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National Prep Schools Athletics Championship Finals 2024

Published

4 July 2024

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Hari and Jai represented Hallfield and the Mercia region in the National Prep School Athletics Championship Finals which was held at The Alexander Stadium. This saw only the top 2 athletes in each event from each region across England and Scotland competing across the range of events. Hari had qualified for the High Jump, and both Hari and Jai had qualified for the 100m.

Hari Leaps to Silver in High Jump

The day started off with Hari’s High Jump. We had only been practising the Fosbury Flop technique for just over a week before the National Finals, but he quickly learnt and applied his skills. Despite a shaky start, Hari quickly found his stride. Soon the competition was whittling down, and Hari was one of the last 4 children left in the competition managing to clear 1.4m. As the bar moved up to 1.45m, Hari cleared the height on his second attempt, another 2 boys went out at this height, and the final boy failed his first attempt but chose to move on to the next height anyway. This left an exciting scenario where Hari was allowed up to 3 attempts at 1.48m but the other competitor was only left with 2, and if both boys failed at this height, it would leave Hari as the winner. Hari was so close on all 3 of his attempts at 1.48m but unfortunately did not make it over the bar without knocking it. The other competitor did manage to clear it which left him as the winner, and Hari in 2nd place. This was an incredible achievement, and we were so proud to see Hari get his medal as the 2nd best High Jumper across England and Scotland for his age group!

Sprint Sensations: Jai and Hari Blaze the Track

Shortly after lunch, it was time for Hari and Jai’s 100m sprint heats. The event was made up of 3 heats with up to 8 runners in each race. The first 2 winners from each race automatically qualified for the final, with the 2 fastest losers making up 7th and 8th place in the final. Jai was up first and reacted well to the starter. He sprinted down the track and narrowly won his heat, qualifying him for the final. Hari was in the next race and had tough competition. Although a little stiff from his hour and half High Jumping competition, he ran incredibly well and finished 4th in his heat. Unfortunately, he did not qualify for the final, but we were very proud of his performance and qualifying to represent the Mercia region.

Jai’s final was around an hour after his heat. After a little refuelling for energy and keeping his muscles warm, he went down to meet his competitors for the 100m final. He was assigned Lane 1 and looked confident on the start line. It was incredibly tough competition being in the fastest 8 100m sprinters across England and Wales and Jai managed to cross the line in 6th place, a photo finish with 4th and 5th position.

We are so proud of the boys’ incredible achievements and will be looking out for them in the future Olympic Games! Excellent work Hari and Jai!