JERSEY athletes again achieved personal bests and season’s best performances at the England Athletics (AAA’s) under-20 and U23 championships last weekend.
Held at the Bedford International Stadium, the championship was also the World Junior trials and top competitors from around the UK were in evidence striving to achieve the required standard for inclusion in the Great Britain team.
It was tough going for everyone too as it drizzled all day Saturday and then there were gale force winds on Sunday.
Sophie Twinam, in the U20 400 metre hurdles, progressed through Saturday’s heats before being blown away in Sunday’s final, not by the opposition but by an extremely strong head wind. Twinam, in her first ever AAA’s final, finished sixth which was well above her ranking.
Colleague Gemma Dawkins produced a remarkable run in the 400m heats where she took fourth place in a 58.13 seconds, once again inside the qualifying mark for the Youth Commonwealth Games.
Jason Fox finished sixth after a respectable high jump of 1.98 metres, a good performance in only his second competition after missing most the winter due to an injury.
Zane Duquemin (pictured) had to wait until Sunday to start his assault on the U20 discus and it was worth the wait as the 17-year-old, who has permission to compete in the U20s in order to once again achieve the qualifying mark for the Youth Commonwealth Games, excelled.
Using the larger and heavier discuss than his U17 implement, Duquemin again rose to the occasion with six throws all beyond the qualifying standard, which took him into sixth position overall. Duquemin’s best effort was a remarkable 49.05 metres.
