Peacock is proud of sprint win
Paralympic stars shine as impressive crowd shows interest in sport is still strong, writes Trevor Bailey
PRINTER Jonnie Peacock reprised his Paralympic heroics with a dominant showing a t the IPC Athletics Grand Final in Birmingham.
Peacock became one of the stars of London 2012 when he claimed gold in the T44 100m with a time of 10.90seconds – a mark he repeated in the T43/44 at Alexander Stadium yesterday.
It was a superb run in a moderate field shorn of the disqualified David Prince on a track not known for its speed.
It places Peacock in a promising position for next month’s World Championships in Lyon and the 20-year-old was content with his showing. Even more pleasing for Peacock, though, was the support of around 5000 fans – the much-discussed Olympics legacy personified.
“The crowd were amazing; every time you run in front of a British crowd and get that roar it lifts your spirits,” he said. “I was pretty happy with that. Five months of training and I can come up with that.
“There’s not really much to complain about is there? I’m coming back into form when it counts, with the World Championships just round the corner.
“I was a little worried coming to Birmingham because it’s not renowned as the fastest track in the world and a couple of things didn’t go to plan but hopefully I’m going to the worlds in decent shape.
“To come here and run that time shows I’m in form.”
David Weir was unable to reach the heights of his stunning success in London, beaten into second place in the T54 1500m. Weir was unstoppable last summer, winning four Paralympic golds in the T54 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon, but was unable catch Switzerland’s Marcel Hug in the last race of the day.
He made big inroads in a quick final lap but could not haul in his highly-regarded opponent.
Weir will now look to make amends at the London Anniversary Games next month.
“I’ve had a couple of weeks off so it wasn’t bad really,” said Weir. “I was quite pleased with my top end speed but it was a bit of a slow, tactical race.
“I’ll be at the Anniversary Games and I’m really looking forward to being back there and racing in that stadium again.” There was better news for another Paralympic gold medallist in the women’s T33/34 200m as Hannah Cockroft powered to victory in 32.19secs.
That was more than three seconds faster than her nearest rival in a solid field, but the 20-year-old believes there is more to come this season. “It’s not a fantastic time but I won it, so I’m happy,” she said.
“It was good to line up against the other Paralympic medallists and just make sure I’m still on top of the world. I’m feeling really good ahead of Lyon.”
As for the support, she added: “It’s brilliant to see this many people turn out to see us. It’s awesome to hear the crowd erupt when they hear your name.
“It means that they know who you are, which is something new.”
There was disappointment for Richard Whitehead in the T42 200m after the reigning Paralympic c hampion was disqualified for a false start.
Whitehead set a new world record of 24.38secs at the Olympic Stadium but did not get the chance to try his new golden blades today.
“I think I was just a little too quick. I’ve been working hard on my start and they’ve been going well,” he said.
“It’s just one of those things, it happens to all athletes and I’ve already forgotten about it.”
There was another mishap when Shelly Woods, a silver medallist in the Paralympic marathon, broke a wheel in the warm- up for the T53/ 54 1500m and was forced to withdraw from the race.
Teenager Sophie Kamlish was another British winner on the Birmingham track, taking the T43-46 100m title with a time of 13.56secs.