UK records under threat

So Chris Thompson is all set to make an assault on Jon Brown’s British 10,000m record in Stanford tomorrow morning. I found it really interesting that Chris stuck his neck out and said he’s gunning for the record, because to do so would involve smashing his PB (I mean smash in the traditional sense of the word, not the Andy Gray sense). His early season form over 3000m would indicate he’s in better shape than last year, though that performance didn’t involve consciously chasing a time. I think this could go one of two ways – having stated his intent he puts everything into the run and he makes sure he gets the time, or the added pressure becomes a hindrance, especially if he lags behind the pace. One very important variable he can’t control is the weather – I imagine conditions at Stanford were perfect last year, I hope wind strength and humidity don’t become a factor this year. It’s impossible to predict and therefore really tantalising!
I for one would love to see Chris break the record, he’s a genial and likeable guy, and would be an example, just like Dame Kelly Holmes, of what can be achieved if you continue to believe in yourself despite many years of injury and underachievement. While I admire Jon Brown’s achievements he’s become estranged from British Athletics and I seem to recall he made some pretty negative comments before finally switching allegiance to Canada. So I’d rather the record was owned by someone that was happy to run for GB than someone that wasn’t.
I think it’s great that athletes and indeed fans are talking about breaking British records again, off the top of my head he’s a few record-breaking predictions:

Men:

400m hurdles: Dai Greene, highly likely this year
400m: Martyn Rooney, 30% chance if fully fit
Long Jump: Greg Rutherford/Chris Tomlinson – 30% chance this year if both stay fit
5000m: Mo Farah again, if interested
Discus: Brett Morse, likely in the next two years
Pole Vault: Steve Lewis/Luke Cutts – 30% chance this year

Women:

100m: Jodie Williams, 80% likely within three years
200m: Jodie Williams, 30% likely, same time frame
Hammer: Sophie Hitchon, highly likely within two years
Pole Vault: Kate Dennison/Holly Bleasdale, both likely to exceed current record in next two seasons
100m hurdles: Tiffany Ofili, highly likely this year
Heptathlon: Jessica Ennis, likely in next two years, barring injury
4 x 100m: possible in next two years if team comprises: Williams, Nelson, Philip and Kwakye all fully fit

I hope all these come off, and it would be interesting to know, just for fun, if anyone else has some predictions up their sleeve . . .

You could add Ennis in the HJ and both men's and women's hammer records. Maybe also men's marathon if Mo Farah switches to it after 2012.

Lisa Dobriskey in the w1500m in a one-off fast race
w4x400m next year Cox-Ohuruogu-PSD-Sanders in that order, if all fit
w4x100m - I'd replace Philip with Abi Oyepitan and possibly Nelson with Ofili
w800m - Maz Okoro, if she ever 1-stayed injury free and 2-focused on the 800m, rather than keeping an eye on a possible place on the 4x400m. There shouldn't be a need to call on her/Meadows from now on, in all honesty

Well, East End Bodybuilder, it looks that the women's hammer isn't under threat anymore... It's already gone! ... So a good call there.... But Sophie Hitchon's new mark of 69.43 may most likely turn short-lived by the sight of things!

So, which is next in line now? Two could come under attack in a few hours from now so let's look forward to it!

This year

For me Tiffany Ofili

greg Rutherford if he has an injury free season

Hope that Steve lewis can successfully "re-learn" the PV under Dan Pfaff - his performances flattened out under Steve Rippon and I felt he was never going to get through the magic world class 5.80 barrier. Glad he switched. Had similar feelings with Kate Dennison (under Steve Rippon). Hope the switch to Scott Simpson and the competition from Holly Bleasdale pushes 1 of them through the magic 4.70
Keeping an eye out for Max Eaves

Greg Rutherford is all but back into full training after a slight injury in a 100m race last month and has already resumed jumping sessions since last week as far as I know, BillieTheZwerg. Overall, he looks in pretty good shape ahead of the summer.

jjimbojames

Spot on with your W 4x400m quartet but
I would run'The Beast from the East' on anchor !

Sophie Hitchon and Tiffany Porter (nee Ofili) have re-written the record books and it's not even June yet. So who's it going to be next? I have a feeling that Dai Greene and Rutherford/Tomlinson are the next cabs off the rank. Going on performances in the last few weeks I would also add that there is a possibility of Dwain Chambers being in with a shout of the 100m record - clocking 10.05 despite easing up in Brazil suggests he could've run around 9.95 if pushed.

By the way, wait for my pre-Daegu medal prediction where I plump for 15 golds and 50 medals - let's see if that comes off eh?

East End Bodybuilder wrote:Sophie Hitchon and Tiffany Porter (nee Ofili) have re-written the record books and it's not even June yet. So who's it going to be next? I have a feeling that Dai Greene and Rutherford/Tomlinson are the next cabs off the rank. Going on performances in the last few weeks I would also add that there is a possibility of Dwain Chambers being in with a shout of the 100m record - clocking 10.05 despite easing up in Brazil suggests he could've run around 9.95 if pushed.

