The track season is well underway and this weekend sees a plethora of athletes compete at home and abroad. James Rhodes runs through some of the highlights taking place over the coming days.
It is a busy time of year for track racing, and this weekend is the busiest of the season so far. Many of Britain’s best middle distance athletes are racing across multiple meetings in different countries. Some of the highlights are listed below.
Rabat Diamond League (Morocco) Sunday 25 May
The fourth Diamond League meeting of the season sees Max Burgin compete for the first time this year. The Olympic finalist ran inside 1:44 three times last season and will be hoping for a good race to open his season. He’ll face the Olympic Champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi amongst others.
Max Burgin (800m)
Boris Hanžeković Memorial (Zagreb) Saturday 24 May
Part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold, the Boris Hanžeković Memorial returns for its 75th edition on Saturday. Five British athletes are due to compete in the middle distance events. Two – Ethan Hussey and Ava Lloyd – in their season openers:
Issy Boffey (800m)
Erin Wallace (800m)
Justin Davies (800m)
Ethan Hussey (800m)
Ava Lloyd (1500m)
IFAM Outdoor (Brussels) Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 May
An ever-popular meeting, over 200 British athletes are entered for this weekend’s IFAM Outdoor. Spread over two days, full entries can be seen at this link. They include:
Henry Jonas (800m)
Will Barnicoat (1500m)
Thomas Bridger (1500m)
Jack Higgins (1500m)
Abbie Ives (1500m)
Zak Mahamed (5000m)
Charles Wheeler (5000m)
Izzy Fry (5000m)
Cyprus International Athletics Meeting (Limassol) Friday 23 May
The sole British representative in the middle distance events is Grace Vans Agnew, in her season opener. She ran a PB of 2:01.21 last summer and made her Great Britain debut at this year’s European Indoor Championships.
Grace Vans Agnew (800m)
ORLEN Janusz Kusocinski Memorial (Chorzow) Friday 23 May
Jemma Reekie will contest her first 800m of the season at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial. It is a venue Jemma knows well, as it hosts the Silesia Diamond League. She finished second over 1000m last year.
Daniel Rowden (800m)
Jemma Reekie (800m)
South Running Track Fest (Los Angeles) Saturday 24 May
There is plenty of British interest on the west coast of the United States, including season openers for 2022 World Champion Jake Wightman and Katie Snowden.
Hannah Segrave (800m)
Piers Copeland (1500m)
Jake Wightman (1500m)
Melissa Courtney-Bryant (5000m)
Hannah Nuttall (5000m)
Henry McLuckie (5000m)
James West (5000m)
Elise Thorner (3000m steeplechase)
Stevie Lawrence (3000m steeplechase)
