media_artricles :: 2017

Richards rules

T&T jumper lands British title

Che Richards grabbed men's long jump gold at the 2017 British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Indoor Championships, in Sheffield, England, on Sunday. The Trinidad and Tobago athlete disturbed the sand at 7.46 metres for a comfortable cushion on Great Britain's Joshua Olawore, the silver medallist with a 7.29m leap.

Richards was at his best in Saturday's preliminaries, the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) student jumping a personal best 7.64m to lead all qualifiers into the finals. He was just five centimetres short of the 7.69m Championship record, established in 2010 by Briton Matthew Burton. Richards' previous best was 7.53m.

Competing indoors for the very first time in his career, Richards enjoyed a very successful season. The 19-year-old athlete was crowned Scottish long jump champion, captured gold in the long jump and 60 metres dash at the Scottish University Championships, and then closed off his 2017 indoor campaign with Sunday's BUCS Championship long jump triumph.

Richards, who chose to study at Edinburgh after winning an Open National Scholarship in 2015, will now focus on getting ready for his 2017 outdoor campaign.

"BUCS was my last indoor meet," he told the Express, yesterday. "It's back to the hard training in preparation for the outdoor season."

At the Alex Wilson Invitational, in Indiana, USA, Lisa Wickham won the women's 60m dash in a personal best 7.52 seconds. The Tennessee Technological University student had clocked 7.58 in the qualifying round.

In Alabama, Asa Guevara bagged bronze in the Conference USA Indoor Championship men's 400m event in a personal best 46.94 seconds. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) athlete also competed in the 200m, finishing 10th overall in 21.65.

Louisiana Tech University sophomore Elia Nero returned a time of two minutes, 15.44 seconds for ninth spot overall in the women's 800m. And Western Kentucky University senior Peli Alzola was 13th in the women's 200m in 24.84 seconds and 20th in the 60m dash in 7.69.

At the Beaver Twilight meet, in Minnesota, Jada Barker clocked 7.95 seconds to claim silver in the women's 60m. The Bemidji State University student had produced a 7.98 run in the qualifying round.

Mauricia Prieto was just short of the podium in the New Mexico Junior College Invitational women's 400m event, the South Plains College athlete finishing fourth in 55.72 seconds. At the Texas A&M Aggie Twilight meet, Carlyle Roudette was fourth in the men's 200m in 21.55.

Two weekends ago, in Virginia, Ayanna Alexander won the Liberty Elite Invitational women's triple jump title with a 13.20m effort. And in Alabama, Claflin University student Odou Hazel was 10th overall in the Samford Open men's 400m in 48.95 seconds.

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