For the second year in a row, the indoor masters season culminated in a major global event held in Torun, Poland with some 3440 athletes taking part across 7 days of competition in the 14th European Masters Athletics Indoor Championships.
GB sent a strong team made up of 330 athletes, including ex-Olympic 100m finalist Dwain Chambers alongside six members of the Blackheath & Bromley Masters Team.
Sadly Ian Firla’s championships was ended on the first day of competition when he pulled up injured in the heats of the M50 400m. Thankfully it didn’t appear too serious and hopefully won’t impact his preparations for the outdoor season.
Clem Leon was on track early on Day 2, finishing 5th in his heat of the M65 60m with a time of 8.91 secs, a couple of hundredths off his seasons best and just seven hundredths away from qualifying for the next round as a non fastest qualifier. Clem was back in action later in the week in the triple jump, finishing 11th with a best of 8.79m. He also competed in the 200m clocking a seasons best 29.98 secs. Finally he teamed up with Brian Slaughter, Tennyson James and Phil Clayton to earn a 5th place finish in the M65 4x200m relay in a time of 1.54.70. A solid week’s work for Clem, who was pleased to be in one piece after a mid-race hamstring injury in Torun last year.
Also in action in the 60m heats on Day 2 was Duayne Bovell, a consistent high level performer throughout the winter, ranking number 2 in the UK in 2024 in the M35 category. He eased through the 1st round and had high hopes having qualified 2nd fastest in the semi finals. The final was a great race, won by the outstanding Anthony Couffe from France and Duayne wasn’t far behind in 4th, missing out on bronze by just one hundredth of a second, despite running a seasons best 7.12 secs. The result was made even more agonising having also finished 4th in the World Indoor Champs last year, however in such a strong masters division those achievements are huge and certainly something to be proud of – that global medal will surely come soon.
Finally on Day 2 in the M40 60m, Ashley Reid finished 3rd in his heat in a personal best 7.67 secs, lowering his own club record by one hundredth and qualifying for the semi finals. The same day he competed in the M40 Long Jump achieving another personal best of 5.68m for a 7th placed finish. Later in the week he was in action in the 200m, qualifying for the semi finals with a seasons best of 25.01 secs – a time which also cemented his place in the M40 4x200m relay team.
Alongside Marvin Edwards, Michael Omakobia and Micheal Louise they finished 3rd in the relay, behind strong German and Polish teams, in a time of 1:36.91 for his first global medal – a fantastic way to round off the Championships.
The following day saw our female sprinters take to the track. Louisa Vallins came through a tough heat in the W45 60m to win in a personal best of 8.15 secs, a time which she would go on to lower in the final, holding her customary form to finish 3rd in 8.11 secs, just one hundredth away from silver. That time also ranked her number 1 in the W45 category in the UK for 2024, and a hugely impressive 6th on the all time British Record list. It was also a club record to boot – awesome performance!
Lastly Helen Godsell lined up in her heat for the W70 60m. There was no easing in to the final for Helen who was running in another postcode to her competitors and clocked a time of 9.25 secs, which was only four hundredths away from the W70 World Record. In the final, she went even quicker, winning gold in 9.22 secs, enough for a new European Record…..and that world record was tantalisingly only one hundredth away. It wasn’t long before she was able to call herself a W70 world record holder however. Having qualified 2nd fastest for the W70 200m final, where 5 of the 6 lanes were filled by Brits, she won a fantastic final chased home by compatriot Caroline Powell beating her by four hundredths of a second for another gold and a new World Record of 31.17 secs. She wasn’t finished there however, this time teaming up with Powell, training partner AnneNelson and Joylyn Saunders-Mullins in the W70 4x200m to win her third gold and another world record clocking of 2.15.34. Three golds, two World Records and One European Record in the same championships is such an incredible achievement – not even Dwain Chambers can lay claim to that – Well Done Helen!
Overall Team GB came away with 165 medals,including 50 Golds – a very successful Championships!
Special Thanks…
This was the second year in a row that Torun was hosting an international masters championships, having held the World Indoor Masters Championships in 2023 and once again the organisation was exceptional. The facility itself is fantastic and Torun is a lovely town to visit.
A particular shoutout must go to the officials, judges, call room staff, support staff , physios, team managers and the media team, including the impromptu addition to the commentary team of our very own Donald Brown.
Without all these people there is no platform for the athletes to perform, they make the event what it is and we are grateful for their efforts.
Dziękuję Torun…..until next time!
Ashley Reid
