Athletics Weekly – July 24, 2019

@ATHLETICSWEEKLY

Langford’s PB after knee scare

KYLE LANGFORD ran a PB last

weekend at the Diamond League

in London despite dislocating his

knee joint at the start of this month,

writes Jason Henderson.

The 23-year-old was doing a

simple stretch in warm-up for a

meeting in Marseille that he has

done several times a day for the

last seven or eight years but his

knee ‘popped’ and ligaments on the

outside of his knee were damaged.

He ended up racing and finished

fifth but the following day he could

barely walk. “

I’m not very emotional but I felt a

tear because I thought my season

was over,” he said.

“I’ve had to work super hard in

the pool and rehabbed it three

times every day. I had two weeks

off running and I did one session

before today,” he added, on his

1:44.97 PB at the London Stadium.

“My recovery time from injuries

is amazing and I tend to get over

things very fast. I even cut my

hand badly recently and my physio

thought I’d need stitches but it

healed up really quickly.”

Langford raced in London with

taping below his knee and around

shin. “I thought my season was

over,” he said. “I got an MRI and

asked what the chances were of

getting to London and I was told I’d

have to be superhuman to do it. But

here I am running a PB.”

During his rehab from the injury,

he says his inspiration was 3:

1500m man Charlie Da’Vall Grice.

“The last two weeks I’ve had

Charlie Grice in my head. How he’s

run 3:30 with the injury he’s had is

amazing,” says Langford, referring

to the plantar fascia tendon tear

Da’Vall Grice suffered in March

before returning to fine form this

month.

“I’ve never seen a guy work so

hard at cross training. He really

deserves his 3:30.”

Blackheath & Bromley

enjoys 150th celebration

BLACKHEATH & Bromley Harriers AC staged a 150th

anniversary celebration meeting last week.

Among the competitors was Chris Woodcock,

an M75 distance runner who took part in the

100th anniversary meeting half a century ago,

while James West of Tonbridge beat Patrick Taylor

of Birchfield in a special Sydney Wooderson

memorial 800m race in 1:49.50.

The club boasts athletes like Dina Asher-Smith

and its new president is Julian Golding, the 1998

Commonwealth 200m champion. Wooderson,

meanwhile, is perhaps the most iconic member

of the club as a former world mile record-holder.

It’s future looks secure, too, as 45 members

of the club competed at the English Schools this

month with four winners.

n Next week, AW catches up with Julian

Golding

James West

battles with

Patrick

Taylor in

the Sydney

Wooderson

80m

TOM PHILLIPS

Kyle

Langford:

says knee

‘popped’

during

a routine

stretch

MARK SHEARMAN

STRONG fields are expected for

the England Athletics 5000m,

which is held as part of the

MK5000 PB Special this coming

Saturday (July 27) at Milton

Keynes.

Entries include Jenny Nesbitt,

Claire Duck, Mhairi Maclennan,

Louise Small, Jess Judd, Hayley

Carruthers, Adam Hickey,

Richard Allen and Jack Gray.

The volunteer-run event

offers prizes of £250, £150 and

£100 for men and women.

In the lead-up to the main

event there are 10 races with

around 30 athletes in each race

and organiser Elliot Hind tells

AW the popular meeting sold

out months ago.

MK

PB Special