LAURA MISSES OUT ON TOKYO AFTER INJURY BLOW

Posting a picture of  herself on her hands and knees, a devastated Laura Weightman confided on social media on Thursday that she would be unable to take part in the British Athletics Championships at Manchester at the weekend.
 
‘It breaks my heart that I won’t be on the start line’, she confided, revealing a small hamstring injury sustained in training the previous week had ruled her out.
 
Having competed in two previous Olympic games, the Championships were also doubling as trials for Tokyo Olympics selection, and Laura was strongly placed to make it three in a row.
 
While she held the Olympic qualifying time already, having run 14 minutes 35.54 seconds in Monaco in August of last year, she was  dependent both on the discretion of the selectors as to whether she would be selected and also on her injury clearing up in time.
 
Sadly, the selectors announced the British team on Tuesday evening, naming Eilish McColgan in both the 5000 and 10000m and  so confirming Laura will be missing out; a very hard cross to bear after being in a rich vein of form last year despite all that was going on in the world.
 
On Sunday the 5000m was won by Blackburn’s Jess Judd in a time of 15:10.54 with Amy Markovic of Wakefield in second place. Both athletes also hold the Olympic qualifying time and will definitely be going.

A disconsolate Laura Weightman in the picture posted on social media. Image: Dan Vernon

On the previous afternoon, three Morpeth Harriers took place in track finals.
 
Qualifying strongly on the Friday night  for the Men’s 1500m final with a time of 3:45.78, James Young took his place in a large field of some fifteen runners less than 24 hours later.
 
A slow-paced first 400m saw Young  venture to the front on the second lap, with the pace cranking up in the second part of a  race eventually won by Josh Kerr of Edinburgh AC in 3:40.72 with club colleague Jake Wightman second in 3:40.77.
 
Young finished in 9th place in a time of 3:45.51, a little adrift of his personal best set in April in the States of 3:37.72, but will certainly have profited from the outing.
 
A couple of hours later  Morpeth Harriers Scott Beattie and Rory Leonard took part in the Men’s 5000m, a straight final.
 
Another initially tactical race, experienced international Andrew Butchart of Central AC surged powerfully with less than 600m to go but was unable to shake off Patrick Dever of Preston,  Dever winning in a time of 13:37.30.
 
Beattie, who had travelled over from the States where, like Young, he is studying, had a good run to record a personal best of 13:58. 14 when finishing in 11th place and will undoubtedly have profited from the experience. Leonard was, sadly, one of four athletes, however, who did not finish the race.
 
There was some consolation for Leonard, however, with news that his selection for GB in the European Under 23 Championships, now scheduled for Tallinn in July, has been confirmed.
 
Two ex-Morpeth Harriers took part in the Men’s Shot Putt event on the Sunday, with Andrew Knight, now based on the South coast with City of Portsmouth, finishing in 6th with a best of 16.05 metres and Craig Charlton, now of Woodford Green, throwing 14.86 for 9th. Scott Linden of York was the only athlete to record an over 20 metre throw in winning (2.22m).