BRITISH TRIALS – GEMILI HOPES DASHED AS HE SWEATS LONDON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPOT

A dramatic men’s 200m final at the British Championships saw Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake edge to victory with a new championship record of 20.18, as Olympic finalist Adam Gemili’s challenge was heartbreakingly halted through injury.

The LSU student battled hard to just hold off Daniel Talbot and Leon Reid, with Zharnel Hughes missing out on an automatic qualifying spot in fourth, as Gemili staggered behind the pack in sixth.

The race now puts an interesting spin on World Championship qualification, with World and Olympic finalists Hughes and Gemili likely to miss out.

Shocks were also in store during the women’s 200m as pre-race favourite Desiree Henry was beaten by Shannon Hylton and Bianca Williams, triumphantly booking their places in London with Henry also expected to compete.

A rampant day for racewalking saw three British records broken, as Tom Bosworth and Callum Wilkinson both shook the Alexandra Stadium with respective 18.43.28 and 18.56.96 minute personal bests while Bethan Davies dominated the women’s race and produced a stunning 21.21.52 British record.

Davies and Wilkinson will both be in world championship action for the very first time, while Bosworth will once again be aiming to “put on a show” after his sixth place at the 2016 Olympic Games.

After three long years Jessica Judd will once again represent Great Britain at a major senior championships after finishing second behind Laura Weightman in the 1500m

The 22-year-old led at the bell before a strong surge from Weightman saw her clinch the win and a place at the world championships alongside wildcard Laura Muir.

An incredibly close women’s 800m final ended in a second consecutive victory for Shelayna Oskan-Clarke as Adelle Tracey pipped Lynsey Sharp to the line for second.

Silver medallist Tracey will now step out onto the world stage for the very first time, after going out in the heats at last year’s trials.

A cagey men’s 800m final saw slight favourite Andrew Osagie miss out on the medals altogether with Elliot Giles retaining his British title in a tight victory over Guy Learmonth and Kyle Langford.

Despite competing in the Paris Diamond League the previous night Robbie Grabarz picked up a relatively comfortable high jump victory ahead of Chris Baker, despite being unhappy with his winning jump of 2.26m

A sixth discus throw title was also bagged by Jade Lally, who despite struggling with back problems threw 58.14 metres for a place in London and a relatively trouble-free victory.

Eilidh Doyle was also in a mixed mood after a “messy” victory in the women’s 400m hurdles, while runner-up Meghan Beesley showed highly positive signs of a full recovery from her pre-Olympic operation after seeing off Jessica Turner in a 56.68 season’s best for the silver.

Following on for his European Team Championships win Jack Green was once again in the winning after a commanding home straight earned him the win and world championships place ahead of Jacob Paul.

David King (James Hillier) also stormed to a first ever major championships on the world stage with a strong win ahead of Khai Riley-La Borde and David Omoregie.

Despite finishing the competition early on Lorraine Ugen confirmed her place in London after emerging victorious in a high quality Long Jump competition, with strong challenger Jazmin Sawyers failing to record a mark.

Some satisfying Scottish one-twos also unfolded in the men’s 1500m and women’s 5000m, after a strong finishing Chris O’Hare was followed behind in second by 20-year-old Josh Kerr, just edging out Jake Wightman for the silver medal.

An engrossing dual between Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan also saw Twell zoom down the last 200m to overtake leader McColgan and take another impressive British Championship gold.

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