Great Britain were extremely successful at the European Indoor Championships in Prague two weeks ago, bringing back home nine medals. With the World Championships taking place in Beijing this summer, the pressure was on for the British athletes to impress, and there were some standout performances.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson performed excellently in the pentathlon, winning the gold medal with a British record of 5,000 points, previously held by Jessica Ennis-Hill. On the way to victory she ran a personal best of 8.18 seconds in the 60 metre hurdles, but, despite this, she was still disappointed after the final event, the 800 metres. Johnson-Thompson had the chance to break the world record for the indoor pentathlon if she had finished with a time of 2:11.86, but she just missed out on this, finishing 13 points behind the record. Nonetheless, it was still a remarkable performance for the 22 year-old, and should give her confidence for future events.

Another young talent who shone was Dina Asher-Smith. The 19 year-old won silver in the 60m, with her time making her the fastest teenager ever over that distance. At such a young age, Asher-Smith has a lot of potential and this impressive performance is very encouraging. There was also success in the men’s 60m race, with Richard Kilty securing the gold medal with an excellent run.

 

Silver medals came in the 4×400 women’s relay and the men’s 3000m, and bronzes were won in the men’s 1500m and the women’s 400m. Britain achieved both the silver and bronze medal in the women’s 60m hurdles. Another medal was expected in the women’s 800 metres, but runner Jenny Meadows had to withdraw due to a virus.

All in all, it was a successful championships for Great Britain, and many young talents showed promise. Hopefully this performance will be taken to the World Championships in August.

Nancy Gillen

 

Featured image: Katarina Johnson-Thompson – www.athleticsweekly.com

Top image: Dina Asher-Smith – news.bbcimg.co.uk

Bottom image: Chris O’Hare – news.bbcimg.co.uk