Town athletes in action at the European Indoor Championships

LOUGHBOROUGH students, alumni and athletes based at the university competed at the first major athletics event of the year at the European Indoor Championships in Belgrade.

Robbie Grabarz, a former Loughborough graduate, claimed a silver medal in the men’s high jump, while Andrew Pozzi and Asha Philip who regularly train at the university went one step further and claimed gold medals in the men’s 60m hurdles while Philip set a new British record in the women’s 60m.

Pozzi, who regularly uses the track facilities in Loughborough, claimed Team GB’s first gold medal of the championships in the 60m hurdles.

The 24-year-old has struggled with fitness over the last five years, and after he burst onto the track as a teenager this was his first major title.

Competing in the same event was Loughborough University student David Omoregie, who went into the event in personal best form, lowering his 60m hurdles time to 7.63, putting him 18th in the world rankings going into the event.

The economics with accounting student is the reigning European U23 110m hurdles champion but failed to reach the men’s final, with a time of 7.71 seconds placing him 12th in the qualifying round.

Fellow Loughborough University student, 19- year-old Morgan Lake, managed to go one step further and reached the final of the women’s high jump.

But the first year sport and exercise psychology student who before the event sat in sixth in the world rankings, couldn’t reach the heights she was hoping for and finished eighth in the final, clearing a height of 1.85m.

Another athlete who regularly trains at Loughborough is sprinter Asha Philip, who won gold in the women’s 60m and set a new British record in the process.

Philip set the fourth-fastest time in the semi-finals but stepped up for the final, setting a new European-leading mark this season with a time of 7.06 seconds.

Loughborough University alumni Guy Learmonth was hoping to improve on his sixth place finish at the championships two years ago, but failed to get through his qualifying heat in the men’s 800m.

However fellow former student and Olymic medal winning high jumper Robbie Grabarz claimed a silver medal in the men’s high jump, even after having his appendix removed only six weeks ago.

Grabarz recorded a season’s best clearance of 2.30m which was enough to earn him a silver medal behind Poland’s Sylwester Bednarek who cleared 2.32m.