 4x100m with Dominic Ashwell, Oliver Bromby, Richard Kilty clocking 38.73 to collect all 12 points.
Ashwell and Bromby – used to running together at age-group level – started the charge for points with Kilty running a fine bend and Aikines-Aryeetey, who had already finished fourth in the individual 100m earlier, bringing the team home in 38.73 and promoted to winners following the French team’s disqualification.
Aikines-Aryeetey, the British team captain, said: “Great Britain has a lot of depth and talent. These guys aren’t your run of the mill athletes, we are talking about an indoor British champion [Ashwell] and a European under-23 medallist [Bromby]. It is about blooding them young, coming together and making sure they are aware of the system and the set up so you will be seeing them in a couple of years. We let them set us up and let them put us in a position where we could work from.”
Other results with Loughborough connectionms saw the British women’s 4x400m relay team clocked a season’s best for second. The team of Emily Diamond, Jodie Williams, Zoey Clark and Jessica Turner combined brilliantly to beat Italy into second in 3:27.12.
Loughborough Uni alumna Diamond said: “It has been three months since World Relays so we were dusting the cobwebs off a little bit but it is always so much fun and it has been a while since the last Team Champs. We have got a few newbies on the team, it was good fun to compete.”
Loughborough Uni graduate Jessica Judd who is having a fine season after claiming the World Student Games 5,000m title and also a world standard over the distance last month, battled in the conditions over a shorter distance, the women’s 1500m, to place sixth in 4:09.89 for seven important points.
Current Loughborough Uni student and European under-23 bronze medallist Cameron Fillery kickstarted the British charge on the track in the men’s 110m hurdles and followed up his great run in the heats with a 13.83 for seventh and the first points for the team on the final day.
Olympic bronze medallist Sophie Hitchon competing for only the third time this season, threw a best of 63.23m for 10th in the women’s hammer and European bronze medallist Meghan Beesley battled in the final of the women’s 400m hurdles from lane nine to clock 56.46 for sixth place and seven valuable points as the British team went in search of them in Bydgoszcz.