British 100m and 200m champion adds 60m title to her collection ahead of meeting with Dina Asher-Smith, while Reece Prescod also impresses on day one of the national indoor championships
Their winning times might not have been quite as blistering as recent headline-grabbing performances, but Daryll Neita and Reece Prescod convincingly lived up to their billing as favourites in the women’s and men’s 60m contests as both grabbed the first British Indoor titles of their careers in Birmingham on Saturday.
It has already been a hugely eventful indoor season for Neita, now the reigning British 100m, 200m and 60m champion, after she came incredibly close to Dina Asher-Smith’s freshly-set national record of 7.04 by running a huge PB of 7.05 in Berlin.
The two will meet each other in seven days’ time for a mouthwatering contest at the Utilita Arena for the World Indoor Tour Final, and the 26-year-old impressed again down the newly-laid sprint straight at the venue, clocking 7.17 to see off the challenge of Asha Philip’s season’s best 7.21 and the 7.30 clocked by Alisha Rees.
“I feel so good right now,” said Neita, who ran 7.37 and 7.18 in the heats and semi-finals respectively. “I came here to get the gold and run some decent times, which I think I did.”
Daryll Neita wins (Getty for British Athletics)
That run in the German capital represented another big step forward for Neita, whose PB was 7.21 just two years ago and 7.11 this time last year. The move away from Rana Reider to work with current coach in Marco Airale, and a group which also contains Prescod and Jeremiah Azu, is clearly having an effect.
“I just know what I want and what I’m meant to achieve,” she added. “I want to run fast, I want to break records, so I’m on my way. I dropped an amazing time in Berlin, which I know I can challenge again. I’ve got that in my head, so I want go faster, but at the same time I’m happy just to come back with the gold.”
In a sport which is crying out for rivalries, the prospect of Britain’s top two facing each other is an enticing one and, though next month’s European Indoor Championships are the top priority, that imminent return to Birmingham is already on Neita’s mind.
“I know next week I’ll be ready to roll. It was good to shake the cobwebs off a bit and next week we’ll see something nice,” she said.
For her part, six-time British Indoor champion Philip put herself in contention for selection to Istanbul by putting together three rounds successfully and gaining the qualifying standard after a string of false starts so far this year. Rees was outside of the mark and twice ran 7.28, just short of matching her Scottish record of 7.27.
Reece Prescod (Getty for British Athletics
Prescod had recorded a noteworthy PB of 6.49 at the same ISTAF meeting in Berlin where Neita had excelled, but wasn’t getting carried away after his run of 6.54 brought gold ahead of training partner Azu (6.57) in Birmingham. Eugene Amo-Dadzie was third in 6.61.
“It’s important to not get too excited, keep the momentum up and just keep working,” was Prescod’s immediate reaction. “Training has been fantastic. Living in Italy is where it’s at. We work hard, we train hard, we get the work done.”
Azu added: “We’re going to war every training session. It’s good to actually put it out on the track and for people to see.”
There were also two mixed classification Para 60m races staged as part of the programme, with Faye Olszowka’s 8.18 taking the women’s contest and Kevin Santos getting the verdict over Zac Shaw after both recorded 7.02 in the men’s event.
In the men’s 60m hurdles, a week of suffering through illness did not prove to be a barrier for David King, who won his third British Indoor title with a run of 7.62 which saw off Andy Pozzi’s 7.81 and secured the European Indoor qualifying mark.
The City of Plymouth athlete reached the World Indoor final in Belgrade last year by virtue of a coin toss but is aiming to leave no room for doubt when it comes to competition in Istanbul.
“I’d like to get into the final by right this year and then contend for a medal,” he said, following a race in which Cameron Fillery completed the podium with a season’s best 7.93. “I don’t see why not. I think it would take a mid to a high 7.50 for a medal and I see no reason why I’m not capable of that.”
It had not been an ideal build-up for the women’s champion, Cindy Sember, either. The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist has had injury problems but insisted she is finding her rhythm again. Unsure as to whether she will contest the European Indoors, an event at which she won a silver medal two years ago, the 28-year-old clocked 8.10 for victory ahead of Marli Jessop’s 8.26 PB and Alicia Barrett’s 8.32.
Jade Ive (Getty for British Athletics)
While the men’s pole vault saw the first champion of the weekend to be crowned, in the form of Charlie Myers, day one was completed by a compelling women’s contest which went right down to the wire.
Jade Ive and Sophie Cook, having matched each other vault for vault, both failed with their three attempts at 4.35m, bringing about a jump-off at the same height. Ive managed to go over, winning her first British Indoor title in six years. Jade Spencer-Smith won bronze with a best of 4.15m.
“I feel over the moon, ecstatic, beyond words honestly,” said Ive. “It’s been a long time coming. What a way to do it – in a jump-off. Pole vaulting is really technical, you have to stick to a plan. I’m not used to big crowds, the clapping gets you going and if you let it take over and overwhelm you then it’ll throw the jump out. Forget the crowd, just stick to your plan and it just comes through.”
With defending men’s champion Harry Coppell not competing, Myers seized his chance. The 2019 champion needed just one effort to take the title, clearing 5.05m at the first time of asking to secure gold.
Three men shared silver, with Ewan Bradley of Loughborough Students, Giffnock North’s Reuben Nairne and Birchfield Harriers’ Jack Phipps all producing first-time clearances of 4.90m.
Reynold Banigo equalled his indoor best with a fourth-round leap of 7.85m to take men’s long jump gold and win the first British Indoor title of his career.
The Sale Harrier has been dealing with knee pain and a slip on the board during the warm-up did not help with pre-event confidence levels, but the reigning national outdoor champion was comfortably out in front.
Harrow AC’s Jack Roach got closest to him with a second-round 7.53m, while Samuel Khogali of Woodford Green Essex Ladies won bronze with his last attempt of the day, reaching 7.45m.
Mary Elcock has only been triple jumping for a year, but already she is a British Indoor champion. Having switched from her main event of long jump, the Woodford Green Essex Ladies athlete finished top of the podium after reaching 12.71m in the fourth and sixth rounds, ensuring she finished ahead of Lily Hulland who had gone into a third-round lead with that distance.
“This is my first indoor champs, so it’s been ‘jumping’ in at the deep end,” said Elcock.
“There is still a lot to work on, it was a little messy. However, I’m very happy to come away with a gold medal. I have been known for being able to pull it out of the bag when I need to.”
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