Kristal Awuah heading for star status in UK women’s athletics
richard@slpmedia.co.uk
Herne Hill Harriers U20 sprinter Kristal Awuah is rapidly heading for star status in UK women’s athletics – starting to make waves among the seniors at the age of 18.
Rapid is the operative word as on Sunday as Awuah achieved an outstanding result in winning her 100m final in the CAS International Meeting in Schifflange, Luxembourg in a very fast time of 11.20 with a legal following wind of plus-0.7 m/s after a heat win in 11.37 which was only just outside her previous PB.
In the process Awuah defeated European Indoor 60m champion and Commonwealth Games 100m fourth place athlete Asha Philip, writes Geoff Jerwood.
Awuah’s time puts her fourth on the British U20 all-time list behind only Dina Asher-Smith, Imani-Lara Lansiquot and Jodie Williams and into the top 20 on the GB rankings for females of any age.
Awuah is ranked equal fourth on this year’s UK senior women’s 100m list and heads the under 20s by 0.39 of a second.
Her previous best of 11.35 was run in the heats at the IAAF World Junior Championship in Tampere, Finland where she claimed 100m and 4x100m bronze medals.
Awuah also set a new Herne Hill club senior and junior women’s 100m record in lowering her best by a significant margin over such a short racing distance.
At the England Championships at a very wet and windy Manchester, Harriers were represented by Nicholas Atwell and Peter Phillips in the men’s 400m and Allandre Johnson in the men’s javelin.
Atwell ran 49.19 to place fifth in his semi-final after 48.74 for second in his heat, ahead of Phillips whose time was 49.34 in placing sixth.
Johnson finished fifth in a javelin final that was hampered by the wind, his best throw measured at 57.79m.
Charlotte Alexander raced at the Watford Harriers open meeting and shaved two hundredths of a second from the club U17 women’s 1500m record she had set seven days earlier at Eltham.
Her latest mark of 4:29.42 is her third PB at this distance so far this season.