Records set at the British Masters Championships

Steve Peters, Clare Elms, Mark Symes and Irie Hill among the winners in Derby

British masters athletes were in record-breaking form at Derby on a generally hot and well attended and well organised championships on July 26-28.

Britain’s best ever masters sprinter Stephen Peters smashed the UK M70 record at 200m in his first meeting since winning the sprint double in the European Masters in Pescara last September.

British Masters Championships

Still the holder of seven UK outdoor masters records at 100m, 200m and 400m between the M45 and M70 age group, he added one more when his 26.03 took almost half a second off Glyn Sutton’s 26.47 from 2015.

Peters, the renowned sports psychologist and author of the Chimp Paradox, also won the 100m in 13.15 into a headwind on the Saturday (0.19 down on his own UK record) before enjoying better conditions on the Sunday. He next competes in the upcoming World Masters Championships in Gothenburg.

Mark Symes, himself a former world champion in the M45 and M50 age group being sidelined by a stroke, is now in the M55 age group and in the 1500m he ran a steady pace through the first two laps in around 70 seconds before kicking faster and faster and his 4:17.74 improved on Guy Bracken’s outdoor mark of 4:19.35 from 2019.

Symes also won the 800m in 2:07.22 compared to Reg Phipps’ 25 year-old record of 2:04.9.

On the Wednesday, Symes ran a mile at Guildford and his 4:36.10 again bettered one of Bracken’s UK marks (4:36.7 in 2017) and came close to the M55 world record of 4:35.10 by Andrew Bateman of Australia in 2010.

Former European champion Andrew Ridley entered the M60 ranks a few days before his races here after running faster than the M60 world mile record the week before hitting the age group.

In Derby he tried front-running and his 1500m saw a fast start but he just faded slightly on the last lap and his 4:32.32 fell just short of Dave Clarke’s 4:30.82. Clarke was third here.

He also won the 400m in 59.24 before then running a more tactical but quick race in the 800m.

There, the indoor record-setter Rob McHarg set a fast pace with world indoor champion Clarke and Ridley holding on. In the straight, Ridley kicked hard and his 2:11.22 took Bob Minting’s 2:11.3 off of the books. McHarg (2:12.47) and Clarke (2:12.84) completed probably the best podium performance of the weekend.

Andrew Ridley

On Wednesday a few days after the championships at the same meeting as Symes ran in Guildford, Ridley set a world M60 mile mark of 4:41.81, improving the mark of Sweden’s Hakan Eriksson (4:47.69) by almost six seconds. It took an astonishing 14 seconds off of Dave Wilcock’s British record set 10 years ago.

Moira West is new to the W75 ranks this summer and it was clear records were going to be set as she bettered the listed UK marks in smaller meetings.

Here her sprint double of 15.84 and 33.30 revised the 17.81 and 35.98 British marks.

Irie Hill (Gary Mitchell)

Commonwealth Games vaulter Irie Hill has been Britain’s most successful masters pole vault and in winning the World Masters indoor title in Torun she set a W55 world record of 3.30m. Here she only cleared 3.00m but that was still a British outdoor mark and improved Sue Yeomans’ mark.

Yeomans herself equalled her W70 mark with a 2.30m leap.

While most of the record-breakers were well established stars, M75 David Cundy’s 2000m steeplechase mark was not expected.

Effectively just a parkrunner until less than just a year ago, his first ever steeplechase saw a clocking of 8:57.99 compared to Peter Giles’ 9:27.14. He also won the 1500m in 5:42.76.

London Marathon ever-present Chris Finill won the M65 steeplechase title in 8:08.18.

Clare Elms (Gary Mitchell)

In the combined W55-W65 1500m, easily won by recent W60 world record-setter Clare Elms in the first track race of the championships, the first W65 Karen Brooks followed her home in 5:30.54.

Brooks thought she had missed the record as Nancy Hitchmough had run a 5:30.0 but that was never ratified and the official mark was Angela Copson’s 5:30.7 from 2012.

Brooks also came close in the W65 800m where she won in 2:43.30, just over a second down on the UK mark.

Elms also fell a second short in a separate W55 and W60 800m where she won by 15 seconds in 2:32.15 in a time quicker than the W45s ran. It was her 70th national, European or world gold medal.

Kathleen Stewart won W80 triple gold at 100m (19.71), 200m (40.89) and 400m (98.43) and her times will be significant British records if she can replicate when she turns 85 next month.

Others to gain impressive doubles were male sprinters M35 Nicholas Atwell (11.22/22.52), M45 Alan Robertson (11.77/23.53) M50 Mike Coogan (11.64/23.68), M55 Darren Scott (11.87/23.49) and M80 Allan Long (15.63/34.32).

Women doubles came from W40 Lisa Boland (12.99/25.65), W55 Juliet Sidney (14.05/28.69) and W70 Georgina Smith (16.90/34.90).

Jan Ellacott won W60 titles over 200m (29.80) and 400m (68.65).

W65 Nicola Buckwell won over 100m (16.53), 200m (34.45) and the hurdles (17.55) while Sarah Roberts took W70 titles over 400m (80.79), 800m (2:59.26) and 1500m (5:58.81).

Other middle distance doubles went the way of M45 Edmund Adigwe (2:01.88/4:21.45) and W50 Sarah Davies (2:28.48/5:05.06).

In the field, Neil Barton gained a long and triple gold at M40 with 6.21m and 12.82m.

Paula Williams gained a W50 hurdles, shot and javelin triple and her 13.26m shot was just outside her British mark of 13.30m.

Evaun Williams, who dominates the more senior female age groups in world as well as British terms, was a class apart in the W85 shot (8.48m), discus (20.42m), hammer (25.12m) and javelin (22.02) and she came reasonably close to her British and world records in the shot and hammer.

Evaun Williams (Gary Mitchell)

Kevin Murch won the M65 javelin with a 48.67m throw though John Moreland beat him in the discus courtesy of a 47.20m throw.

In a top class M35 800m, European Masters Indoor runner-up Paul Wright won in 1:55.14 ahead of 1500m champion Matthew Revier who set a PB of 1:55.76.

Ian Richards (Gary Mitchell)

The one Olympian to strike gold was Ian Richards, who finished 11th in the 50km walk in Moscow in 1980, and he won the M75 3000m walk in 17:55.19 finishing second overall.

European champion Richards was not the only Olympic competitor though.

Keri Lees finished third in the W50 200m in 28.34 behind Sarah Loades (27.14) and Yvette Henry (27.51).

Keri Lees (far left), Sarah Loads (712), Yvette Henry (704) (Gary Mitchell)

She is better known under her maiden name Keri Maddox where she won the European junior title over 100m hurdles in 1990 and the British 400m hurdles title in 2000 a year she ran in the Olympics. She has returned to competition this year after a long break.

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