Scott Lincoln secures a remarkable 22nd national title in the shot put, while Daniel Falod overturns a late-round deficit to win the dramatic men’s triple jump.
Scott Lincoln underlined his status as one of the weekend’s overwhelming favorites when he won the men’s ball on day two of the Novuna UK Championship in Birmingham on Sunday (June 21).
It was his 22nd national title as he threw 20.33m in the fifth round to win by almost two metres.
Piers Cameron threw 18.38m to win silver and Patrick Swann threw 17.67m to win bronze.
Jake Norris was also in dominant form in the men’s hammer, throwing 76.30m to take the gold. He narrowly missed Henrik Krolak’s stadium record of 76.92m, as well as the championship record of 77.30m set by Dave Smith, both set in the mid-1980s.
Behind, Craig Murch threw 71.73m for silver and Chris Bennett’s 70.12m took him bronze.
However, things were closer in the men’s triple jump. With a jump of 15.76m (0.4), Daniel Falod overtook Jude Bright-Davies’ 15.72m leader’s mark in the final round to take a dramatic late victory.
Prior to that, Falod’s best was 15.71m from the third round, but she found a few more centimeters to overhaul Bright-Davies.
“It was tough for me today, the distance, definitely not as far as I’ve jumped the rest of the season,” Falode said, “but I’m just happy to get the win.”
“Being out in the States has definitely allowed me to get faster and stronger. I’m definitely in a better position than I was, you know, before I came on the field five years ago, so I’m very grateful to the two coaches I’ve had there and hopefully I’ll continue to progress.
“My plans are to keep progressing, keep getting some jumps in there that will put me on the world championship radar, hopefully for the 2028 Olympics.”
In the women’s long jump, Lucy Headaway produced a superb performance to win with a personal best of 6.67m (0.5). Starting at 6.61m (-1.9), she improved by six centimeters to the second best mark of her career.
After Headaway, Molly Palmer (Lucas Zavila, Thames Valley Harriers) jumped a best of 6.50m (0.6) for silver, while Funmini Olajide (Lucas Zavila, Thurrock Harriers) took bronze with 6.47m (-0.1).
Javelin thrower Ben East is in great form this year with a three meter improvement on his PB. He has also been over 80m this season but failed to do so in Birmingham. However, his 79.87m was enough to beat Michael Ellison (77.63m) and Daniel Bainbridge (75.62m).
“Winning the gold is great,” East said. “I’ve been in really good shape lately, this season has been the best season of my life. To be able to compete in the championship in the shape that I am, it just feels great.
“This year is the first time I was able to participate in a competition where I was able to compete with previous world and Olympic champions. The experience of competing against people at that level is great and everyone is so friendly in the javelin community. Regardless of your previous accomplishments, everyone is inviting, but competing with them and seeing how they approach their competition is a definite.
Zara Obamakinwa won the women’s discus with 55.85m ahead of Kirsty Loy (49.71m) bowing out after her 21st national championship and Eden Francis (48.76m).
The 22-year-old has a personal best of 58.17m from London last year.
