2024 British Olympic Trials: GB Championships, Day 1

The British Trials have begun, and our eyes and ears there is Stuart Weir. Here is Stuart’s first column on the Trials! 

GB Championships Day 1

It was a long day: 11.30am to 8.30pm. There were heats and prelims, but also 12 finals.  The event ended with the two 100m finals. Darryl Neita became the clear favourite, with Dina Asher-Smith deciding only to run the 200 at the trials. Remember that Neita has already won two diamond leagues this year. Her winning time was 11.24, with Amy Hunt second in 11.41 for second and the other automatic selection place for Paris. Pay no attention to the times; it was raining. The track was wet. It was bitterly cold, and there was a negative wind. On a better day, I have no doubt that Neita would have been comfortably under 11. The winner commented afterwards: “It feels good to get another British title.  Conditions were hard in the rain again, and then there was a false start.  But it is all about focus, which I am trying to do this year, as I know I have the skill and speed now.  It is just about carrying on the momentum and enjoying every moment, as sport is all about”.

I was delighted to see Amy Hunt qualify for Paris. She was an outstanding junior who initially struggled to transition to senior, then suffered horrendous injuries, and it’s great to see her running so well. She spent the last year in Italy training with Marco Airale, whose group includes Neita and Jeremiah Azu. See the report on men’s 100. The day’s comment came from Hunt, who, with the legendary British understatement, commented: “It would have been nice to have better weather”. If you ever want a chat about sprinting, literature, and the importance of the Renaissance, Amy Hunt is your lady!

 The day’s final event was the men’s 100, which started at 8:10 PM, which seemed an awful long time to your correspondent after the opening race at 11:30 AM this morning! The winner was Louie Hinchliffe, whom no one in the UK had heard of until he won the NCAA title this year in 9.95. He studied in England for a year at Lancaster University and later at Washington State. He ran for Britain in the 2023 European Under 23 championship, but it was not until he transferred to the University of Houston that he became world-class.  His winning time was 10.18, with Jeremiah Azu  2nd in 10.25 – Comments above on the dreadful weather apply. With Zharnel Hughes given a medical exemption to rest his troublesome hamstring, he will undoubtedly get the…