No Rest For Our International Athletes As Records Tumble!

Earlier in the summer, Issy Morris, who moves up to Year M11 next week, won the 3000m at the Welsh Schools Championships held in Cardiff on 5th July, setting a new Championship record of 10 mins 10.62 secs in the process. This resulted in Issy being selected to represent Wales at the SIAB Schools Under 17 Track & Field International held in Cardiff on 19th July. Here, Issy ran a very good race against a top class field, eventually finishing in 6th place with a time of 10.16.92. The winner – Harriet Knowles-Jones – broke the record set by a young Scot named Yvonne Murray 33 years ago. So a memorable race to be involved in!

Issy was also picked to represent Wales in the 3000m at the Celtic Games held in Ireland on 9th/10th August but unfortunately this clashed with the British Triathlon Championships held in Liverpool and so she had to withdraw from the Welsh team. It was unfortunate for Issy to have a clash of international fixtures and a tough decision for her to make. She made up for it though by finishing a superb 6th in her race at the British Triathlon Championships. Issy also competed in the final event of the Super Series at the British Triathlon Under 20s Festival in Nottingham last week … so watch this space for news on that!

Meanwhile, Amelia Reynolds, who is also moving up to Year M11, had an equally busy summer! At the Welsh Schools Championships in Cardiff on 5th July, Amelia bagged a bronze in the 200m and followed this up with a silver in the 100m. On 15th July, Amelia was then selected for the Senior Welsh team where she competed in an international against athletes from around the world who were preparing for the Commonwealth Games. In her 200m debut in her first senior professional competition, Amelia finished an incredible 2nd place with a time of 24.73 seconds.

In the SIAB School’s International in Cardiff on 19th July, Amelia represented Wales in the 100m and 200m where she claimed the first girls’ medal. In the 200m, she ran a really fine race to take second (24.46) and the silver medal behind the event record holder, Charlotte McLennaghan (England), who won for a second year (24.09). In the 100m, four tenths of a second separated the winner Mega Marrs (Ireland, 12.01) from her Irish team-mate in sixth place, with Amelia running 12.19 seconds to miss out on a bronze by just two-hundredths of a second.

At the Celtic Games in Dublin on 9th/10th August, Amelia was selected for the Wales U18 team. She won her 100m race and was part of the Wales 4 x 100m team that won their race in 45.93 seconds, setting a new Celtic Games record in the process! Amelia will be going on the compete in the British Championships on 30th/31st August in Bedford.

Our congratulations go to Issy and Amelia on an outstanding summer of competition.