Athletics: Katarina Thompson on the up after Paris super show

Mar 6 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

KATARINA THOMPSON moved into fourth place in the 2008 UK rankings when she won the under-20s combined events international in Paris with a score of 3,944 points.

Thompson’s five discipline scores were 9.24 (hurdles), 1.73m (high jump), 10.10m (shot putt), 6.11m (long jump) and 2.23.67 (800), beating Amy Hill by 56 points.

In the North West Sports Hall finals, held at Wigan, Thompson’s club, Liverpool Harriers, won the under-11s girls’ final by one point from St Helens-Sutton. West Cheshire took three of the other five team awards.

In the Mid Lancs cross country league at Blackburn Rob Berry (SouthportWaterloo) returned to form by taking second place behind Ellenborough’s Ricky Lightfoot. Liverpool’s Jonny Mellor finished fifth.

In the ladies’ race Amanda Crook (SouthportWaterloo) got the better of Claire Murphy (Liverpool) for third place by two seconds, Crook leading team-mates Ann Eggington and Sue Cooper to a four-point victory over Liverpool, for whom Sophie Whiteside and Danielle Leahey scored.

Joe Vis, Paul Gavan and David Gough earned the Sandgrounders second place in the U17s team race, while Chris Hatton, Edward Rimmer, John Meakin and Adam Goldfarb were similarly placed for Liverpool Pembroke Sefton in the U15s category.

The LPS quartet of Kyle Nicholls, Warren Turner, Andrew Hutchinson and David Reece were third in the U13s team race, one place behind Liverpool, who were led home by Luke Towers.

Liverpool’s U13s girls, however, continued their winning ways as Rebecca Donohue, Olivia Perez, Erin Stewart and Sarah McDonagh finished 12 points clear of Blackpool.

Ben Fish (Blackburn) and Jenny Blizzard (Rotherham) were the individual winners of the Liverpool Half Marathon with Liverpool’s Simon McEvitt third, Joey Parkinson eighth and Alan Ashton ninth.

Clubmate Jenny Clague was third in the women’s race.

Parkinson won the veteran over-40s prize, the over-50s award going to Newburgh’s Chris Pedder and the over -55s prize to former Southport runner Terry Hanley.

Gill Laithwaite (St Helens-Sutton) was third lady in the Haweswater Half Marathon at Brampton, near Carlisle.

This weekend’s main event is the English Schools’ Cross Country Championships at Sefton Park, Liverpool.

The first race for intermediate girls starts at 1p.m and the last event, senior boys, at 3.15pm. Local athletes will be representing Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the championships.

On Sunday events include the Stafford 20, the Trafford 10k and the Blackpool Stanley Park 10k none of which are accepting entries.

Entry forms for the Cheshire track and field championships at Ellesmere Port are available on the Cheshire County website.

Athletes are reminded that late entries are not accepted.