Drama and heartbreak as athletes shine at National Combined Events

The England Athletics Combined Events Championships took place on the weekend of the 9th and 10th March 2024, with three of our athletes competing against the best multi-events from England, Scotland and Wales. On Saturday, Luke Pichler kicked off this Heptathlon campaign in stunning fashion with big PB's in both the 60m (7.28s) and Long Jump (6.66m) to take an early lead. Another PB followed in the shot put, and he ended the day with a solid high jump to put him in a strong leading position heading into day 2.

Senna Gorvett and Hannah Wilson's U17 Pentathlon took place on the Saturday, with both girls looking to finish their indoor seasons strongly in a high quality field of 32 athletes. It was a great start to the day in the hurdles, with Hannah very close to her PB in her first hurdles race of the winter, whilst Senna Gorvett produced a fine PB (9.40s). Up next was the high jump, with 1.50m being the key height - Senna sailed over on the 2nd attempt which was a solid result, whilst Hannah produced a clutch 3rd time clearance to stay in the comp before going on to a superb clearance at 1.59m to move up the overall rankings. The shot put saw both our girls save their best to last with fired up performances, Hannah with a new PB (9.84m) and Senna very close to 10m. Event 4 was the Long Jump - and this was likely to be a crucial event thanks to the big points differential on offer. Hannah again saved her best for last, exceeding the 5m barrier despite not hitting the board, with Senna also board-shy as her best was somewhat below expectations.

Heading into the 800m, Hannah was very much in with a chance of a bronze medal, along with a number of other athletes. Senna knew that a strong run could move her up the rankings, possibly into the top 10. Senna was up first and ran a brilliantly paced race, before moving into the lead and winning her heat in a massive PB of 2:27.71. This moved her up into a brilliant 10th position, with a massive points PB of 3174pts. In the next heat, one of the athletes in contention for a bronze put in a superb run, giving Hannah and the other athletes in the final heat a real target to aim for. The race went at a steady pace, and Hannah was near the front throughout. The pace quickened on the final lap and Hannah stayed strong to finish in 2:32.89, which gave her a final points total of 3335pts, which gave her 6th place, just 57pts off bronze. Nonetheless, she should be very proud, and has scored the highest ever points total by a North East athlete in an indoor pentathlon.

Luke concluded his Heptathlon on Sunday, with the hurdles first up. An equal PB was a brilliant way to start the day, especially on legs that already worked very hard the previous day. In the pole vault, Luke's aim was to maintain as much of a lead as possible, as this was a stronger event for other athletes. His best of 3.00m was a little below his best, but nonetheless he went into the final event the 1000m with on paper, a strong points lead. However, with athletes behind him having faster PB's, he knew he'd have to run to his very best to stand a chance of taking the title.

As the race progressed, one of Luke's challengers for Gold Ruben Stovell was putting in an incredible run, and went on to finish in 2:36.63. Luke ran his heart out and crossed the line in what would have been a massive personal best, but not quite enough to win the gold. Sadly, it was not even going to be a silver medal for Luke , as he was given the devastating news by the officials that he had been disqualified for taking a couple of steps outside of track on one of the bends mid-race. Despite passionate pleas and appeals, the officials would not change their decision and the DQ from the 1000m stood. Luke therefore finished in 11th place, an absolutely heartbreaking finish, and a cruel blow after such a minor infraction after 2 days of superb competition. 

So a weekend full of emotion, PB's, drama and everything else. Our athletes will have learned so much from the experience that they can take forward into the months and years ahead.

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