Athletics Wilson delighted as hard work earns him first England vest
ADAM Wilson has been handed his first England vest to finally realise a lifelong dream that he thought had slipped through his grasp.
The Bristol & West AC middledistance runner was this week named in the England Para squad for his international debut for the World Athletics Grand Prix in Paris next month.
“I was delighted with my call up as I thought my chance may have gone as I’ve had a few injuries in the last few years,” said Wilson.
“But I’ve worked really hard to get over these, and with the help of my coach Callum Jones and my family, I managed to do enough to get selected.”
Wilson’s selection is a reward for his running his lifetime best of 4:07.07 last year, and then this winter finishing runner-up in the British Park Indoor Championships at Cardiff.
Furthermore, he has since followed that up just last weekend with a third place in the 1500m held as part of the BMC Bannister Miles 70th Anniversary competition at Oxford’s historic Iffley Road track.
The Paris GP is scheduled for June 13-14 and Wilson will race the 1500m in the T20 category, which represents track and field athletes who have an intellectual impairment.
» Several Bristol & West runners were on England duty in a 10k road match against Wales incorporated into the Birmingham 10k last weekend.
Sarah Everitt and Phil Parry certainly rose to the occasion with both winning silver medals, Everitt in the over 55s age group (41:40) and Parry in the over 60s category (36:55).
Also on England duty were Pete Mountain (M65 4th, 42:22), Marcus Dunsford (M35 5th, 32:44) and Tariq Kurd (M50 13th, 37:06).
» One of the club’s finest masters runners of all time, Caroline Powell, launched another season at the Brewer Games in Cheltenham on Bank Holiday Monday.
The multiple world medallist, now competing in the over 70s age category, finished runner-up in the 200m H race and third in the 400, C race.
It was a busy afternoon, too, for Ben Robinson, a world champion himself in the sport of racing with a dog, as he won the senior men’s 800m and 3000m but was denied a hat-trick with a runner-up spot in the 1500m.
From the club’s young athletes, there were personal bests for Gabriela Ritter Sherratt in the 3000m (10:42.76), and the young trio of Cora Lambourne (2:45.09),
Izzy Di Bartolo (2:48.31) and Zuzanna Zofia Smialek (2:58.89) in the under 13s 800m. Joshua Toms also cleared a PB of 1.50m to finish joint first in the high jump.
Brewer Games, Prince of Wales Stadium, Cheltenham (all B&W): 200G: 2 Fayola Aliyu (U15) 29.10; H: 2 Caroline Powell (W70) 32.13; 300B: 4 Mairi Carver Brown (U15) 46.66; C: 2 Holly Massey-Jones (U17) 47.05; 400C: 3 Caroline Powell (W70) 73.39;
800A: 1 Ben Robinson (M35) 2:03.57; B: 3 Mairi Carver Brown (U15) 2:26.07 (PB); 8 Holly Mae Massey-Jones 2:30.68; 1500: 2 Robinson 4:11.03; 3000: 1 Robinson 9:18.51; 7 Gabriela Ritter Sherratt (U17) 10:42.76 (PB); HJ: 1= Joshua Toms (U17) 1.50 (PB). U13s – 800: 2 Cora Lambourne 2:45.09 (PB); 5 Izzy Di Bartolo 2:48.31 (PB); B: 1 Zuzanna Zofia Smialek 2:58.89 (PB); 7 Charlotte Spencer 3:21.92; LJ: 1 Cora Lambourne 4.02; 12 Charlotte Spencer 3.25; 13 Izzy Di Bartolo 3.24; 17 Isabelle Spencer 3.09.
» The club’s young athletes were out in force at the Sri Chinmoy 1 mile road race in Eastville Park on Tuesday, with the race event also incorporating the second stage of the Junior Endurance Club Championships.
Results are yet to be confirmed but there was some terrific racing on show.