Burt set to bow out
Athlete tackles last school’s event
JUNIOR international middle distance Anna Burt will bow out of schools’ athletics at the English Schools’ Championships this weekend.
It has been three years since the 18-year-old Hayesfield School student from Peasedown St John, a previous winner of the Running Bath/chronicle performance of the month competition, last lined up in this event when she finished fifth in the inter girls’ 800m at Gateshead.
That was a startling improvement on her debut the previous year when she was knocked out in the heats of the junior girls’ 800m and is a timely reminder in view of her current problems of how far she has come since then, having missed the last two championships due to international callups.
If she was in the sort of form now from last year’s Commonwealth Youth Games silver, Burt would be among the favourites for gold, but 2018 has been a difficult year as she has suffered from illness and injury and a season’s best of 2:08.62 is some four seconds off her lifetime best, recorded 12 months ago.
“It is my last chance to run the English Schools’ so while I am not fully fit or as quick as I would like to be I decided to give it a go,” said Burt.
“I have lost a lot of my aerobic fitness having not been able to train for almost a month because of my low iron levels and I also got injured as well but I still have some speed as I was close to my best for 400m in a relay at a Youth Development League match recently.
“So I am hoping that I can at least make the final of the 800m and, if it is a slow run race, then I might have a reasonable chance of winning a medal but we will see.
“I remember my debut at the English Schools’ (which was also at Birmingham) and I was so nervous because it was the biggest event I had ever done.
“I should feel a lot differently this time and while it has been a difficult year I will still go there to enjoy it.”
Burt is one of several Team Bath athletes who have been selected to represent Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire at the two-day event which opens on Friday.
For Wiltshire the Howorth brothers will join forces for the third and final time, Robert (800m) and John (1,500m), while 16-year-old Rory goes in the inter boys’ shot.
“It is the last time the three of us will be in the same Wiltshire schools’ team so we’ll be looking to make the family proud,” said Robert.
“It has been an absolute privilege to represent Wiltshire at these championships and the years have flown by. Both John and I will be looking to bow out in style and give it our best shot.”
Joining Robert in the senior 800m will be clubmate Hayden Bailey, who was a bronze medallist three years ago.
Also in the Wiltshire squad are Sam Roberts, Jake Burkey, Femi Akimbobola, Joe Carter and Jade Littlechild.
One of the most intriguing names in the Avon squad is Enya Maylor, who has been chosen to race the inter girls’ 1,500m steeplechase.
It is a distance she has only completed twice but on her debut she clocked a time that puts her 20th on the UK Rankings for under-17 women.
Also representing Avon are Ethan Hall, Cameron Sprague, Rob Jedtrzejczak, Alex Parsons, Harry Meredith, Imogen Leakey, Eleanor Webster, Ellie Mount, Jenna Blundell, Caitlin Wosika and Renee Jelf.
Blundell’s progress will be interesting to watch as her victories in the Avon and South West Schools’ confirmed her return to form after numerous injury problems, and lying tenth in the UK Rankings suggests she has a strong chance to make the final of the senior girls’ 100m hurdles.
The sole Team Bath athlete in the Gloucestershire team is Kiran Carter in the junior boys’ high jump. ■ Bath journalist and international ultra runner Damian Hall believes his new regular track training sessions with Team Bath have given him an extra edge.
After claiming his first ultra victory in Britain at the Lakeland Trails Ultimate 55k event, Hall admitted the new sessions have really helped.
“Track work is not something I have done much of before and I wouldn’t do them on my own so it has been great to link up with the Team Bath guys and their coaches,” said Hall.
“I really feel the track work has helped me because it is something I have never done before.”
Hall romped to victory in Sunday’s event and, on top of his second place at the Mozart 100k in Austria last month, is enjoying one of his best years ever.
Next up will be the Bath Running Festival Trail marathon on Sunday July 22.
■ Team Avon, which includes a number of Teambath athletes, travelled to Exeter for the third YDL UAG match on Sunday.
The team were greeted by tropical thunderstorms, unlike the rest of the country, but still managed to come away with a convincing win.
The U20 men, led by Teambath athletes, dominated their age group with A wins for Hayden Bailey in the 400m and 800m in 50.80 and 1.58.32 and John Howorth in the 1,500m in 4.15.85.
There were B wins for Robert Howorth in the 400m and 800m in 51.94 and 2.03.34.
In the U17 men, there were A wins for Ethan Hall in the 100m in 11.33, Femi Akimbobola in the 200m in 22.42 and Justin Davies in the 1500m in 4.17.37.
B wins went to Ethan Hall in the 200m in 22.25, Ellery Cole in the 800m in 2.04.77 and Alex Parsons in the 1500m in 4.18.75.
For the ladies, there were U20 A wins for Anna Burt in the 800m in 2.13.78, Caitlin Wosika in the 1,500m in 4.51.18, Jenna Blundell in the 100m hurdles in 14.81, Enya Maylor in the 1,500m steeplechase in 5.24.69 and Becci Ousby in the high jump with 1m45.
There were B wins for Sarah Long, making a welcome return from injury in the 200m in 27.38, Caitlin Wosika in the 300m in 10.33.45, and Becci Ousby in the triple jump with 9m62.
In the U17 age group, B wins for Tabitha Gallen in the 80m hurdles in 12.84 and India Ibbotson in the 1,500m steeplechase in 5.51.07.
Teambath athletes also made up the bulk of the relay teams which won most of the relays.
■ The Chronicle’s athletics coverage is sponsored by Running Bath, Bath’s specialist running shop. Find running Bath at 18 High Street, call 01225 462555 or visit runningbath.co.uk.