Sport
Nachshen breaks two minutes for 800m
Gilad Nachshen has become the first UK under-15 athlete this year to beat two minutes for 800m.
June 21, 2018 10:52
Gilad Nachshen has become the first UK under-15 athlete this year to beat two minutes for 800m.
June 21, 2018 10:52Nachshen, who is 14 and attends Immanuel College, cut his personal best by more than a second to record 1:59.10 in the latest Watford Open Graded Meeting.
“I was placed in a field of older athletes who were aiming for 1:55, and I was knocked around a lot during the race,” remarked Nachshen (left). “I passed half-way in 59 seconds, two seconds slower than I had planned. But I maintained my pace and made a final push in the home straight.”
Nachshen trains twice a week at Allianz Park, under the guidance of Jeremy Sothcott, in a group that includes several Jewish athletes, including David Stone. His programme also includes a Sunday morning session at Parliament Hill.
Nachshen said: “My training at Shaftesbury Barnet has been going really well recently, with a lot of sprint repetition work with short recovery periods.”
He will spend two weeks in Israel on a school trip before representing Hertfordshire at the England Schools Athletics Championships in Birmingham next month.
Meanwhile, Sophie Dowson took fourth place at the England Athletics U23 Pole Vault Championship in Bedford with a clearance of 3.50m.
Eden Davis placed sixth in the U20 100m in 10.67, while Hannah Viner came ninth in the U23 1,500m in 4:36.79.
Viner’s performance followed a third-place finish at the South of England Senior 1,500m Championship and she also set a new PB of 4:23.71 for the distance in a BMC Gold Standard race in Watford.
Idan Gal-Shohet, 17, placed fifth at the South of England U20 Long Jump Championship in Bedford, setting an outdoor season’s best of 6.42m.
Lucie Wolfenden, 16, set a new PB of 3.15m in winning the U17 pole vault event at the Mason Trophy Inter Counties Schools Championships in Birmingham. Wolfenden had won the U15 title in the same competition two years ago.
Lia Radus gained the 1,500m silver medal in the U17 London Schools Championships in Battersea, recording 4:42.20.
The Firsht brothers provided excellent service to Brighton & Hove AC with a win and a second place in the Youth Development League in Brighton. Joshua, 17, won the U20 400m in 52.8. Younger brother Adam, 15, came close to his PB in the U17 800m, crossing the line in 2:03.5.
Jack Davis-Black, 13, beat stiff competition to win the Barnet Schools 1,500m Championship in a new personal best time of 4:46.
Emma Taylor, 17, entered the U20 national rankings in the hammer throw with a distance of 23.86m in the Blackheath & Bromley Open meeting.