Three Olympians will be the focus of attention in the EIS Arena this weekend at the 2014 BUCS Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Andi Pozzi (Bristol) had an injury hit 2013 but returned in brilliant form at the British Athletics Indoor Championships, taking gold in a dead-heat with William Sharman, and then at the Birmingham GP where he clocked 7.57, a hundredth outside his PB. Pozzi took the 2012 BUCS 60mH title setting a CBP mark of 7.64. He then went on to reach the final of the World Championships. Can he repeat that sequence in 2014? He should be joined in the final by the only other two entered who have gone sub 8.00 – Jake Porter (Wolverhampton), defending champion, and the in-form GB U20 International David King (Bath) who was 4th at the British Championships.
The opening day of the Championships also sees Adam Gemili (UEL) in the 60m. The European U23 100m gold medallist and Olympic semi-finalist, who so narrowly missed out on a medal in the 200m at the World Championships in Moscow, is possibly the favourite to take what would be his first BUCS title. However, there are two others in the field who have gone sub 6.70 – the twice champion Tremayne Gilling (Middlesex) and Seye Ogunlewe (Essex) who has on three occasions finished second. All three have exactly the same PB – 6.68.
On Saturday Olympic 400mH semi-finalist Cristian Morton (UEL) makes his BUCS debut. The former Stanford University student also took the NCAA title in 2012 and in 2009 helped Nigeria reach the final of the 4x400m at the World Championships. Both he and James Foreman (Brunel), 400m semi-finalist at the British Indoor Championships, have recorded times inside Gareth Warburton’s CBP of 46.96.
These Olympians will be joined by a clutch of other Internationals. Among them, and very much on home-territory, will be John Lane (Leeds Met) the new UK record-holder for the heptathlon. Lane does much of his training at the EIS under the direction of Toni Minichiello, coach to Olympic gold medallist Jess Ennis-Hill. Daniel Gardner (Loughborough ) reached the PV final at last year’s EJ Championships and the title looks to lie between him, Paul Walker (Loughborough) and defending champion Nick Cruchley (Birmingham). GB International Isobel Pooley (Nottingham), who finished 4th at the European U23 Championships, is the odds-on favourite in the women’s HJ. EJ silver medallist Jazmin Sawyers (Bristol), who finished second at the British Indoor Championships, could well take her first BUCS LJ title. The women’s 60mH looks could be another head-to-head between two GB C/E Internationals – Marilyn Nwawulor (Middlesex) and Karla Drew (Sheffield Hallam). Nwawulor is the defending champion and Drew, who recently announced her intention to concentrate solely on the sprint hurdles, took silver in 2013. However, Lucy Hatton (Leicester) is in terrific form; the fastest in the field with 8.33 set in Bratislava in January. Nwawulor, a EJ 100m finalist and current BUCS 100m champion, also has a genuine chance of a medal in the 60m. That final should also feature European U23 100m and 200m finalists Rachel Johncock (Loughborough) and Bianca Williams (UEL). Johncock is in the form of her life, reaching the final at the British Indoor championships and clocking a PB of 7.36 in the semi-final Claire Tarplee (Loughborough), Irish International and 1500m finalist at the Universiade in Kazan last summer, could add the 800m indoor-title to her BUCS outdoor-title from Bedford.
© Adrian Chrismas
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