By the way, wait for my pre-Daegu medal prediction where I plump for 15 golds and 50 medals - let's see if that comes off eh?

Is that for Europe?

Personally, I'm waiting to see whether we could obtain one more UK record, or best in the context of the event, by Jo Jackson over the 20km race walking test event on the Mall today, conditions should be good and accomodating for the event as I gather.

By the look of things, the UK record that comes under immense threat next is Jon Brown's landmark of 27:18.14 over 10000m as Mo Farah is lining up at the Prefontaine Classic on Friday and he looks in formidable form to devastate it. This is a high calibre race, there are going to be many runners capable of either sub 27 or low 27 mins and conditions should be very favourable for such a venture.

But also keep an eye on Greg Rutherford in the long jump, he's got some big jumps in him and there could be a breakthrough in the shaping.

I´m expecting Mo to shatter the record and just miss out on sub 27mins... Hope I am wrong and he does 26:59

If PSD can sort her hurdling technique, along with the fact that we have four international level w400mH'ers, she could well be under 53 next year, and then you never know!

I'd love to see Eilidh close the gap, and Tasha to get back to her Beijing form

I think Mo might lay claim to having "sneaked" past the 10k record

All credit to Isabre who was the first to predict that the 10,000m record would go. I've just watched the race on playback. It's pretty astounding to watch Mo leave Tadesse and Merga for dead over the last two laps. Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of Mo's performance is how easy he made it look. He was barely out of breath when he crossed the line, and makes you wonder if he could run even faster if pushed . . .

Here's a link to the race, courtesy of Armchair fan on the AW forum:

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&event_id=120

Thanks a lot, East End Bodybuilder, I couldn't watch the race as I had to do my 'homework' for a job interview today and couldn't deal with it at length since I had to go earlier on. Now I'm gonna lie back and savour the whole race! Cheers

Holly Bleasdale breaks the UK pole Vault record twice in one afternoon (does she not know she's going against PV protocol here - 1cm at a time Holly!), to take the record out to 4.70m - pretty unbelievable considering this was a low key junior meet in Mannheim. So that's four senior records so far - Sophie Hitchon (hammer), Mo Farah (10,000m), Tiffany Ofili-Porter (100m Hurdles) and now Holly Bleasdale. Also remember that Greg Rutherford was a wisp on the wind gauge away from breaking the Long Jump record in Eugene too. I have a feeling that Dai Greene, Rutherford or Chris Tomlinson still have a good chance of setting a UK record this season.

Great performance there from Holly - 4.70 is very credible indeed!

With regards to bringing forth the athletics news coverage, Keep up the good work folks with

Did anyone ever mention that Tomlinson was credibe threat to the British record?! LOL

Well...he's just done 8.35m ( wind +0.9 metres per second ). Wasn't sure he had it in him LOL...anyway, well done to the fella, great stuff

Well, I for one was getting sick of no records being broken this week but Chris Tomlinson has delivered in Paris. He has broken Greg Rutherford's mark to regain the UK record, jumping 8.35m (+0.9) in the 3rd round. He currently leads a stellar field, Irving Saladino is 2nd with 8.19, Rutherford 3rd with 8.11, other greats such as Lapierre, Mokoena and Reif are further back. Just to make a general observation about Tomlinson - he may not have jumped particularly big last year but it was his most consistent season and was over 8m in nearly every competition. I think when he initially broke the UK record he was rather overwhelmed by the whole thing and was too diffident in the aftermath. In the last few years he's matured, become more confident and hungry, and been bold enough to talk about jumping 8.30 - 8.40m. It's great to see that ambition realised, and I'm so pleased for him.

EEB - would agree that Tomlinson has matured somewhat. And agree too, that he was incredibly consistent last year, even if he didn't set the world alight. In the earlier years, he really struggled as a result of the lack of maturity - perhaps more so, in my view, than other similarly aged athletes...but of course, as always, just my own view

Big jump for Rutherford as well. Maybe the competition between them is also helping.

Otherwise rather subdued performances all round but admitedly against world class fields.

It's certainly true Izzy, that Tomlinson does have an insouciant demeanour - not what you'd expect from a man who hails from Middlesbrough. He is married to an actress, however, so maybe he's an urbane sophisticate and doesn't conform to the caveman stereotype of men from the North East like, say Jimmy Nail or Gazza.

Now it's over to Dai Greene - The Evening Standard did a lengthy piece on him yesterday, I'd love to post the link but it's not working on the www.thisislondon.co.uk website. It says that he's an epileptic and diet/exercise helps him control this condition, and although Ryan Giggs is his sporting hero and he was in the Swansea FC academy for five years he left that at 17 due to the brutal attitudes of the coaches. That destroyed his confidence and led him to search out another sport, I'm sure we're all glad he did.

