Personal bests aplenty for young guns in national competitions

ATHLETICS Sophie Dowson took fourth place at the England Athletics U23 Pole Vault Championship in Bedford with a clearance of 3.50m.

Eden Davis placed sixth in the U20 100m in 10.67, while Hannah Viner came ninth in the U23 1,500m in 4:36.79.

Viner’s performance followed a third-place finish at the South of England Senior 1,500m Championship and she also set a new PB of 4:23.71 for the distance in a BMC Gold Standard race in Watford.

Idan Gal-Shohet, 17, placed fifth at the South of England U20 Long Jump Championship in Bedford, setting an outdoor season’s best of 6.42m.

Lucie Wolfenden, 16, set a new PB of 3.15m in winning the U17 pole vault event at the Mason Trophy Inter Counties Schools Championships in Birmingham. Sophie Dowson Wolfenden had won the U15 title in the same competition two years ago.

Lia Radus gained the 1,500m silver medal in the U17 London Schools Championships in Battersea, recording 4:42.20.

The Firsht brothers provided excellent service to Brighton & Hove AC with a win and a second place in the Youth Development League in Brighton. Joshua, 17, won the U20 400m in 52.8. Younger brother Adam, 15, came close to his PB in the U17 800m, crossing the line in 2:03.5.

Jack Davis-Black, 13, beat stiff competition to win the Barnet Schools 1,500m Championship in a new personal best time of 4:46.

Emma Taylor, 17, entered the U20 national rankings in the hammer throw with a distance of 23.86m in the Blackheath & Bromley Open meeting.