By Owen Morgan
Two of the hottest prospects in Welsh sport are due go head to head in a Cardiff park on Saturday afternoon.
Middle distance athletics prodigy Jake Heyward and triathlon tyro Matt Willis meet in the under-20 race at the Cardiff Cross Challenge on Llandaff Fields.
At 19 Heyward has already run faster than middle distance legends Steve Ovett, Steve Cram and Seb Coe did at the same stage in their careers.
His coach James Thie, himself a former Great Britain international has described him as “our best Welsh talent, probably ever, in terms of the middle distances”.
Meanwhile, Willis recently returned from the World Triathlon Championships on Australia’s Gold Coast, where he finished a creditable 18th and was part of Great Britain’s bronze medal winning team relay squad.
However, the Wrexham teenager is a star of the track and cross country circuits as well as having won the ITU World Junior Duathlon crown in July along with his first ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup Gold medal in Holland.
Earlier this year he tasted success at the English Schools Cross Country championships in Leeds, adding the senior title to those he won in the younger age groups in 2014 and 2016.
He was also the fastest European at the World Schools Cross Country Championships in Paris, finishing fifth.
Last year he was named Welsh Junior Off Track Athlete of the Year by Welsh Athletics and earlier this month he picked up the Welsh Junior Endurance Athlete of the Year title.
Now he is turning his attention back to the cross country circuit and a return to the Cardiff Cross Challenge. “I am very much looking forward to opening my cross-country season in Cardiff. It was a brilliant event last year and undoubtedly will be this year too.”
Reflecting on the past year’s successes, Willis said: “2018 has been great, I’ve managed to keep injuries at bay which has allowed me to reach a much higher standard of racing.
“I was grateful to win the award for Welsh Junior Endurance Athlete of the Year last week, because it means my hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Athletics can be a bumpy road at times so it’s nice to be recognised when things are going well.”
Willis says the all-round nature of his triathlon and athletics training benefits his performance in all the disciplines, despite the obvious time demands.
“Time-wise it’s always been a matter of staying organised otherwise training could get out of control,” he says.
“Other than that, I think the cross-nature of my training is really beneficial, not only for my aerobic fitness but mentally too.
“I love the variety that comes with being a triathlete and the ability to keep fit in the event of an injury in one of the disciplines”
Willis says he has no specific goals for this Saturday’s event, but is looking forward to pitting his wits against Heyward, the man who picked up this year’s Welsh Junior Track and Field Athlete of the Year award.
“As it’s the season opener, I’ve set no specific expectations,” says Willis. “At this point in the season I think it’s important to settle back into training and racing without the stresses of times, but also keeping one eye open to any weaknesses I may encounter in the first few races.
“That being said, I am looking forward to toeing the line with fellow Welsh athlete Jake Heyward and seeing what I can do.
“In terms of the rest of the season, I hope to qualify to represent Great Britain at the European and World Junior Cross-Country Championships.”
Heyward, who is the reigning U20 men’s Cross Challenge series champion, has enjoyed an equally successful 12-months to Willis’.
The Cardiff AC athlete started his year by clocking a lifetime best over 1500 metres indoors and then broke Ian Stewart’s 50-year-old British 3000 metres indoor Under 20 record of 8:00.
It would also have been a European record had Norwegian teen sensation Jakob Ingebrigtsen not run a time of 7:56 earlier in the day.
Moving outdoors, Heyward went on to set PBs at 800, 1500 and 3000 metres. He ended the year as number in the UK at Under 20 at 1500 and 3000 metres indoors and out.
He was Wales No 1 at senior level in 1500 and 3000 metres and finished 7th overall in the UK at 1500 and 10th at 3000.
The European 1500m Junior Champion won the England U20 1500 Championships and went on to finish 4th at the World Junior Championships, beating the World Indoor champion.
Heyward ran a lifetime best of 3:39:84 at the Oslo Diamond League in June, before lowering that mark to 3:36:90 at the London Anniversary Games in July – a time that put him second on the UK U20 all-time list at 1500 metres ahead of British middle distance legends Cram, Coe and Ovett.
Willis and Heyward are no strangers over cross country. At the CAU Inter County Championships at Loughborough in March, Heyward finished third in the 8km under-20 race in a time of 30:18, while Willis was sixth in 30:45.
In November of last year, at the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool, there was just two seconds between them over 6.7km as Willis finished third in 21:11 and Heyward fourth in 21:13.
In December, Willis finished 14th in the SPAR European Cross Country Championships over 6.2km in a time of 18:57, while Heyward was 30th in 19:23.
Now they are due to meet again in Cardiff over 6.4km in the under-20 race on Saturday afternoon at 2.25pm.
Full details of the day’s races, from under-11 to senior levels can be found on the Cardiff Cross Challenge Website.