MOLLY BARNETT Open walks & British Athletics Winter Race Walking Championships Final

Report courtesy of UK Athletics

Tom Bosworth  missed five-time Olympian Chris Maddock's 25 year old British record by an agonising two seconds in the Molly Barnet Open Walks & British Athletics Winter Race Walk Challenge Final at Warwick University. Bosworth improved his personal best of 40.44 set in the corresponding race last year to 40.19 but was agonisingly just shy of Maddocks in 40.17. Bosworth was 2nd in the race behind training partner and Leeds-based Kiwi Quentin Rew (Hyde Park Harriers) who was 17th in last year’s Moscow World Championships over 50km. Rew broke the 40 minute barrier to record a new personal best of 39.51.  In the highest quality ever domestic 10 km staged, 3rd place was taken by European Junior 7th placer Jamie Higgins  in his senior debut. Returning after a long injury lay off during the Autumn, Higgins was just outside his personal best in 42.48. Bosworth and Higgins will target fast times in the EAA Race Walking Permit meeting in Lugano, Switzerland later in the month. In the Junior Men’s 10 Kilometres Cameron Corbishley made a brave effort to stay with Jo Atkinson and despite falling off the pace in the 2nd half was rewarded with a new personal best of 46.21.

In the women’s 10 Kilometres race there was a welcome return to racing from Commonwealth Champion Jo Atkinson (nee Jackson). In her first serious race in 18 months, since suffering the heartbreak of disqualification in the Olympics on The Mall, Atkinson powered away to take  a controlled victory in 45.02, in the strongest domestic female 10km ever staged in the UK. Atkinson who has been denied the chance to defend her Commonwealth title by the Glasgow Organising Committee’s decision to remove the walks from the Glasgow programme, will target the IAAF World Cup of Race Walking in China in May and the European Championships in August. Behind her the next three finishers made huge improvements. Bethan Davies and Heather Lewis  walked together for much of the race with Davies coming out on top over the last few laps. Davies who had  a previous personal best of 52.05 on the road and 49.03 on the track smashed these to record a new Welsh record of 46.42 to go to 9th on the UK All Time list. Lewis clocked 46.59 for a new Welsh Under 23 record and to move to 10th on the UK All Time Senior list and to 3rd on the Under 23 All Time List. These three will now target fast time over 20km in Lugano next month.

In fourth place, Ellie Dooley took over three minutes of her previous road best (52.56) in clocking 49.26. This is that fastest time by a British junior for 10 years and moves her to joint fifth on the UK all time junior list. There were also personal bests for Kiwi Alana Barber in 5th (51.50) and under 20 Jasmine Nicholls.

In the Under 20 women’s 5km there was a massive personal best for Emma Achurch in clocking  24.05.

 In the Under 15 Girls 3km, Ana Garcia set a new British best performance clocking 14.01.