Bradshaw still flying high despite being dropped by sponsors
Huge jump beats Olympic pole vault champion Muir shatters 31-year-old British indoor mile record
Up to this point there have been two distinct stages to Holly Bradshaw’s pole vault career: the young hopeful who rapidly climbed the ladder to be in contention for a medal at London 2012 and the consistent but injury-hit athlete in the years that followed.
Now, a third incarnation might be here – the best of all. If only the sponsors had stuck around to see it.
Jumping in her Blackburn Harriers vest in an international competition for the first time since Nike dropped her by ending its nine-year sponsorship deal last month, Bradshaw showed the sportswear giant what a costly error it may have made with a hugely impressive victory at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix. It was impressive because her first-time clearance of 4.81metres was the second best of her life after the British record she set in 2012; it was also impressive because Olympic, world and European champion Katerina Stefanidi was among her beaten rivals.
“Hopefully if people see me performing they might want to sponsor me,” Bradshaw said. “But stuff like that doesn’t spur me on. It’s a bit harder but I’m just trying to do good for me. I love pole vaulting and I love the feeling of flying.”
Remarkably, Bradshaw had not even planned on having an indoor season. A succession of injuries meant that she decided to spend the winter focusing on sprint training, so when she did make a late call to try her luck inside, she opted to vault off a shortened 12-step runup rather than her preferred 16 steps.
“I’ve got slower over the last six years because of all the injuries I’ve had so my main focus was to take a six-month block to train like Reece Prescod or Asha Philip and only pole vault once a week,” she said. “That’s why this is such a shock – I’ve really not expected it. But I have got a lot quicker.”
Bradshaw now has her sights set on next month’s Glasgow European Indoor Championships, as does Laura Muir, who looks in phenomenal shape to successfully defend her 1500m and 3,000m titles after smashing the British indoor mile record – the sixth national record of her career.
Muir had insisted she was treating this more as a preparation race for Glasgow rather than a full-on tilt at Kirsty Wade’s 31-year-old British mark, but she shattered the record by more than five seconds to triumph in 4min 18.75sec.
Running what was effectively a lone time trial, Muir’s time was the third fastest in history.
“It’s tough when you’re by yourself – tougher than when you’ve got bodies around you,” she said. “It’s the perfect way to prepare for Glasgow.
“To do one of the fastest runs ever, a British record and a win in your final race before a championships is perfect. I’m really happy and confident.”
There was no such joy for Britain’s male sprinters, who look likely to end a run of medals at 16 successive European Indoor Championships after no one managed the 60m qualifying standard on the final day before today’s selection meeting.
Despite a suggested standardised European qualifying mark of 6.78sec, British Athletics decided to lower its requirement to 6.60sec – a time only Prescod managed and he has opted against competing in Glasgow.
Ojie Edoburun and Harry AikinesAryeetey are now the only two men available for selection by virtue of their 100m times last summer, so double reigning European 60m champion Richard Kilty will not defend his title.
Kilty managed 6.64sec as China’s Bingtian Su triumphed in Birmingham and he suggested the British Athletics standard was needlessly harsh.
“I feel so confident I can get better if I was in Glasgow,” said Kilty, who is on the comeback from Achilles surgery. “I am getting quicker and I’m a championship performer who has never been beaten in a major championship.”
Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera produced the performance of the day when breaking Hicham El Guerrouj’s 22-year-old world indoor 1500m record with a time of 3min 31.04sec.