Two Welsh athletes, bound for the Commonwealth Games, are putting in the hard yards before they chase medals on the Gold Coast. Dai Sport’s athletics writer Owen Morgan speaks to race-walkers Bethan Davies and Heather Lewis.
Welsh walkers Bethan Davies and Heather Lewis have been warming up nicely for April’s Commonwealth Games in more ways than one.
The duo, who have both been in excellent recent form, are fine-tuning their preparations to participate in the 20k walk on Australia’s Gold Coast with some warm weather training in Spain, while the rest of Wales experiences sub-zero temperatures.
Davies displayed she is in top nick with a dominant display at the recent British Indoor Championships in Birmingham where she set a new national indoor best in the 5,000m – the first time the distance had been contested indoors by British female athletes.
Her time of 21:25.37, was just outside her own British outdoor record 21.21.52 and more than a minute and 20 seconds ahead of the second placed athlete Gemma Bridge.
While Pembrokeshire walker Lewis also showed she was in good condition as she appeared to have earned herself a silver medal in Birmingham, only to be shown a red card after the race.
Race walking indoors, given the camber of the track and banking on the bends, makes adhering to the strict technical rules of keeping one foot on the floor and a straight knee as the leading foot makes contact with the ground, all the more difficult.
Despite Lewis’ disqualification the performance of the Welsh training partners bodes well for the Commonwealths.
Speaking from their training base in Spain, Cardiff AAC athlete Davies said: “I’m very happy with my performance at the indoor champs, it was great to try the new women’s indoor distance of 5,000m and even better to walk away with a quick time!
“After the disappointment of disqualification in my last indoor race I wanted a technically clean race which I was very pleased to achieve.
“I have had a really good block of training this winter and made some big steps forward in coping with bigger volume weeks.
“These improvements plus my result on the weekend have given me lots of confidence ahead of the Commonwealth Games which is now only six weeks away!
“I’m currently on a Welsh Athletics warm weather training camp in Spain and am hoping to continue this good work with the help of fellow race walker and Team Wales representative, Heather Lewis.”
Lewis is in equally buoyant mood, having wintered well following a change to her coaching set-up.
The former British outdoor champion and former Welsh record holder said: “At the start of winter training in 2017 I moved on to be coached by Welsh endurance coach Chris Jones and local Pembrokeshire Harrier coach Pete Freeman.
“This has helped my training come along very well. I have had the biggest volume of training this winter, I’ve been hitting key sessions and I am really looking forward to racing 20k.
“I’m currently training with Bethan Davies in Spain in a brilliant location for walking, so this will be great for us both to work together.
“I am very excited for the Commonwealth Games, it will be a fantastic experience. ”
The pair’s Spanish warm weather trip should stand them in good stead when they pound the streets of the Gold Coast’s iconic Currumbin Beachfront on Sunday, April 8.
Average daytime temperatures on the Gold Coast in April are 26 degrees, a world away from the single figure temperatures currently being experienced here in chilly Wales.