SO NEAR YET SO FAR FOR PLUCKY JAMES

James Ellington could have come no closer to his first ever Grand Prix final on Saturday (19th) as he crossed the line one hundredth of a second behind third-placed Craig Pickering in his heat.

James clocked 6.72 seconds - one of his fastest ever 60m sprints, although it was inferior to his lifetime best set just seven days earlier of 6.69s.

It was a heat packed with drama with the front three automatically through to the final, and a desperate Pickering throwing himself at the line to edge out his rival.  And behind them was the fast-fading Mark Lewis-Francis who pulled up short with what looked like quite a nasty groin injury.

James Ellington (nearside) misses out on the Grand
Prix 60m final by one hundredth of a second,
 in Birmingham, as captured by photo-finish
technology.

"Craig rotated his right shoulder and that is the only reason he got the nod," said coach John Powell.  "It's ironic because James has been under strict orders never to twist round on the line, as that was a major contributor to his serious hamstring tear last June."

Ellington now returns to winter training after a few days of low key recovery work, having completed what many coaches have described as a miraculous comeback from his injury in Geneva last year.

Meanwhile, another Trackspeed1 sprinter, Matt Threadgold, was competing in the British University Championships, in Sheffield.  He was rounding off what had already been an outstandingly successful indoor season for him, with lifetime best times over 60m, 200m and his specialist distance of 400m.

In Sheffield he drew a nightmare lane two in the heats, and it looked as if it might be all over before it began, but incredibly he won the race in 22.47s to reach the semi-final.

In the semi, he drew lane four, and improved to 22.29s, but failed to qualify for the final in second place after a poor first bend left him too much to do.

Matt was far from done though, and subsequently put in an outstanding relay leg in the 4 x 200m final, taking Loughborough University to gold with an astonishing split time recorded as 20.1 seconds.  

ELLINGTON CHASES THE BIG PRIZE!

Trackspeed1 sprinter James Ellington is having one last go at chasing the big prize of another indoor 60 metres persoal best today (Saturday 19th).

James becomes the first ever Trackspeed1 athlete to take part in an indoor Grand Prix. He contests the 60m alongside Britain's best sprinting talent as well as some of the leading sprinters from around the world.

Ellington recorded his fastes time to date at Shefield last weekend during the UK Championships - 6.69 seconds.

HUSSAIN DRIVEN ROUND THE BEND!

Day two of the UK Championships saw both 200m sprinters reach finals, although Jason Hussain's first ever national final quite literally drove him around the bend!

A vastly improved 21.64s heat time compared with earlier season form was three hundredths of a second off the race winner, but that fraction of time meant that he was drawn in the dreaded lane one for the main final.

"I really would have loved to have been one place slower," he said, "because then I would have been relegated to the B final and got lane 6.  As it was though, I did get to my first ever individual national championship final, so I guess that's a line for the CV!"

Hussain battled well with the tight bends, but was never going to impact on the leaders who enjoyed the benefits of a far wider turn, and finished sixth in 22.29s.

Jason Hussain prepares to battle with the dreaded inside bend in the final
of the UK Trials and Championships, in Sheffield

The second Trackspeed1 athlete in action was Lawrence Wooldridge, who impressed with an indoor lifetime's fastest time indoors of 21.74s in the heat, earning himself a berth in the B final.  Both runs were from lane 4 with the final seeing him clock 21.85s.

"Both lads did themselves proud," commented coach John Powell afterwards, "and they should be giving themselves a pat on the back for producing top performances when it matters - at a national championship."

The indoor season is all but over now for Trackspeed1, with James Ellington the last senior to be in action - he will go in the Birmingham Grand Prix on Saturday (19th) over 60m where he will hope to take advantage of a notoriously fast track to further improve his lifetime best mark of 6.69s.  The younger athletes in the squad context their national championships at the same venue a week later.

ELLINGTON IS THE COMEBACK KING!

Trackspeed1 sprinter James Ellington completed one of the most spectacular comebacks ever in athletics this weekend (12th Feb), as he soared to a lifetime's fastest 60 metres, in the UK Championships, in Sheffield.

Barely seven months ago his whole athletics career hung by a thread, after a horrendous hamstring injury in Geneva threatened to end an illustrious track record spanning 12 years.

Ellington, now 25, clocked 6.69s in the semi-final at the English Institute of Sport - the second time he has improved his lifetime best this winter.  Although his sixth placing in the final was a disappointment compared with what he promised, he won many plaudits by the fact he was there at all.

Coach John Powell was upset with the final, but not because the athlete under-performed: "James deserved far better than that after the work he has put in this last few months," he said, "and both he and I know he is capable of running far faster.  But the perspective is that he has gone from being unable to walk 7 months ago, to one of the country's top 60m sprinters again, and that is nothing short of totally phenomenal."

National coach Tony Hadley commented: "The boy did well - I remember the injury in Geneva - it's amazing he's back at this sort of level so quickly.  Incredible"

Mentor coach Clarence Calendar said: "He's going to fly over 100m.  It's great he's back so quickly - many athletes in the past have had serious injuries like that and have taken more than a year to get back to even vaguely good form."

Ellington clocked a cool 6.76s in the heat, cruising most of the way, and taking second behind Mark Lewis-Francis, and was sixth in the final with 6.72 after his best ever run in the semi.  He now looks toward the Grand Prix next Saturday as a likely final curtain on his indoor season, and that could be impressive too as he takes to the fastest track in the country in Birmingham!

Day two (Sunday 13th) will see Trackspeed1's Jason Hussain and Lawrence Wooldridge take to the indoor boards over 200 metres.  The squad's indoor season will close in 2 weeks with the England age-group championships.  Powell will be enthused for the summer though. With indoor pb's in abundance, and four of his top sprinters abstaining due to injury niggles, this summer could develop into one of the most successful yet!

SHEFFIELD BECKONS

Trackspeed1 will have all eyes on Sheffield this weekend with three of its most talented stars in action in the European Championship trials, to be held in the English Institute of Sport venue in Yorkshire.

James Ellington will lead the squad's line-up as a classic fly in the ointment for the normal sprint stars, after his superb second place in the Lee Valley London games final a couple of weeks ago.  After his victory over the likes of Harry Akinees Arietee and Craig Pickering he will be confident of a really positive performance in Sheffield.

Jason Hussain has been showing some very encouraging repetitions in training recvently which suggests that he could spring a surprise int he 200m, while training colleague Lawrence Wooldridge has been running so well, this comparative unknown on the national scene could make a name for himself.

Trackspeed1's Matthew Threadgold would have competed in the 400m, after a fantastic pb of 48.50 midweek over 400m, but he has decided to prioritise the British Universities Championships next week.  And Dwayne Grant would have been a further competitor had it not been for a groin strain that has forced him to shelve his indoor season.

"I've never been so positive over an indoor season," said Trackspeed1 coach John Powell.  "Our guys are in serious form and could really turn heads this weekend.  It's a pity the likes of Dwayne and Matt aren;'t going to be here, but that's life, and it all points toward a really super summer season."