MEN’S 4X400M TEAM SET U20 WORLD LIMIT TIME AT MANNHEIM INTERNATIONAL

Great Britain and Northern Ireland juniors once again excelled at the annual Mannheim International, with relay teams in top form and several athletes securing lifetime bests.

The men’s 4×400 relay team gave me one of the performances of the event as they had an U20 world leading time of 3:07.15, putting them in a strong position ahead of the U20 World Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru in August .

Stanley Chevous (Lee Bowker, Ipswich), Sam Lunt (Wirral), Demari Gumbs (Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow) and Alex Houchin (Stewart Marshall, Worcester) combined to power the German team to victory by 0.11 seconds in world leader time.

The women’s 4x400m relay team was also in impressive form as they finished third in the U20 world rankings with a time of 3:33.78, which was also a meet record.

The quartet of Kara Dacosta (Stephen Ball, Trafford), Emma Holmes (Victor Oyesola, West Cheshire), Jessica Astill (Paul Keeble, Stevenage & North Herts) and Charlotte Henrich (Nigel Stickings, Invicta East Kent) teamed up to continue the relay of successes.

The 4x100m teams had two races in the entire competition, with the teams taking four wins out of four on Saturday and Sunday.

On the first day, the women’s quartet recorded 44.11; team of Renee Regis (Darren Braithwaite, Shaftesbury Barnet), Nia Wedderburn-Goodison (Ryan Freckleton, Harrow), Faith Akinbileje (John Blackie, Blackheath and Bromley) and Mabel Akande (Denise Timmis, Lincoln Wellington).

They came back on day two to run a slightly faster 44.03, but set another solid time. Jasmine Wilkins (Mike Bennett, Bedford & County) and Kissiwaa Mensah (Prince Duwai, Chelmsford) came into the team on legs one and three respectively, with Regis on leg two and Akande again on the anchor leg.

In the men’s 4x100m, the first day team consisted of Rhys Elias (Martin White, Mansfield), Ebuka Nwokeji (Ty Holden, Shaftesbury Barnet), Dean Patterson (David Watson, Glasgow Jaguars) and Joel Masters (Jon Humphries-Cuff , BFT Track Academy) ) won their race in 39.77.

The quartet on day two finished in 40.10 – with a race win once again – as Lewis Stephens (Helen Patricia James, Cardiff) joined the team on stage one and Henry Christer (John Davis, Basingstoke & Mid Hants) on stage three third. Masters picked up the second baton, with Elias bringing it home.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, Thea Brown (Joanne Harding, Sale Harriers Manchester) moved to the top of the UK U20 rankings this year with a time of 13.28, which also takes her sixth on the all-time UK U20 list. She also won the high jump with a best clearance of 1.82m.

GB and NI athletes took the top three in the women’s 400m: Charlotte Henrich fastest in 53.39, Kara Dacosta next in 53.99 with Jessica Astill in 54.90.

Sam Lunt was by far fastest in the men’s 400m with 47.01, Alex Houchin third fastest in the heats with 47.75. Stanley Chevous was another Briton under 48 seconds with 47.83.

There was a personal best for Mabel Akande in the women’s 100m heats as she ran 11.27 (0.6), while Nia Wedderburn-Goodison also impressed with a time of 11.28 (1.0).

Day two saw PBs for Ebuka Nwokeji (21.13), Rhys Elias (21.28) and Henry Christer (21.30), while Dean Patterson was third fastest overall (21.26).

Renee Regis also achieved a Lima 2024 qualifying time as she was fastest overall in the women’s 200m in a time of 23.41.

Back on the field, it was a victory for Cleo Agyepong (John Hillier, Blackheath and Bromley) in the shot put and she did it in style, extending her PB to 15.35m in round four.

There was also a career best for Eden Robinson (Christian North, North Devon) in the javelin as she improved to 39.14m.

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