I think that Goldie Sayers and Mo Farah (5,000m) still have a chance of breaking a record this season.

East End Bodybuilder wrote:It's certainly true Izzy, that Tomlinson does have an insouciant demeanour - not what you'd expect from a man who hails from Middlesbrough. He is married to an actress, however, so maybe he's an urbane sophisticate and doesn't conform to the caveman stereotype of men from the North East like, say Jimmy Nail or Gazza.

Now it's over to Dai Greene - The Evening Standard did a lengthy piece on him yesterday, I'd love to post the link but it's not working on the www.thisislondon.co.uk website. It says that he's an epileptic and diet/exercise helps him control this condition, and although Ryan Giggs is his sporting hero and he was in the Swansea FC academy for five years he left that at 17 due to the brutal attitudes of the coaches. That destroyed his confidence and led him to search out another sport, I'm sure we're all glad he did.

I think that Goldie Sayers and Mo Farah (5,000m) still have a chance of breaking a record this season.

He was also featured in The Times. He learnt to play football with his left foot so that apparently has helped his hurdling.

I think that with so much more of the season left there is a chance of at least 5 more records to come. Mo Farah is quite likely to break the 5000m record - possibly tomorrow if the weather is kind and opposition strong. Not sure Goldie Sayers can do it though.

Dai Greene could do it in Daegu as could Holly Bleasdale (again). Maybe also Barbara Parker in the women's 3000m steeplechase and Offili in the 100m hurdles. Hinchon could do it again as well. Outside chances in the men's discuss and LJ (again).

Fun now to speculate who's next.

It's also entirely possible that Shara Procter will break the women's Long Jump record too.

New GB discuss record for Lawrence Okoye of 67.63. Now reported as number 3 in the World.

Just seen reports that Lawrence Okoye has broken the UK Discus record with a throw of 67.63m at Barnet Copthall this afternoon. Also in this comp the fast improving Abdul Buhari has gone to No. 3 on the all-time list with 65.44m. At the moment this is what's being reported elsewhere on the 'net, hopefully official confirmation will follow shortly. This is pretty astonishing considering it's Okoye's first year using the senior implement. The high standards he set last year, when he was new to the event suggested something special was possible, however! This may also be a world U23 record as well. He recently talked about being pleased with his technical progress which has led to more consistency. I think for him, it's not even a matter of training to improve his strength, but simply of practice so he fine tunes his technique. If he continues at this rate will we see our first 70m thrower?

There's been a lot of talk about our improvement in the heavy throws across the 'net this year and certain people are cynical of the good performances at Bedford and Loughborough. I understand these venues are particularly good for throws but if the national governing body wanted to really inflate throw performances they'd stage meets in Pembrokeshire on or Dartmoor perhaps where the wind really does rip through you. I hope people don't detract from Okoye's performance in a London suburb that just so happened to be on a breezy day.

Thanks to Isabre for this breaking news. He's speculating that Brett Morse might not even make the team for Daegu.

teassoc wrote:New GB discuss record for Lawrence Okoye of 67.63. Now reported as number 3 in the World.

Don't think too many people saw that one coming! I guess the cynics will insist it was a freak wind or something but it seems British heavy throws are on the up at last...granted from a pretty low base, but still...

Call it the "London Effect" ?

Be nice to see something good in men's javelin now.

I'd love those cynics to say as much to Lawrence's face, I think the consequences would be highly entertaining. I wasn't in North London yesterday, about 40 miles away and it didn't strike me as a particularly windy day. Some of the wind readings for the jumps were high - JJ Jegede landed a 8m jump but with a +4.8m reading. My calculations say that's 10.8 miles an hour, so it was breezy but not exactly blowing a gale. You've got to bear in mind that Okoye threw 63m in his first ever comp with the senior disc - I don't have the records to hand but I imagine that's the best ever debut performance by a British athlete by a long way and clearly a portent of great things. Britain is the windiest country in Europe - are we all supposed to feel guilty about that and not bother recording good throws performances? The cold, wind and rain doesn't exactly help most other events, so you might as well make the most of it.
Speculation about more records is mounting elsewhere on the 'net, and apart from the obvious candidates - Dai Greene and Mo Farah, people are talking up Barbara Parker's chances of breaking the UK steeplechase record. Her PB 9:35.17 is not far off Helen Clitheroe's 9:29.14 mark, and she's set new bests at 5,000m and the mile this year. So a new 'chase record is possible - not inevitable - but possible.

East End Bodybuilder wrote: Speculation about more records is mounting elsewhere on the 'net, and apart from the obvious candidates - Dai Greene and Mo Farah, people are talking up Barbara Parker's chances of breaking the UK steeplechase record. Her PB 9:35.17 is not far off Helen Clitheroe's 9:29.14 mark, and she's set new bests at 5,000m and the mile this year. So a new 'chase record is possible - not inevitable - but possible.

