Perry ticks world box
ATHLETICS Alan Perry, 65, overcame both injury and illness at the World Masters Championships in Malaga to complete the 100m and 200m in 15.21 and 34.78 respectively.
“I trained for this for 12 months and in spite of the setbacks, I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” said Perry, veterans team manager at Harrow Athletics Club.
“I hadn’t been to the Worlds for many years, and lining up at the start alongside international athletes was a fabulous experience.”
Asaf Malka, the 2017 European Masters 100m champion, was the only Israeli competitor, finishing fifth in the M35 category in a time of 11.02. At the Berlin Marathon, the setting for an emphatic new world record by Eliud Kipchoge, London Heathside’s Sara Black, 45, improved her own personal best to 3:13.20.
Biny Bloom, 15, took 24 seconds off his 2016 3,000m time with a fine run of 9:51.32 at the Watford open meeting. Meanwhile, versatile Gilad Nachshen, the UK’s top under-15 800m runner, moved straight to number eight in the UK rankings with his first ever 400m on the outdoor track, recording 54.60 at Parliament Hill.
His Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers team-mate, multi-eventer James Davis, also contested a new event, this time at the YDL finals in Bedford where he completed the 2,000m steeplechase in 8:25.62. Roger Bruck, Eden Davis, Gilad Nachshen, Lia Radus, Maayan Radus and Hannah Viner were the Jewish athletes to achieve top 10 UK rankings this year.