Following a bronze medal over 1500m on Friday, and easing through the second of two 5000m heats, the 22-year-old stepped back on the track with high expectations of another podium place.

As the race heading into closing stages, Davies showed his determination to hold off his challengers with a fast finish to seal the silver medal in 14:02.46.

Davies finished behind France’s Francois Barrer in 14:00.86, and ahead of Andreas Vojta of Austria in 14:02.65.

Ireland’s Matthew Bergin, who came into the final with the third fastest time finished 10th in 14:11.54.

Davies’ two medals at the games and Jessica Judd’s bronze over 5000m saw the BUCS’ Great Britain and Northern Ireland team conclude the games with three medals across the athletics programme.

Meanwhile, Melissa Courtney finished strongly for a fifth place in women’s 1500m final in 4:21.14.

Amela Terzic of Serbia clinched the gold medal ahead of Ugandan Docus Ajok.

In the discus final, it was an eighth place finish for GB’s Gregory Thompson with a best effort of 57.52m.

All of the athletics coverage from the World University Games can be found here.

The post Jonny Davies Bags 5000m Silver at World University Games appeared first on Fast Running.

Judd ran an impressive race, cementing a place on the podium over the last lap and as she sprinted down the home straight it was just a matter of whether it would be silver or bronze.

As Germany’s Hanna Klein showed a tremendous switch of pace to open up a 70-metre gap at the front of the race, gold was guaranteed, leaving a battle between Judd and Canada’s Jessica O’Connell for the silver medal.

Both athletes gave it everything to cross the line first, but it was the Canadian who had more at the last moment to clinch silver by a few hundredths of a second.

Klein posted 15:45.28 for the gold, with O’Connell clocking 15:50.96, and Judd taking third in 15:51.19.

Judd’s bronze secured the second athletics medal for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, adding to Jonny Davies’ bronze in the men’s 1500m on Friday.

Finishing behind Judd was teammate Louise Small. After running from the front with 800m to go, Small struggled to maintain the pace on the last lap but held on strongly to consolidate fourth place. The 25-year-old crossed the line in 15:55:55.

Following the race, a delighted Judd said, “I’m so happy, I didn’t expect to get a medal. I worked really hard for that, put myself in the race and did everything right.”

#WUGSGB: @jessjuddxx sets her sights on @Tokyo2020 after a bronze medal at #SUTaipei2017 #TargetGREATNESS pic.twitter.com/l69IwwNAGu

— BUCS (@BUCSsport) August 27, 2017

Elsewhere, Zak Seddon was sixth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final in 8:39.30, while Amelia Strickler finished sixth in the women’s shot put final with a best throw of 17.13m, also a new personal best for the 23-year-old.

James Bowness finished fourth posting 1:48.78 in the last of three 800m semi-finals.

With the top two automatically qualifying along with the next two fastest times, Bowness missed out on a final spot.

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Mitchell, who finished ninth in the 10,000m on Wednesday ran a very creditable race, crossing the line 16:00:02.

The 23-year-old’s time was less than 10 seconds outside her personal best of 15:50.55.

Mitchell, the double Irish national champion featured mostly in the middle of a bunched group before a lead pack broke away with 1000m to go.

Mitchell battled commendably to run a strong last lap to move up the field and finish seventh.

It was a great performance from team-mate Shona Heaslip who took more than two seconds off her personal best.

Heaslip, crossed the line in 16:09.62 for 11th place, to round off a fantastic season for the 22-year-old.

Earlier this year Heaslip surprised many by winning the Irish national cross-country championship, beating a field of runners with considerably more experience including Olympians Ciara Mageean and Kerry O’Flaherty.

Hanna Klein of Germany took the gold posting 15:45.28 ahead of Canada’s Jessica O’Connell in 15:50.96, with Great Britain’s Jess Judd clinching bronze in 15:51.19.

Fellow British athlete Louise Small was four seconds behind finishing in fourth.

The post Emma Mitchell a Commendable Seventh in 5,000m Final, with Shona Heaslip 11th appeared first on Fast Running.

Bergin, the US-based athlete lined up to contest the second of two 5000m heats and looked tactically assured as he maintained a presence at the front of the pack throughout the race.

Coming into the home straight the 24-year-old knew he had done enough to secure automatic qualification and eased off to cross the line in 14:25.10 for third, behind Jonas Raess of Switzerland and Ethiopian Zemen Addis Ayalneh.

Bergin is back on the track on Monday to contest the final.

Phil Healy finished seventh with a battling performance in women’s 200m final. The Irish national champion, who went into the final as the eighth fastest from the semi-finals, was one of the quickest out of the blocks and as the sprint approached the bend Healy was in a good position.

However, coming down the home straight the strength of the rest of the field told, with Healy clocking 23.81 for seventh, and just pipped to sixth place by one hundredth of a second.

The impressive Italian, Irene Siracusa took the gold medal.

In the 100m hurdles heats, Sarah Lavin didn’t have the best of starts out of the blocks but showed desire and determination to finish fourth in 10.64. With only the top two automatically qualifying for to the final it was a difficult ask for Lavin to qualify, but the 23-year-old came agonisingly close sharing the last quickest qualifying time with a trio of athletes across all three heats.

Lavin, Stephanie Bendrat of Austria, and Frances’s Laura Valette all clocked 10.64, with the Austrian awarded the last place for the final by the smallest of margins.

Michelle Finn was 14th in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final. The Rio Olympic athlete started strongly, but a strong lead group was quick to break away leaving too much to do for the rest of the field.

The 27-year-old posted 10:40.06 as she crossed the line, in a race won by Turkey’s Tugba Guvenc in 9:51.27.

Cian McManamon was first up for Ireland’s athletics delegation in the morning session, competing in the 20km race walk final.

