By Rob Cole
Tom Marshall got a taste of the strength of the competition he will face at the Commonwealth Games when he finished sixth over 1500 metres at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix, behind two Kenyans and an Aussie.
The consolation for the rapidly improving Cardiff AAC middle distance runner was another PB with which to end his brief indoor season and fact he was the best placed Brit in the field a week after striking bronze at the British Championships.
Marshall is off to the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast in April.
The Kenyan duo of Bethwell Birgen (3.37.76) and Vincent Kibet (3.37.88) headed the field with Australian Ryan Gregson third (8.38.00). Marshall came home in a lifetime indoor best of 3.41.78.
Further down the field there was another sensational performance from the European Junior champion Jake Heyward, who stripped 5.91 sec off his Welsh Under 20 record to finish a mere 0.04 sec outside the British record with his time of 3.43.35.
Owen Smith warmed-up for the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, where he is a part of the British 4 x 400 relay said, by finishing fourth in the two lap event in 47.19 sec. He was the first British athlete home in a race won by America’s Fred Kerley in 45.86 sec.
Sam Gordon followed up his bronze medal at the British Championships with a time of 6.71 sec in his 60 metre heat, while para World Champion Olivia Breen went within 100th of a sec of her PB as she finished second over 60 metres in 8.40 sec to finish behind Sophie Hahn (7.95 pb).
Commonwealth Games pole vault silver medallist Sally Peake cleared a disappointing 4.15 metres to finish well down the field, and well down on her season’s best of 4.27.