Speculation re Barbara Parker's chances on here as well EBB!

Still think Mo Farrah is the most likely to break a record this evening - in the 5000m.

Seems like this year is better than most for national records being broken?

It seems like forever since the last UK record was broken so it's a welcome relief to see Sophie Hitchon break the drought this afternoon. Hitchon has improved on her own Hammer record by flinging the metal orb out to 69.59m in Ostrava. Her effort yielded Bronze in the final of the European U23 Champs, which was won by Romanian Bianca Perie, who set a Championship Record of 71.59. Hitchon now has a few B standard qualifying marks under her belt, the next meaningful target for her is 71.50m which is the A standard for the worlds. It's difficult to say if she'll achieve this in time but hopefully she'll be over 70m before the season is out.

More good news indeed , EEB !

Even if the 71.50 is out of reach for now , she will surely be selected for Daegu on the strength of the Bs , will she not?

I'm not fully au fait with all the complexities of the selection system, but my reading of it is that if Hitchon hit the A standard it would have more impact on other athletes in an event. So, if in one event three athletes have only the B standard UKA is unlikely to select all of them, but if one athlete gets an A, it's more likely an athlete with a B standard will also be selected. How this would play out in the Hammer is that if Hitchon threw the A of 71.50m, and, say Sarah Holt really kicked on and went from her PB of 66.46m to hit the B of 69m, there's more chance of Holt getting on the team. That's only my interpretation, if others know better I'm happy to be corrected.

I thought you could only select one athlete with the B standard. TBH regardless of how well she does at the trials surely she has to be selected. She has proven herself in age group champs & has the (B standard) distances. This is exactly the sort of athlete we should be giving more experience too.

Mo Farah breaks his own UK 5,000m record with 12:53.11 in Monaco this evening. Another amazing performance by Farah in a Jeux Sans Frontiers style race. He managed to win and set a new record despite shambolic pace making, major bunching of the field, a fall by Galen Rupp, and a DNF by Chris Solinsky who was jostled off the track by Merga and ended up in the trackside landscaping lit like a fuse.

Thankfully after the pace maker dropped out Farah took it on, whittled the field down to five and then had enough of a kick to hold off the usual Kenyan/Ethiopian players. His last lap - 53.7, which deserved a record alone. Well done Mo, again!

Tiffany Ofili-Porter sets a PB and a new UK record, finishing 3rd in the 100m Hurdles in Monaco, clocking 12.60, behind another flying performance by Oceania record-holder Sally Pearson who wins with 12.51. Great to see Ofili-Porter improve on her own record, and she is now converging on the world's best.

That run by Farah was the best i've seen him run. he just seems to be getting better and better. it is incredible the jumps he's making this season. how old is he again? its really coming on now. a true world favourite for this year and next!

On Radio 5 Live Mike Costello has revealed that Farah said tonight's race was a loaded field 'everyone is here' . . . everyone except Kenenisa Bekele. Either Farah knows something about Bekele's knee injury that we don't or that's a rather careless omission. I hope Mo goes from strength to strength and wins World/Olympic Gold - but he'll need to run 12:40 or quicker to beat a fully fit Bekele.

Every athlete has there time, I think Bekeles best could be behind him, not to say he won't come back strong , just maybe not the heights he hit before. Farah is looking great now, seems to be able to run and win anyway he chooses. Off decent pace making that run could have been a lot quicker IMO.
Still running in Daegu against teams of Africans will be the real test of just how good he's become.

Regarding Mo's chances in Daegu and London, these races don't have pace makers so winning times are unlikely to be super fast. Mo could have run faster tonight with better pacing so his win despite everything else going on must make him one of the favorites, if not the favorite in the 5000m and 10000m.

Brilliant effort from Mo.
Just wish he had delayed switching
coaches for a year !

I've read elsewhere on the 'net that 19 U23, U20 and U17 UK records have been set this year so far. This includes the 11.18 Gold medal run by Jodie Williams in the 100m yesterday. This broke Kathy Cook's 11.27 mark set for the UK U20 100m in Mexico in 1979. Always good to see a record set at high altitude being wiped out, I for one hope that this is the first of many times that Williams improves on Cook's records. Given that Williams' early season was severely disrupted by A Levels, you've got to take your hat off to her. I think it's likely she'll come close to 11.1 this year and will be flirting with the 11 secs barrier within two years, barring injury.

tootingmick, just a polite little question. What do you mean about not switching coaches?

Great performances from the british athletes

Farah is flying...he is proving he deserves to be considered as truly world class. And it is clear, how much hard work he has put in to get to where he is in terms of his ability, and his growing standing and reputation! Top stuff