By Owen Morgan

Jenny Nesbitt and Piers Copeland produced spectacular performances as The Cardiff Met Christmas Classic proved to be a real cracker for Welsh endurance stars.

Nesbitt and Copeland stole the show in the event’s blue riband 3,000m races on Sunday, while Bethan Davies enjoyed a dominant gun to tape win in the 3,000m walk.

Seven days after winning a team gold at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Nesbitt was in record-breaking form as the popular meeting returned after last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic.

The Cardiff athlete clocked a new personal best of 8:44.92 and in the process smashed the Welsh All Comers record, the meeting record, and National Indoor Athletics Centre stadium record.

The only female runner in her heat, Nesbitt settled in behind Cardiff Met’s Oliver Lum, who paced her through two kilometres, before surging through the field to eventually finish third in the race and the fastest woman overall.

Asked how she felt after the race, an excited Nesbitt said: “Incredible! I said to Chris (coach Chris Jones) before the race, ‘I just don’t know what I’m going to run today. I feel like I’m in really good shape, but who knows?’

“So, that’s gone above all of our expectations. It’s definitely given me a lot of confidence that what I want to achieve next year is certainly very achievable.”

One of those goals, which include representing Wales at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, will now be the World Indoor Championships scheduled to be held in Belgrade next March.

Nesbitt’s time was inside the qualifying standard for the Championships, although won’t count as it was achieved in a mixed race.

“My boyfriend actually paced me for the first two ks today when I sat behind him,” revealed Nesbitt.

“I said to him before the race, ‘I’m sorry, anything that goes on the track, stays on the track, I don’t want to be rude’.

“So, when we got to a k to go I said:  ‘I’ve got to go now’ and he let me past. I felt great in the last k.

“Now I need to do it in a female only race, but I felt really controlled today. I’m going to give it a go next year and see what happens. If the World Indoor Champs go ahead, they’re definitely an option.

“Today’s time would have put me in the top three at the European champs last year so I feel like the worlds are a realistic expectation now.”

 

🤯🤯🤯 8:44!!!!!! https://t.co/AwdvE6YHFf

— Jenny Nesbitt (@jennynesbitt) December 19, 2021

Nesbitt’s time also put her second on the Welsh all-time 3,000m list behind Melissa Courtney, who clocked 8:38.22 at the 2019 European Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

Men’s 3,000m winner Copeland will also have his eyes on the World Indoor Championships.

The Cardiff-based Wimborne AC athlete, who finished fifth over 1500 at the European Indoor Championships at the start of this year, was less than a second outside his Christmas Classic meeting record as he clocked 7:59.51 in a thrilling heat.

Pacemaker Rob Howarth made the early running, before Menai Track and Field’s Osian Perrin took over at the front.

Like Nesbitt, Perrin was a team gold medal winner at last week’s European Cross Country Championships, and he brought that form back to Cardiff as he led going into the last lap.

However, Copeland timed his run perfectly to take the victory, while Perrin’s second-placed time of 8:01.20, was just outside fellow Welshman Jake Heyward’s UK under-20 record and puts him third on the all time UK list.

Copeland said of his victory: “I enjoyed that. I didn’t come in with any expectations, I came in to have a good race and a bit of a blow just to see how I feel.

“Rob did a great job pacing and took us round in an eight minute-ish pace which was fantastic. Then it was about running it home and having a good finish, really.

“I knew I was in around that 7:55, eight minute shape. I just needed to get on the train and get after it.

“I wanted to finish quite strongly today just to see how winter training has been going. To be fair, it’s been going alright, I felt pretty good. I was pleased with that.”

Copeland, like Nesbitt, is also eyeing a place at the World Indoor Championships in March.

“I’ve got the standard for the 1500. I’m going to see how my indoor season goes and then see how I do at the British championships.

“If you win the British Champs you to get automatic selection. I’ll see how it goes and make a decision nearer the time if I get the opportunity.”

There could be plenty of other decisions for Copeland to make next year with the World Athletics Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Athletics Championships all taking place within weeks of each other during the summer.

“It’s a busy season with three major champs,” said Copeland. ” think the first thing is just to get into best shape as possible.

“Then, have a good run at the British champs – do as well possible there to give myself the maximum opportunities in the outdoor season.

“And then after that I’ll see how I’ve done and I can make a decision about what to do for the summer champs.”

Asked whether it would be possible to compete at all three major championships in the summer, Copeland said: “I think it’s definitely possible.

“Whether I would get the best out of myself if I did do all three, that’s different. It’s three major champs in the matter of about a month. It’s going to be tough and it’s going to take a toll on the body, so I think I’ll just wait and see how I feel.”

Race walker Davies, who is targeting another Commonwealth Games appearance at next summer’s event in Birmingham, having gained the qualifying standard over 10K, was in typically dominant form in the 3,000m walk.

The Cardiff athlete, who represented Wales on the Gold Coast in Australia in 2018, won Sunday’s race in 13:17.38.

Shortly after Davies’ victory, news filtered through from Dublin that her great Welsh rival Heather Lewis, of Pembrokeshire Harriers, had also gained the qualifying standard for Birmingham at the Ireland National Race Walks Championships.

Other Commonwealth Games hopefuls were in sparkling form in Cardiff.

Rebecca Chapman, who also competed on the Gold Coast, set a new meeting long jump record of 6.17m as she recorded her longest indoor distance since 2015.

The Cardiff athlete also finished third in the 60m sprint behind winner and club mate Emmanuella Kone.

Caryl Granville, who competed in the 100 hurdles and 400 metre hurdles in Australia three years ago, completed a 60m hurdles and 300m double on Sunday.

The Swansea Harrier clocked 8.56 over the barriers before winning the 300m in 40.12, just outside the 11-year-old meeting record.

Curtis Matthews, a decathlon veteran of the Gold Coast and Glasgow Commonwealths, enjoyed a win in the shot put on Sunday with a distance of 14.47m and finished fourth in the pole vault with a height of 3.95m.

There were a number of other outstanding performances during the high quality meeting staged against the difficult background of various COVID restrictions.

Other highlights included the spectacle of the traditional Santa Dash, which Plymouth’s Tobias Clayden won in a rapid 7.30 despite wearing a full Santa suit.

Full results are available on the Open Track website.