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Amid a raft of high-profile absentees from Birmingham this weekend it was quite the surprise to see Jeremiah Azu’s name on the 200m start list for the UK Athletics Indoor Championships on Sunday.
The 200m is not contested internationally during the indoor season so elite athletes almost never race it, and Azu had already won the 60m title a day earlier. In an era where world-class athletes tend to wrap themselves in cotton wool for fear of injury it was unusual to see one so accomplished run an additional three times in three hours when there was no particular need.
That Azu triumphed – in a personal best 20.77 seconds – came as little surprise given his accolades include world and European 60m gold medals. He will defend the first of those at the World Athletics Indoor Championships next month.
With Keely Hodgkinson opting not to take her place in the 800m final, and the Olympic medallists Georgia Hunter Bell and Josh Kerr late injury withdrawals from their races, Azu’s presence added some sparkle to an afternoon that otherwise lacked some sheen.
“It’s mainly for the training,” Azu said of his decision to contest a sprint double. “There’s a level of speed you get from competition that you don’t get from training. It’s three good rounds and it’s adding to the base. It was a good session.”
Asked whether more athletes should take the chance to run at these events, he said: “We travel around the world so much, and we represent Great Britain, so if there’s an opportunity to do it, for [the crowd] to come and see us, I think people should grab that. But, obviously, people are based in different places. It’s not easy to just break up training and come here. I’m two hours away [in Cardiff]. Everyone’s got different things to juggle.
“For me, it really works. I think people should definitely make use of these championships. You get some great work from it, and you get to come out and run in front of the British crowd.”
Those at the Utilita Arena certainly appreciated it. Hodgkinson had blitzed her way to a scintillating British record when winning her 800m heat on Saturday but, with designs on challenging the world record at a high-profile French meeting next week, chose to sit out the final. That left Issy Boffey to take the title, a fortnight after entering the all-time global top 10. The triumph on Sunday was not quite as quick, coming in 1:59.64, but it continued a whirlwind season that has seen a necessary change of plans.
“A couple of weeks ago, I really wasn’t sure about doing the world indoors,” Boffey said. “But now I’m feeling more confident. Ultimately, I want to be in that [world] final. You take one step at a time, but I definitely want to be there.”
Hodgkinson will head there as the overwhelming favourite, especially if she claims a world record that has stood since the day she was born: 3 March 2002. Of Hodgkinson’s absence from the final, Boffey said: “I was super excited to race against her. She’s the Olympic champion and deserves so much respect.
“It would have been so nice to run with her and really try to hold on for as long as I could. But I absolutely respect her choice to not do the final. A lot of people don’t really understand there’s a lot of things going on behind doors. If you’re racing again next week it’s a short season. You’ve got to do what’s best for you.”
There was a surprise defeat for the reigning world indoor 400m champion Amber Anning, who could only win bronze behind Yemi Mary John. The former world medallist Ben Pattison claimed 800m gold, and Jemma Reekie won the 1500m.
