by Stuart Weir
Brits in Poland
There were 10 British athletes in the Silesia Diamond League and they had mixed success.
Keely Hodgkinson, running a non-Diamond 800m race, won by a country mile, finishing in 1:54.74 just over a tenth of a second outside her PR, an incredible performance given that it was her first race for a year. She said afterwards: “I enjoyed the feeling of the race. I planned to run a fast time because I do not have many races before Tokyo”.
Georgia Hunter-Bell finished third in the 1500m in 3:56.00, an excellent time yet more than 5 seconds behind the winner Gudaf Tsegay. She commented after the race: “It’s only my second ever podium in the Diamond League In the 1500 meters but I’m disappointed with the time. I was hoping for 3.54ish”. She added that she was “so proud of her training partner, Keely’s performance as she had worked so hard to overcome difficulties this year”.
Georgia is understood still to be deciding whether to run the 800, the 1500 or both in Tokyo. Has Silesia helped? Georgia is due to run against Keely in Lausanne on Wednesday.
Amber Anning was 4th in 50.11 with the top three running sub 50. The women’s 400 is so hot that in Paris last year, Amber ran 49.68. 49.47 and then 49.29 but was only fifth in the Olympic final.
Neil Gourley finished a disappointing 13th in the 1500 in 3:34.90
Thomas Young won a mixed classification Para 100m in 11.12. Two GB athletes had the opportunity of running in the Faith Kipyegon 3k world record attempt with Alexandra Millard 14th in 8:45.82 and Eloise Walker 17th in 8:52.46.
Three GB women sprinters were in action with differing results. In the 200 Amy Hunt was 4th in 22.31 and Darryl Neita fifth in 22.44 with Amy beating Darryl for the second week in succession. The top three, Shericka Jackson, Brittany Brown and Favour Ofili are all, on their day, sub 22 runners although not today. Amy Hunt, aged 23, who has remained in Italy with Marco Airale, is having a great season having run PRs in both 100 and 200 this year. Darryl, 29, who left Marco to work with Lance Brauman, is clearly still adjusting to the new environment and training and struggling to reproduce the form that took her to 4th and 5th in the Olympics last year.
Dina Asher-Smith, now 30, and a former 200m world champion was seventh in the 100m in 11.07 with Jefferson-Wooden winning in10.66. At the GB Champs Dina told the media that she was now based in London having relocated from Texas. She declined to give any details of her current coaching arrangements or the reasons for the change.
