World Champs Quartet do TVH Proud
Julia Ratcliffe was first up, representing New Zealand in the women’s hammer. Julia’s throw of 64.72 was below her best and not enough to qualify, but it will have given the 24-year old great experience for the future.
Our British 400m champion Zoey Clark surged through her heat, finishing third in in 51.88 on the first Sunday of the championships and putting her with an outside chance of reaching the final. A tough semi-final won by eventual champion Phyllis Francis proved just too much for Zoey but she improved her time to 51.81 to come in seventh.
Zoey then ran the lead off leg for a strong British 4x400m quartet which blazed through their heat, recording third fastest qualifying time behind the United States and Jamaica. They go in the final this Sunday so we will be cheering them on for a medal!
Our marathon star Tracy Barlow also ran on the first Sunday following her stint at the Font Romeu altitude training camp in the French Pyrenees, where GB’s long distance best hone themselves ahead of major championships. Tracy ran bravely on the big day and stuck to her task even though her time of 2:41 for 43rd place was down on her brilliant best.
TVH came out in force to cheer her on round the London streets and Tracy paid tribute to the backing the crowd gave her. “The atmosphere was amazing, it makes 100 per cent difference just having your name shouted out the whole way round. It’s nice having the support.” You can read Tracy’s blog about her build up to London on http://leftspikefanzine.com/tracyldn2017/
In the final itself she had a battle with her run-up, suffering two no jumps before an excellent leap of 6.72m won her three final jumps and preserved her chances of a medal. Two further no jumps and a final jump from well behind the board meant Lorraine finished in fifth place – a great finish in itself and promising even more for the future.
Many congratulations from all at the club to all four for giving TVH a world championships to remember.