PLYMOUTH athlete Emily Bee will earn international honours next weekend after winning a silver medal at the English Schools’ Track & Field Championships on Saturday.
Bee finished second in a closely-fought intermediate girls’ 80m hurdles final at Birmingham.
Securing a top two finish has booked her a place in the England team for the SIAB Track & Field Championship, which will be held at Grangemouth in Scotland next Saturday.
City of Plymouth athlete Bee went to Birmingham ranked number one in the UK under-17 hurdles this year with a best time of 11.05 seconds.
She won her heats and semi on Friday to ease in Saturday’s final. However, she was just edged out for gold by reigning champion Marcia Sey.
Croydon’s Sey, representing Somerset, made a great start and clocked 11.12 seconds to defend her crown. But Bee finished strongly and nearly caught her on the line. The Plymouth athlete clocked 11.19 seconds, which was also the same time she had run in the semis.
Third place went to Derbyshire’s Rebecca Johns in 11.44 seconds.
Bee’s City of Plymouth team-mate Sammie Harris also reached the same final. She had won bronze last year and after running 11.49 seconds in her semi-final it looked like she might be able to challenge for a medal again. She got herself in a good position in the final but badly hit the fifth hurdle and unfortunately broke her left arm.
Tavistock’s Emma Ryder was another athlete to reach an individual final at the championships.
The Notre Dame pupil produced a determined run in the senior girls’ 800m heats to progress with a time of 2:15.45.
In the final the following day she finished sixth in 2:19.16.
Tavistock’s Edward Fileman and Erme Valley Harriers’ Ella Isaias both claimed top 10 finishes in field events in Birmingham.
Ivybridge Community College pupil Fileman smashed his PB in the intermediate boys’ hammer to finish ninth with 54.29m.
Devonport High School for Girls’ Isaias finished 10th in a tight high jump final. She leaped 1.58m, which was just short of her PB of 1.62m. Her PB would have been enough for a medal in Birmingham as bronze went to her Devon team-mate Georgie Scoot with 1.61m.
City of Plymouth’s Henry Curtis equalled his PB of 11.89 second in the junior boys’ 80m hurdles. However, he missed out on the final after finishing fourth in his heat.
Also in the junior boys’ category, Tavistock and Mount Kelly athlete Ben Pitts had to settle for 18th in the long jump after struggling on the day. He has leaped 6.13m this season but could only manage 5.48m at the international stadium in Birmingham.
School colleague Oliver Smart was unable to progress through to the final of the intermediate boys’ 1,500m. He finished 11th in his heat in 4:14.99.
Tavistock and Callington athlete Joely Bytheway knocked nearly one second off her PB to finish third in her heat of the senior girls’ 400m hurdles. She clocked 66.51 seconds, but unfortunately, it was just not enough to reach the final. Fellow Cornwall athlete Molly Mather, who runs for City of Plymouth, was disappointingly disqualified in her heat of the same event.
Also in the senior girls’ category, Tavistock AC and Ivybridge Community College pupil Lois Fileman came 13th in the hammer with 40.08m.
In the intermediate girls’ hammer, Plympton Academy’s Kayleigh Weston finished 17th with 39.65m.
Elsewhere, Ivybridge Community College’s Lili Fern came sixth in her heat of the junior girls’ 100m with 13.01 seconds.
Full results can be found HERE.
Sammie harris didn’t just pull up she had a very bad fall at the 5th hurdle and has broken her left arm. She had a fantastic start and was in a position at the 5th hurdle to be a medal contender.