Cockroft, Hahn and Young storm to gold as Ballard retires with bronze
Hannah Cockroft, Sophie Hahn and 18-year-old Thomas Young all delivered gold on a memorable afternoon for the British team at the WPA European Championships in Berlin. While Graeme Ballard brought the curtain down on his glittering career with bronze and push the team’s overall medal tally to 45 after eight were captured on the penultimate day.
Hannah Cockroft (club: Halifax; coach: Jenni Banks) won her 18th major international title in the women’s T34 800m final. Sophie Hahn (Charnwood; Joe McDonnell) added a second gold of the Championships in the women’s T38 100m while Thomas Young (Charnwood; McDonnell) produced a stunning run to capture the men’s T38 200m crown on his debut. Graeme Ballard (Wigan & District; Trevor Painter) rounded off 14 years of international competition with bronze in the men’s T36 200m.
Kare Adenegan (Coventry; Job King) claimed silver behind Cockroft, and Olivia Breen (City of Portsmouth; Aston Moore) picked up bronze behind Hahn. Nathan Maguire (Halton & Frodsham; Ste Hoskins) and Mo Jomni (Weir Archer Academy; Jenny Archer) followed suit in the T54 and T53 100m finals respectively, both claiming bronze themselves to take their individual medal totals to three each in Berlin.
The British team delivered highlight after highlight on the penultimate day, with Cockroft and Adenegan producing a thrilling duel in the three-woman T34 800m final. Pushing out well ahead of Joyce Lefevre of Belgium, it came down to a sprint finish between the two Brits.
Cockroft held the stronger position entering the final bend with Adenegan, European champion over 100m from earlier in the week, doing absolutely everything to push past her teammate. Cockroft would take the win in a Championship record 2:14.21 with Adenegan 0.17 seconds behind for silver.
After the race, Hannah said:
"I knew I had to go in from the start and put in a quick start because I know that is Kare’s strength and I just had to play it from there really. I have worked really hard on my 800m, especially my tactics, it was nice to be in control out there and to feel comfortable all of the way around."
Sophie Hahn lined up for the women’s T38 100m final having completed a career grand slam with victory in the 200m on Thursday and she produced a repeat performance, powering her way to another title in another Championship record.
After clocking 12.52 (1.7m/s) for victory by 0.69, She returned to the track to join forces with Zachary Shaw (Cleethorpes; McDonnell), Laura Sugar (Birchfield Harriers; McDonnell) and Dillon Labrooy (Weir Archer Academy; Archer) to help the British team to the universal 4x100m relay final with victory in 49.59.
Sophie said:
"I came here to defend my title, but I knew it would be hard. I just wanted to win the race and I am so happy I defended my title. For me I love training and working hard. I work so hard on the track and in the gym. I want to keep getting better and keep retaining titles.
"The relay was exciting. It was quite hard because we have only had one practice, but it was great fun, I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to repeat it again."
Hahn was joined in the final by two British teammates with fellow world and Commonwealth champion Breen putting her troubles with a knee injury, that forced her out of the long jump, to one side to claim a fantastic bronze in a season’s best 13.30 (1.7m/s). Ali Smith (Guildford & Goldalming, Paul MacGregor), competing in her fourth event in Berlin, which included 400m silver, placed fifth in a personal best 13.55 (1.7m/s).
Moments later Thomas Young produced arguably one of the best British performances of the Championships so far as he stormed to gold in the men’s T38 200m final. The 18-year-old, making his senior international debut in Berlin, flew out of the blocks and, despite being challenged by Mykyta Senyk of Ukraine, after the bend he powered down the home straight to impressively take gold in a personal best of 23.70 (0.3m/s)
Thomas said:
"I am over the moon, it is a fantastic achievement. I am speechless really. It was really hard. It wasn’t easy, I knew the guy to the left of me was coming and I had to keep going. At 30m to go I was going as fast as I ever have, and I am just over the moon.
"There are no words, I am just so happy. I just kept at it and I have achieved what I wanted to achieve. Tokyo 2020 in two years is the main one, there is a World Championships next year, but Tokyo 2020 would be amazing to go to."
While Young was the only British medallist in the men’s T38 200m final, it was a memorable final for his teammates and fellow senior international debutants Ross Paterson (Red Star, John Kinder) and Kyle Keyworth (Sale Harriers Manchester, Kes Salmon) as both set personal bests. Paterson, bronze medallist in the 400m, clocked 24.96 (0.3m/s) for fourth while Keyworth crossed the line in 26.74 (0.3m/s).
On an eventful penultimate afternoon in Berlin, Graeme Ballard brought the curtain down on his glittering career with bronze in the T36 200m final. Champion over 100m, Ballard got off to his trademark fast start and powered down the home straight brilliantly to round off a career which kick started with 200m bronze at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games with a fitting podium finish in a season’s best 25.58.
Graeme said:
"That was about the best I could have done on the day. To come away with two medals in your last ever games is pretty darn good. This is my last event. I had mixed emotions, but I still had a job to do. At the end of the day I came up against people better and you have to say hats off to them.
"I am going to do a bit of coaching, I don’t know what else yet. I have got to go for an eye operation, so I can’t plan too far ahead. Sometimes I know I have been a pain in the rear end, but it has all been worth it. It has been a long and successful career, but the world record I set in Manchester [in 2012] has got to be up there."
After Hahn and Young’s gold rush, wheelchair racer Maguire followed up with an impressive bronze in the men’s T54 100m final. Fighting back superbly after a slow start, Maguire pushed himself into third place in 15.14 (1.6m/s) for his third bronze medal of the Championships after successes in the 200m and 800m.
In almost a carbon copy to Maguire, Jomni impressively added a third bronze medal from the Championships in the T53 100m final. Faced with wet and windy conditions like his teammates, Jomni battled back from fourth after 60m to clinch bronze at the line in 17.05 (0.3m/s).
Steve Morris (Cardiff; James Thie) finished an agonising fourth for the second day in a row in Berlin, just shy of the podium in the men’s T20 1500m final 24 hours after just missing out on the podium in the 800m. Morris was well placed throughout the race but couldn’t keep with the pace over the last 200m and placed fourth in 4:01.21.
Sally Brown (Charnwood; McDonnell) was also narrowly shy in her own pursuit of an individual medal as she rounded off her campaign in the women’s T47 200m final. After a season’s best for second out of two in the 400m and fifth in the 100m, Brown placed fourth in the 200m in 27.93 (1.7m/s) and was satisfied with her first campaign in a British vest since the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
