The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Mohan gets onto the podium at the Olympic Stadium
BOURNE thrower Robert Mohan continued his fine record of making the podium at national championships but insisted taking bronze at the British Universities College Sport (BUCS) Championships at the Olympic Stadium was ‘not a pleasant experience’.
It was more the frustration of injury niggles affecting his performance than the very cold and wet weather making his first outing at the Olympic Stadium a misery but there were plenty of positives to come out of the meeting.
The 21 year-old eased through qualifying in the shot with 15.43m and then took a first round lead in the final with 16.07m.
The Loughborough University student was surpassed in round two by previous winners Zane Duquemin (St Mary’s) and Rimantas Martisauskas (Leeds Met Carnegie) but Mohan held on to third although the weather deteriorated and he was unable to improve his distance.
He said: “My body has been falling apart recently and technically I was so bad so the fact I can get within 20 centimetres of my personal bad when throwing like that is positive.
“I injured my right shoulder recently and that affected my training for two weeks while I also have a problem with my left elbow but they’re just niggles, it’s nothing serious.
“Before I injured my elbow I felt I was throwing better than ever in training. I’m throwing 15.50-16m with a standing throw so I should be able to add a metreand-a-half to that in competition.
“That was the worst 16-metre throw I’ve had technically and I know I’m in 17metre shape.
“It was nice to make the podium at the Olympic Stadium but I know what I’m capable of so on the whole the meeting wasn’t a pleasant experience.
“Hopefully I’ll throw much better at the Olympic Trials. I want to throw at least 17 metres, hopefully 17.50m, this year and ideally I’d like to do it before the trials.”
The event was being held as a test event for the Olympics and although Mohan won’t be competing against the world’s best there in August (he’s currently ranked 10th in the country) he does have an involvement ahead of the Games.
Mohan, whose brother Adam, sister Jenna and mum Jackie all hold club records at Nene Valley Harriers, will have the honour of carrying the Olympic torch in Sleaford on June 27.
DOGSTHORPE youngster Chris Wright took 10 seconds off his personal best (PB) to break the 15-minute barrier for the first time in the 5000m.
The Peterborough 5k Series champion, representing Leeds Met Carnegie, was seventh in heat one in 14.59.55 and then 16th in the final two days later in 15.31.82.
Training partner James Vernau of Brunel University took 12 seconds off his PB when finishing one place behind Wright in the heats, the Nene Valley Harrier clocking 15.36.80.
Another local distance runner in fine form was Werrington Jogger Chris Dunn who defied injury to set a PB of 35.54.78 for 16th place in the 10,000m B final. Dunn was skippering the Sunderland University team.
NENE Valley Harriers 400m recordholder Georgie Ivens produced her best run for almost a year as she broke 59 seconds for the first time since last summer.
The 19 year-old Lancashire University student missed the second half of 2011 with a foot injury she picked up in the final of the English Schools but blasted to third place in heat five in 58.59 and was then seventh in the semi-finals in 62.69.
Peterborough Athletic Club’s Nichola Gibson (St Mary’s) ran in the same heat, finishing sixth in a season’s best of 60.95.
Also competing over 400m, albeit over the hurdles, was PAC’S Emily Craven who was eighth in her heat in 73.16 and also sixth in the qualifying stages of the 100m hurdles in 17.29 when representing Cambridge University.
Clubmate Devon Spencer of Leeds University produced a personal best of 4.71m for 15th place in her qualifying pool in the long jump and was ninth in her group in the triple jump with 10.18m.
Nene Valley’s Ben Jones missed the 400m hurdles due to illness.
HUNTS Athletic Club had three members in action. Sisters Sammie and Siobhan Skinner competed in the 800m, the latter finishing ninth for Bedford in heat three in 2.47.16 with Sammie going two heats later and clocking 2.39.82 for eighth position.
Christian Roberts of Cambridge University was fourth in his heat of the 400m hurdles in 50.61.
AS well as the BUCS Championships events, UK Athletics held some other races with Olympic hopeful Julz Adeniran of Deeping finishing seventh in the 110m hurdles.
Although his time of 14.07 was a season’s best, Adeniran would have been hoping to go quicker and finish higher as he looks to make his mark in Olympic year.
He said: “It didn’t quite go to plan but a setback only paves the way for a comeback.”
Spalding sprinter Chris Craig was fifth in the 200m in 21.64 running into a headwind.