A sensational weekend for Trackspeed1 in two major cities was hailed by coach, John Powell, as one of the best in years for his squad. And it was rounded off perfectly by a medal in the World Championships Trials, in Birmingham, for 400m sprinter Set Osho. Set, whose season had promised to end in tatters earlier in the year as old injuries failed to respond to therapy, has switched into overdrive after things at last began to click a few weeks ago. And in Birmingham on Sunday, he topped that with his first ever senior national championship medal, despite having to run the whole race blind from lane eight!
Former European Junior gold medalist Osho, a graduate from Brunel University a year ago, and who lives in Brighton, was in the form of his life, as he cruised to an easy second place in the heats in 47.88s, but then pulled out his fourth lifetime best mark of the year in the semi-final of 46.45s. He qualified for the final in third spot, and is pictured left in the closing stages as the front three cross the line clear of the rest.
The final was one of the last events on the track of the entire championships, and placed Set in the lane he loves to hate, which left him no sight of the opposition until the final throes of the home bend. Entering the straight in fourth, he had Leeds sprinter Richard Strachan, a member of the winning British relay in the recent European team contest in his sights, and never gave up. Out-dipping him at the line earned him a bronze medal, and an outside chance of a trip to the World Championships in Berlin next month as part of the 4 x 400m relay squad.
"Set has improved vastly this year," said John Powell, "and he has a lot more in the tank. Once we resolved his injury issues, he began to deliver just as I told him he would, and he simply can't stop getting better. There were some athletes not in Birmingham, but the relay selection is far from a done deal. If Set can get a lane in the Crystal Palace Grand Prix on July 24th, another personal best a bit closer to sub-46 seconds might just put him into the mix!"
Another Trackspeed1 athlete who will certainly be running at Crystal Palace is James Ellington, whose sixth place in the 100m final ahead of Olympic Gold medallist Mark Lewis-Francis, and Leevan Yearwood, who had chalked up an albeit windy 10.10s in the Bislet Games Golden League meeting a week earlier.
It was an outstanding day's work by Ellington (seen in action in Birmingham above, centre picture), who himself had put down a lifetime best 10.27s a fortnight earlier. A headwind in the Midlands eliminated any chance of that being repeated, but to reach the final of arguably the most hotly-contested and high profile event in the championships was little short of phenomenal.
"James got into the final out of grit, determination, not to mention talent," said John Powell afterwards, "and I am delighted for him. Notably he was the only athlete in that final who receives absolutely no support whatsoever from the governing body or national lottery. He is having to do things the hard way. But whatever your take on that, he cannot be denied a fantastic weekend's work off a winter that was way short of the mark. Next year he will be fitter, stronger and faster!"
Meanwhile, in Sheffield the English Schools Championships were taking place, and Trackspeed1 athletes again hit a rich vein of form. Savannah Echel-Thomson (pictured below left) shattered her lifetime best over 400m to slice almost a second off her previous best mark to record a 55.43s effort, earning bronze in the Senior Girls 400m final. Her result was a further boost to her coach while watching his seniors power through to finals in Birmingham, as he received the highly emotional call from an athlete who was busy engaging with cloud nine!
In the Intermediate Boys 400m Tom Bensted (16) was the fastest qualifier into the final, having run the fourth fastest time of his life in the semi's of 49.14, but a blanket finish saw him edged into a surprise third. It was to be a happier ending though, as he gained selection for the home international on July 18th anyway, representing England in Belfast.
"It was a close-run final apparently," said Powell, "and Tom knew he had gone out too slowly in the semi, so he tried to correct it in the final, but overcompensated. Only a tenth of a second separated all first three finishers, so it was an ok run, but it was great that he got the international for a second successive year - very few people achieve that."
In the Intermediate Girls 300m, Alleyn's School student Frederica Foster (16) from Beckenham, was expected to be among the medals, but unfortunately failed to deliver in the final and ended a disappointing fifth. It was a different story for training partner Laura Langowski, however, who produced a season's best performance in the B 400m final in Birmingham to take fourth place in a keenly contested event. The Midland Champion from Croydon said afterwards that she was pleased with her performance as it compared well with a number of top seniors who failed to deliver on the day.
Now the drama moves to Trackspeed1's home base - Crystal Palace. James Ellington has already been assured a lane in one of the 100m heats on July 24th when World Record holder and Olympic Champion Usain Bolt will feature. Set Osho should also be involved, and running on home ground where they train will undoubtedly be an advantage.
The opther resuolts from the weekend saw Ellington contesting the 200m on Sunday, but that did prove one step too far as he ran out of gas, and failed to qualify for the final. Training partner Jason Hussain continued his remarkable comeback after his serious health issues in 2008, and recorded a season's best 22.16s in the same event, but also failed to progress.
Set Osho, though, was the one who was all smiles travellilng home down the M40 on Sunday night. Below he proudly displays the bronze medal he won in Birmingham (enlarged)
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