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Aviva England Age Group Championships
February 27th - 28th 2010
Kate Wasyliw of Halifax Harriers was at her supreme best at the weekend whilst competing for the first time in the Aviva England Age Group Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. Athletes from all the four home nations gathered together to battle it out for the ultimate title of UK champion. The rising junior track star carried on from where she left off five weeks ago and added her first England National Indoor 60m title to her Northern Indoor title, in a new lifetime best of 7.80 seconds.
On day one Kate, aged 13, showed a maturity way beyond her years to battle through a line up of over 40 competitors via a series of heats, semi-finals and ultimately the final to claim this prestigious title in the U15 age group. It was the first time Kate had come face to face with her rivals, previously only seen listed in the national rankings, her northern counterparts being the exception. In her heat Kate ran a time of 7.90 seconds to coast her way into the semi-finals. Qualification from here was extremely testing with only the winner of each of the four semi-finals and four fastest losers progressing to the final. Again Kate showed all the composure of an elite athlete and won her semi from the gun in a faster time of 7.85 seconds just 0.02 slower than her winning time in the Northern Championships.
True to form all of the UK's top eight athletes qualified for the final and the moment of truth was a mere eight seconds away. Kate powered out of her blocks literally leaving her opponents yards behind after the first 20 metres and lead all the way to the finish, well over a metre in front as she crossed the line ahead of second placed athlete Lukesha Morris of Reading AC and Rachel Highfield of Middlesbrough Mandale who was third, both given the same time of 7.85 seconds. Kate's time of 7.80 seconds keeps her in top spot of the UK rankings for the U15 girls 60m and 58th overall in the women's.
There was no let up on day 2 and qualification for the 200m final was equally as tough with only six places up for grabs from 3 heats with the heat winner and the three fastest losers to the final. Kate produced a stirring run of 26.12 seconds to secure her place knocking a full half second off her previous best indoor time. All the main players qualified for the final and Kate knew that she would have to run nearer to 25 seconds to claim a double. Coming off the third bend and approaching the final corner it was still anyone's race. Sabrina Bakare of Luton Harriers then found an extra gear and both her and Rachel Highfield pulled away in the last fifty meters in a private battle for the gold medal. Bakare crossed the line first in 25.12 seconds with Highfield second in a time of 25.32. Kate was left in a battle of her own for the bronze but was caught on the line by Beth Bolton of Sale Harriers who left her dip to perfection and claimed the last podium spot in a time of 25.82 leaving Kate agonizingly 0.01 seconds behind in 4th position. Kate's time of 25.83 was a new indoor PB and equaled last seasons outdoor time, which in turn bodes well for the forthcoming outdoor season on a standard 400m track with no tight corners and banked curves to deal with.