By Owen Morgan
Swansea Harrier Joe Brier led a flurry of indoor personal bests as more Welsh athletes finally returned to action at the weekend.
With events held in Manchester, Loughborough and Newport, the weekend felt like a significant step forward for domestic athletics.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many Welsh athletes had been starved of meaningful opportunities to compete with only Melissa Courtney-Bryant having raced on the World Indoor Tour in Germany and France over the past fortnight.
But on Saturday and Sunday, several more Welsh stars returned to action as athletes were given the opportunity to compete ahead of next weekend’s European Indoor Selection Trials.
With the British Indoor Championships having been cancelled, three events have been arranged next weekend at Lee Valley, Loughborough and Manchester to allow athletes to compete for places on the Great Britain team at next month’s European Indoor Championships in Poland.
Impressive wins for @OwenSmith400 and @joebrier99 in Manchester today and an indoor P.B. ⏱ for Joe. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jCg3afK6Fc
— Welsh Athletics (@WelshAthletics) February 13, 2021
And Brier took full advantage of the opportunity to warm up for those events when he travelled to Manchester to compete in the event organised by Bryggen Sports.
The 21-year-old won his heat in a big new indoor PB of 47.16 – his fastest season opener by over a second.
The World Under-20 Championships 400m relay bronze medallist’s time was the second fastest across the four heats held at the Sportcity complex.
The second 400m heat of the day was won by fellow Welsh sprinter and Great Britain international Owen Smith, who clocked 47.76 in a dominant performance.
Both will now go to next weekend’s 400m trial to be held at the same venue in buoyant mood.
Another Welsh athlete due to be in action at next weekend’s trials is Cardiff Athletics’ Charlotte Arter, who kicked off her season with an indoor PB of 9:00.78 – just outside of the European Championship 3,000m qualifying standard of 9:00.
Arter finished second to Swansea Harrier Verity Ockenden over 3,000m. The English athlete’s time of 8:51.63 was a 17-second PB.
Another Cardiff Athletics club member warming up for next weekend was Ieuan Thomas. The Wales and GB international steeplechaser clocked an indoor PB of 8:00.55 as he finished fourth in the 3,000m.
Meanwhile, Cardiff-based Piers Copeland produced a superb display to win the men’s 1500m in an indoor PB of 3:38.55, which also placed him well within the European Championship qualifying standard ahead of next week’s trials.
There were also a number of Welsh athletes taking part at the Loughborough Elite indoor event, which took place across the weekend. On Saturday, Cardiff sprinter Jeremiah Azu opened up his season by clocking 6.84 over 60m.
In the women’s long jump, Wales Commonwealth Games athlete Rebecca Chapman produced a consistent series of jumps with the longest being 5.99m, while 2017 IPC World Para Athletics long jump gold medallist Olivia Breen registered a best of 4.61m – an indoor PB.
The shot put saw Birchfield Harriers’ Welsh international Adele Nicoll register a best distance of 15.10
In an elite-only throws event organised by Welsh Athletics in Newport on Saturday, a small group of discus throwers took to the circle in a preparation opportunity ahead of the annual Loughborough Winter Throws Invitational in two weeks’ time.
This was the first elite sports competition to be held in Wales since restrictions were imposed in December.
Despite freezing temperatures and snow flurries, athletes displayed some excellent early-season form with a personal best throw of 42.94m from Zachary Tandy (F44) and with James Tomlinson producing a mark just over a meter away from his best with a throw of 52.03m.
Harrison Walsh (F44) also opened up with an impressive throw of 52.14m, his second furthest performance ever.
It is hoped to stage another Welsh Athletics elite event on March 6.
Further afield, Cardiff’s Elliot Slade clocked 1:50.89 as he won over 800m representing the Academy of Art University, San Francisco at the sixth annual Indoor Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kansas, on Saturday. The win earns him a place at the NCAA Division Two Indoor National Finals.
https://twitter.com/AngharaDavies/status/1360645397258067968
The previous evening Slade helped the Art Academy win the distance medley relay in a school record, which also earned a place at the National Finals.
Slightly closer to home, Caramarthenshire athlete Angharad Davies, who is based in Spain, clocked an indoor PB of 4:32.99 as she won over 1500m at an event in Asturias in the northwest of the country.