YOUNG STARS MAKE A MARK
TRACK and field and road running events have continued throughout the summer for Carmarthen Harriers and Llanelli AAC members.
For junior athletes from the Pemberton club, the first of the triangular inter-club fixtures were held at Swansea University along with Swansea Harriers and Neath Harriers.
Several under-11 athletes were competing at a grassroots athletics competition for the first time:
Katie Turner 75m (12.8), javelin (8.14m) and long jump (2.91m), Libby Beynon 75m (12.8), 800m (3.26.2) and shot (4.68m), Annabel Edwards 800m (3.17.3), Martha Thomas 75m (12.7) and long jump (2.85m), Gwen Johansen 75m (13.3) and long jump (2.61m), Isabel Davies 75m (13.5) and long jump (2.29m), Eryn Pilgrim 75m (13.8), long jump (2.36m) and high jump (0.80m), Jacob Richards 75m (11.9) and long jump (3.38m) and Harry Richards 75m (12.6) and long jump (2.74m).
The under-13 boys and girls’ were also in action.
Freya Mccarthy 100m (14.8), long jump (3.81m) and shot (6.92m), Sophia Edwards 100m (15.0) and long jump (3.63m), Tiah Sellick 100m (15.1), Lily Jones shot (7.37m), Ashton Williams 800m (2.37.2), and long jump (3.67m), Deklan Roberts 800m (2.44.1) and long jump (3.97m) and Charlie Eatly high jump (1.45m) and javelin (15.49m).
The Welsh Athletics Run with the Wind Sprints Open saw Dafydd Lewis run 11.70 seconds in the 100m followed by clocking 23.79 over 200m.
The Carmarthen Harriers trio of Lewis Evans (100m, 11.04), Ellimay Williams (100m, 12.92 and 200m, 26.57) and Ellie Loweth (100m, 13.41 and 200m, 27.29) were also in action at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium.
Steffan Bridger and Amelia Williams went to the Poppit Sands 5k Series, finishing in 20.15 and 21.36.
At Betws-y-coed, Finley Bruce became the Welsh Under-17 men’s champion at the Welsh Junior Mountain Running Championships in a time of 41.21.
Elsewhere, 18 Llanelli senior athletes travelled Pembrokeshire for the return of the Tenby 10k Road Race.
Dean Summers (36.09), David Clarke (39.10), Alan Davies (39.46), Rob Davies (42.25) and Craig Hopkins (47.46) finished in the top 50 individually. They were followed across the line by Liam Thorley (58.39), Michael Halsall (59.09), Andrew Bowen (1.04.04), Zoe Jermin-jones (1.04.12), Stuart Turner (1.06.11), Bruce Morgan (1.07.16), Andrew Stephens (1.07.19), Jody Williams (1.07.35), Lorna Powell (1.07.36), Vicki Turner (1.07.59), Rachel Evans (1.08.24), Karen Price (1.09.29) and Tahir Altimimi (1.16.00)
FEW will leave Birmingham discontent with Commonwealth Games gold, but that is the predicament facing Welsh boxer Ioan Croft.
The 20-year-old welterweight whirlwind fought his way to glory with a unanimous points victory over Zambia’s Stephen Zimba.
But brother Garan had to settle for light-middleweight bronze, meaning the identical twins from Crymych came up short in their pursuit of matching golds.
Garan lost his semi-final to eventual champion Aidan Walsh of Northern Ireland but was on hand to celebrate with Ioan ringside before the pair embark on a holiday to Magaluf after a busy 10 days.
Their parents Liz and Cardigan ABC head coach Guy Croft watched on from the stands as 12 years of training and hard work came to fruition.
Ioan said: “They are not the two colours of medal we wanted.
“I know Garan was desperate to bring home a gold, but he’s got a bronze and he can hold his head high. I’m sure his medal will mean just as much to him as this one does to me.
“It’s a dream come true. It will take a few days to sink in.”
Despite a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards, Ioan endured a tough battle with Zimba who threw everything at him in nine minutes of enthralling action at the NEC.
“He was a very strong opponent but, technically, I felt I was better than him,” said the West Walian.
“I knew that going into the fight, but it was about sustaining my fitness and my shape throughout the fight.
“I had to keep him at bay and that paid dividends in the end.
“When they played the Welsh anthem, it felt incredible, and I had a thousand thoughts going through my head. I have wanted to do this since I saw the guys do it in Glasgow (in 2014).
“The last four years I have been very hard working towards this moment and I knew this going out tonight.
“It all came down to those nine minutes and it was punch perfect, it could not have gone any better.
“This week is only a small part of the journey.”
European bronze medallist Ioan is looking forward to a well-earned rest but admitted attention will shortly turn to achieving his Olympic dreams at Paris 2024 and adding a World Championship medal to his collection.
He added: “I will take a few weeks off. There’s no rush to make any big decisions. I’m still only 20 years old.
“There’s a lot ahead of me still in this amateur game and the Olympics in Paris has always been a huge dream.
“The only medals I don’t have now are the Olympic medal and World Championship medal, so that’s the ambition.”
Garan, who won European silver earlier this year, described Olympic bronze medallist Walsh as a “nightmare” in the ring after becoming one of many victims to fall to the Belfast banger’s awkward evasive style.
Walsh was reluctant to stand and trade, picking off his punches and using his footwork to dodge what came back, frustrating Garan and consigning him to bronze.
Garan said: “A nightmare is the best way to sum him up, he’s an incredibly skilful boxer but he is five years further down the line and used all that experience to good effect.
“I hope I’ve made a corner of Wales very proud, and I certainly gave it all I had.
“I couldn’t have given any more. I just couldn’t catch him and make it my kind of fight.”
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