Chichester athletes compete at South of England finals

Two members of Chichester Runners & AC competed at the South of England under-15 and under-17 championships over two days at the Julie Rose Stadium in Ashford.
Rachel Laurie and Alyssa White at AshfordRachel Laurie and Alyssa White at Ashford
Rachel Laurie and Alyssa White at Ashford

In the under-15 girls’ 100m, Alyssa White, making her debut at these championships, comfortably won her heat in 12.48sec to go through to the final.

A hesitant start in the final saw White forced to battle her way to a hard-fought 12.61sec clocking to finish a highly-respectable fourth.

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Rachel Laurie, also a debutant at this level, was unfortunate to be drawn in the outside lane for her heat. She ran 13.19sec for fourth place, just missing out on qualification by one place.

Drawn together in the same heat of the 200m, White came first in 25.76sec, with Laurie again drawn in the outside lane, finishing an excellent third place in 26.85sec.

Both qualified for the final, which turned out to be a dramatic affair in which the pair’s fighting spirit shone through.

White, with a great start and bend, battled it out stride for stride over the final 30 metres with Ella Wansell from Hertford, which resulted in her crashing on to the track just after the finish line and needing assistance from first aid.

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However, after treatment, she was buoyed up by the knowledge she had won her first major championship medal. Her time of 25.46sec meant she had been pipped at the post by a hundredth of a second into the bronze-medal position.

Laurie, nursing a slight ankle injury sustained in the warm-up, finished a very pleasing and highly creditable eighth in 27.20sec.

DAVID CHURCHER

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