We speak to a teenager who has kicked off his outdoor season in spectacular style.
Freddie Rowe’s season could hardly have started in more emphatic fashion. Over the course of three remarkable weeks, the teenager produced a string of performances that firmly placed him among the brightest young talents in athletics.
His breakthrough run came at the London Mini Marathon, where he won the under-18 men’s race in 7:08 over 2.6km. If that performance backfired, what followed at Bannister Miles confirmed it wasn’t a one-off. Competing in a senior field in the historic event, Rowe delivered his young career to date, clocking 4:00.88 to break the British under 18 mile record;
The momentum continued the following week at Loughborough International where Rowe made his UK and Northern Ireland debut and took victory in the Gandy Mile in 4:04.10 against another experienced field.
From those performances, Rowe also secured the qualifying standard for the European Under-18 Championships, winning the 1500m in Birmingham in 3:45.78 to finish more than four seconds off the qualifying time.
How did you first get into athletics?
I think my first introduction was probably around 3rd or 4th year. One of my teachers introduced me to it. He saw me playing soccer at lunch and thought I could run well, so he entered me into a few cross country races. I lost a few of them, but that was really the start of it all. I eventually joined the club in year 6 and since then I have always been at Havering AC.
How did it feel to win the Mini London Marathon?
I definitely had high hopes of doing well in it, maybe winning. I thought it was possible, but I just didn’t know if I had it that day. I’m really glad it ended up the way it did. It was an amazing feeling to cross the border. There was definitely a lot of relief too. You train really hard for a lot of races, but with those big nationals you really want to put yourself out there. When I crossed the border, it was just a relief. “thank God I beat it!”
Tell us about your race at the Bannister Miles.
Before the race the scorer said we would go 800m in 1:58 or 1:59 and I thought he stuck to that pretty well. From where I was positioned, however, it felt a bit slow. I was sitting third or fourth and went a little slower than I would have liked, so I thought the time might end up being as good as I had hoped.
About halfway through I changed my mindset from trying to have a fast time to just trying to win. The third lap was even slower, I think it might have been a 62 second lap, and I went through the bell in around 3:02.
Jack Cavanagh tried to make a move by going into the lap of the bell and I sat back a bit with some of the other guys. Then I thought. “I have to move to the rear straight here or I can’t let Jack get away.”
I worked really hard to close the gap, spun wide for home and just gave it everything I had.
Was there any frustration with getting close to the four-minute mile?
I was definitely looking at it before the race and thought it was possible, maybe it was a little early in the season. Then in the middle of the race I thought it was going to be a little bit slower because we had gone very slowly.
As I closed my driveway, I realized that it was actually a much better time than I would have expected two minutes ago. So there were mixed feelings. You’re very happy to win and run fast, but it’s tough to be out of four minutes. I can’t complain too much though. I’m definitely still happy and it gives me more fuel to chase it for the rest of the season.
What do you attribute to your strong start to the season?
I don’t think there are any secrets. It’s just very hard work. During the winter, from September to December, I trained really hard, then I got injured around January to March, which made things difficult.
I was able to get back into a proper training routine for the running season and recover in time. Consistency is the main thing. It takes a long time to run fast times and there’s a lot to it. If you don’t train all the time, you can’t really expect much.
What are your goals for this summer?
The European Under-18 Championship is definitely the main goal. If I can get through the trials and qualify, that’s the big goal at the moment.
After that, hopefully, getting into race mode for the Europeans would be really interesting. I’ve also had a bit of a look at the U20 World Cup, but I’m not too stressed about it yet. Being an under 18, I think it’s important to focus on the Europeans first before worrying about the worlds for that age group.
Who are the athletes you look up to?
I watch quite a lot of YouTube and I really like Nick Simmonds. A lot of the races I run are based on a sit and kick style and I really like his tactic of waiting and then going for a big finish in the last 150m. I try to model parts of my racing on it, swinging wide and trying to beat everyone. I hope one day I can get a kick like her.
What is the biggest thing that athletics has taught you?
Perhaps nothing is ever guaranteed. You might be the fastest on paper, have the best shot or whatever, but when you’re on that starting line, nothing is promised.
I’ve experienced races where I thought they might be easier or I thought I should win and then I was beaten. That’s the mindset I’m trying to stay away from now. No matter how fast your times are, when you’re on the line, it’s all about beating the athletes in that race.
The age. 17:00
clubThey have AC
TrainerPatrick Gahagan
Events800m/1500m/mile
PBs1:49.36/3:40.26/4:00.88
