Double triumph aids Ennis’s Olympic build-up

The shot was in the morning and Ennis threw a very respectable 14.33m in the second round and that proved to be the winning distance.

The javelin was the last event of the day and the Sheffield heptathlete had another decent throw, her best effort of 44.13m coming in the fourth round. She also had another two throws over the 43m mark.

Although Ennis won the senior title, she was upstaged by Doncaster’s Kelly Bramhald who won the junior title. The seniors and juniors (Under-20) threw together and Bramhald opened with 43.44 before her fourth round effort went out to 47.04.

The javelin clashed with the 200m and so Ennis withdrew from the track. Louise Bloor (Trafford), an impressive winner of the 100m in 11.59, was another non-starter leaving the 200m very open. The title went to the improving Leeds City runner Kadeena Cox (25.68 secs), winner of two medals at the British Students’ Championships last week.

International 800m runner Sam Ellis (City of Sheffield) found 3:57.98 good enough for victory in the 1,500m, but track times were, in the main, modest.

The best field event performance in the men’s events came from Rimantas Martisaukas (Sale) with 17.41m in the shot, but it was not enough to challenge the oldest record in the book, Arthur Rowe’s 18.96 dating to 1962.

In the women’s events, the improving Otley runner Racheal Bamford scored a double in the 800m (2:12.52) and 1,500m (4:36.96) and Hannah Evenden (Edinburgh) was in winning form in the hammer with a throw of 55.78.

Generally, performances in the younger age groups were of a higher standard than the seniors at the event. In particular, Jenny Walsh (Spenborough) was outstanding in the Under-20 800m (2:08.37) and George Armstrong (Leeds City) set a new championship record in the Under-15 discus with 43.89m.

n Dwain Chambers finished a disappointing sixth at the Ponce Grand Prix in Puerto Rico on Saturday in his first 100m race since being cleared to compete at this summer’s London Olympics.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Keston Bledman claimed victory in 10.12 seconds, with Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade second in 10.15 and American Trell Kimmons third (10.18).