Following the success of the World Outdoor Athletics Championships in London in the summer of 2017, England was lucky enough to hold another international athletics event only months after. This time, it was the historic city of Birmingham that held the event which took place from the 1st-4th March, inside!
Indoor track and field does not receive the same level of exposure as the outdoor events, however, it was great publicity for the sport to have it being held in the popular city.
The top athletes from all around the world flocked to The Arena, battling through the heavy snow.
There were high hopes for the Great Britain team with a team full of both experienced athletes on the world stage and emerging stars competing on home soil. At the end of the four day period, GB had accumulated 7 medals (2 golds, 1 silver and 4 bronzes) which put them 4th on the medal table (behind USA, Ethiopia and Poland) but 2nd on the overall placing table (behind only USA).
There were many stand out British performances included Katarina Johnson Thompson claiming her first global medal, winning the Women’s Pentathlon by 50 points and Andrew Pozzi winning the Men’s 60m Hurdles. Britain’s only silver medal was won by the tenacious middle distance phenomenon Laura Muir in the 1500m (behind world record holder, Genzebe Dibaba) having won bronze in the 3000m only two days before! Further bronzes came in the Women’s 800m with Shelayna Oskan-Clarke breaking 2 minutes, 400m hurdles specialist Eilidh Doyle showing her talent on the flat in the women’s 400m and GB Women’s 4x400m Relay which included Meghan Beesley, Hannah Williams, Amy Allcock and Zoey Clarke.
However, controversy was sparked by the huge number of disqualifications throughout the event. Many results were not as they appeared to the audience resulting in medals having to go to the apparent runner-ups on multiple occasions. Most of these were a consequence of lane infringement. The rules for lange infringement are very strict and, on the indoor track, many athletes really struggle to judge their footing. Perhaps one of the most notable moments of the championships was the entirety of one of the men’s 400m heats being disqualified (1 for false start and the rest for lane infringement).
Despite this, the champs were a success with many high quality performances. With most athletes currently preparing for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia (starting on 4th April), the competition in Birmingham was a great warm-up and, for athletics fans of the area, an incredible spectator experience!
