March 2025: Performance round up

Now the indoor season has drawn to a close, let’s look back on all the action from March. From Sheffield to Apeldoorn to Nanjing, English athletes have impressed on the England, European and World Indoor stage.

European Indoor Championships

The first British medal at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn came from the quartet of Alastair Chalmers (Matt Elias, Guernsey), Josh Faulds (James Wright, Rugby & Northampton), Emily Newnham (Nick Dakin, Shaftesbury Barnet) and Lina Nielsen (Tony Lester, Shaftesbury Barnet) in the first ever mixed 4x400m held at these championships. Following on from this relay success, Great Britain secured the silver in the women’s 4x400m race.

Individually on the track, George Mills (Thomas Dreissigacker, Brighton Phoenix) secured silver in the 3000m. There were also first major international medals for Andrew Robertson (Alex O’Gorman, Sale Harriers) in the 60m and Revee Walcott-Nolan (Thomas Dreissigacker, Luton) in the 1500m as she edged out compatriot Georgia Hunter Bell (Trevor Painter, Belgrave Harriers).

World Indoor Championships

A small British team headed out to Nanjing for the World Indoor Championships. Following disqualification in Apeldoorn, Amber Anning (Chris Johnson, Brighton & Hove) set off fast in the 400m final and claimed the gold medal on the line from USA’s Alexis Holmes. Having also been disappointed on missing out on a medal in Apeldoorn, Georgia Hunter Bell took to the 1500m final with a renewed motivation and secured the bronze with a new indoor PB of 3:59.84.

U15/U17 Indoor Combined Event and Para Championships

Day one of the U15/U17 Indoor Combined Event and Para Championships saw the action unfold in the U17 women’s pentathlon, the first four events of the U17 men’s heptathlon and the age group para championships.

With the top three changing after almost every event in the U17 women’s pentathlon, Leila Newth (Ealing and Southall and Middlesex) went into the final event with a 33-point lead. She managed to extend this in the 800m to finish on top of the podium with 3459 points.

Having been introduced to the event at a taster session in Lee Valley, F56 athlete Chloe Lewis (Richard Chiassaro, Harlow) won the first-ever seated shot put with 4.64m. On the track, T20 athlete Elliott Griffiths (Liverpool Harriers) ran a lifetime best in the 60m of 7.78 finishing nearly a second ahead of his competition.

The U17 men’s heptathlon was tight at the top going into day two. Having fallen 60cm and 1.1m short of his closest two competitors in the pole vault overnight leader, Oliver Downs (Alex Pope, Invicta East Kent), dropped to third place going into the final event. In the 1000m, Downs surged to the lead with 400m to go, which earned him second place behind Scotland’s Douglas Knox (Springburn Harriers).

The Sunday of these Championships also saw some of the best masters’ athletes in the country competing over 200m and 800m. We even saw a new European record in the M65 200m of 25.38 set by John Wright (Rick Cordwell, Northern Masters).