Yorkshire athletes strike gold in Sheffield as Louise Bloor sparkles

The Rotherham sprinter made good use of her outside lane to land her second medal of the weekend and a personal best of 23.39 seconds.

There were also popular White Rose victories over the weekend for pole vaulter Luke Cutts and Sheffield middle distance veteran Lee Emanuel, while City of York’s Scott Lincoln finished with a flourish to win the shot put.

Olympic hopeful Bloor was the clear favourite for the 200m title after producing a time of 23.67 in her semi-final.

And given a fifth lane draw in the final, the 30-year-old, who represents Trafford, powered around the English Institute of Sport’s track to finish clear of Crawley’s Kimbely Baptiste.

City of York runner Rebecca Campsall (24.25) was “ecstatic” as she claimed bronze behind Bloor in her first British Indoors appearance over 200m.

The event will not feature at next month’s World Championships in Portland, but nevertheless Bloor was taking the positives out of her golden form.

She said: “I didn’t really know how I would be running over the distance so when the clock stopped at 23.39, it was a great result. It’s close to what I’ve done over 200 before so hopefully I can build on it. It is disappointing that it’s not a world event, especially as it’s a fun relay. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is.”

Bloor’s unbeaten start to 2016 over 60m came to an end as she was a distant third behind Asha Philip (7.10sec) and Dina Asher-Smith (7.15) on Saturday.

However, Bloor’s time of 7.35 was only one hundredth of a second outside the personal best she set in Vienna last month.

“I’ve got a bit of work to do with Tony Minichiello over the starts but I was very pleased with my 100,” added Bloor.

In the men’s event, James Dasaolu pipped Andrew Robertson in a dramatic finale to the showpiece, crossing the line one hundredth of a second ahead in 6.53sec.

Reigning world champion Richard Kilty was disqualified for a false start in his semi-final and now faces an anxious wait to see if he can defend his title in Portland.

Dearne AC vaulter Cutts is also praying for support from the 
selectors despite backing up his favouritism to win pole vault gold.

Cutts had a slight wobble when dropping the bar at 5.45m but was the only athlete to clear 5.60m as he retained his title.

On winning gold, Cutts said: “I feel amazing.

“I was expected to win anyway but it’s just good to be back in top spot.”

Emanuel was an impressive winner in the 3,000m to secure his place on the plane to Portland next month after recording a season best of 7:55.61.

Emanuel said: “I am delighted to have won, it was a very hard race. I came here last year and did the same so to come here and double up is a dream.”

However, Mukhtar Mohammad’s hopes of reaching the World Indoors were dashed after he failed to finish the 800m final.

The 25-year-old, from Sheffield, was bumped on the final lap and faded down the pack before stepping off the track with 60m remaining. In the shot put, York powerhouse Lincoln was a dominant force in clinching his first indoor national title. The 22-year-old gradually improved his distances before launching the putt out to new personal best of 18.90m in the final round.

Competing as a guest, Paralympic gold medallist Aled Davies broke his own F42 world record with a throw of 16.14m.

Lincoln said: “I feel in good shape and think I can throw a lot further. It’s just a matter of getting the speed in my legs.”

Attempts to raise the crowd’s spirits were at the forefront of Leeds-based road walker Tom Bosworth’s popular win in the 3,000m walk as he broke his own British record in 10:58.21.

An elated Bosworth said: “I want to make race walking really popular so people can see it is a fun event.

“You cannot just be boring on the track.”

Elsewhere, Daniel Gardiner, of Leeds, leapt to a silver medal in the long jump (7.67m) while Middlesbrough’s Chris Tomlinson (7.52m) was a disappointing third.