The 25-year-old came through the half way mark at 46:27 in 15th place, before moving up the ranks to field to finish in 13th, crossing the line 1:35:06.

Fast Running’s daily updates on the World University Games can be found here.

The full schedule of athletics events can be found here, and for live coverage visit livestream.com/fisu.

The post Matt Bergin Eases To 5000m Final, While Phil Healy Finishes 7th in 200m appeared first on Fast Running.

Davies, who won 1500m bronze on Friday (August 26) to secure Britain’s first athletics medal at the Games stepped back on the track to contest the second of two 5000m heats.

Running a great tactical race, Davies set the pace early on and took the lead at different stages but after yesterday’s fantastic performance the 22-year-old knew it best to not concern himself with exerting unnecessary energy to win the heat, conserving as much as possible for Monday’s final.

Davies, the 2015 European under-23 cross country champion finished comfortably in fourth posting 14:25.43, behind Ireland’s Matthew Bergin, Jonas Raess of Switzerland and Ethiopian Zemen Addis Ayalneh.

Elsewhere, Melissa Courtney advanced to the 1500m final after comfortably claiming the second automatic place from her heat in 4:18.68.

The 23-year-old, who ran a personal best of 4:05.82 at the Anniversary Games in London last month, is back on the track on Sunday (August 27) to contest the final.

James Bowness powered into the men’s 800m semi-finals winning the first of seven heats in 1:50.49.

The 25-year-old advanced as the joint fastest across all heats alongside Baptiste Mischler of France and lines up in the last of three semi-finals also on Sunday.

Starting in the outside lane, Alicia Barrett finished fifth in the strong 100m hurdles semi-final, crossing the line in 13.75.

The 19-year-old, who competed at the recent World Championships struggled after hitting the first hurdle, and despite giving it every effort, was left with too much to do to make the final.

Amelia Strickler made it through to the women’s shot put final with a third and final throw of 16.38m.

In the men’s discus Gregory Thompson continued the positive progression of British athletes in the field events, qualifying at ease for the final with a best effort of 57.94m.

Fast Running’s daily updates on the World University Games can be found here.

The full schedule of athletics events can be found here, and for live coverage visit livestream.com/fisu.

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In a stacked 1500m final, Davies ran impressively to win bronze, just missing out on a finish higher up the podium.

The 22-year-old finished right on the heels of winner Timo Benitz of Germany and France’s Alexis Miellet, clocking 3:43.99 to secure the first athletics medal for the British and Northern Irish delegation.

Davies made it through to the final after a third place finish in the earlier round, finishing behind the eventual gold medalist Benitz.

#WUGSGB: A tough 1⃣5⃣0⃣0⃣m race, but a bronze medal for Jonathan Davies! #SUTaipei2017 #TargetGREATNESS pic.twitter.com/6EuuxX80LA

— BUCS (@BUCSsport) August 25, 2017

After finishing second in her 800m semi-final yesterday, Adelle Tracey battled bravely for a fourth place finish in Friday’s final, clocking 2:03.72.

Tracey, who made it into the semi-finals at the recent World Championships, crossed the line in fifth behind Rose Mary Almanza, but the Cuban was later disqualified, promoting 24-year-old Tracey to fourth place.

Jess Turner had hopes of a podium place heading into the women’s 400m hurdles final, and give it everything, but with a long season taking its toll she had to settle for a fifth place finish in 57.45.

The 22-year-old, who represented GB at the World Championships improved on her time from the previous round, clocking 57.45.

Allan Smith was three centimetres away from a bronze medal in the high jump. The 24-year-old’s best jump of 2.23m was beaten by two season’s best and one personal best effort.

Alicia Barrett made it through to the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles, posting a time of 13.75 to qualify comfortably in third.

In the 400m hurdles semi-finals, Jacob Paul narrowly missed out on final spot, finishing third and ninth fastest overall in 50.37.

Samuel Trigg finished 12th in the triple jump final, with a 14.94m leap.

Leading into Saturday’s athletic action at the World University Games, the full timetable can be found here, with live coverage available here.

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Healy clocked an impressive 23.80 to finish second in the first of three semi-finals to secure one of two automatic qualification places for the final.

Before contesting the semi-final, the 22-year-old successfully negotiated her heat with an impressive win in 23.83, 0.26 seconds ahead of the nearest challenger.

The Irish national champion is back on the track on Saturday to contest the final amongst a strong a field at 12.55pm, and to watch live coverage visit livestream.com/fisu.

Lavin was first to line up for Ireland’s athletics delegation, taking to the track for round one of the women’s 100m hurdles with the first three in each securing automatic qualification.

Lavin’s posting of 13.54 in the last of five heats was good for the third automatic qualification spot.

The 23-year-old, who won an Irish national title in July contents the second of three semi-finals on Saturday (August 26th) in a field that British athlete Alicia Barrett.

Following the 200m semi-finals, Ireland’s Paul Byrne was is back in action for the 400m hurdles semi-finals.

In a tough field, the 27-year-old clocked 51.31 to finish 7th, with the top three all running sub 50 seconds.

Byrne made it through to the semi-finals with a time of 51.06 on Thursday.

Details on when Irish athletes in competition at the World University Games can found here and the full athletics timetable can be found here.

For live coverage visit livestream.com/fisu.

The post Phil Healy Clinches 200m Final Spot at the World University Games appeared first on Fast Running.

Lavin’s posting of posting of 13.54 in the last of five 100m hurdles heats, was good for the third automatic qualification spot.

The 23-year-old, who won an Irish national title in July, will line-up in a top field that includes Great Britain’s Alicia Barrett, in the second of three semi-finals on Saturday (August 26).

Healy, second to line up for Ireland’s athletics delegation, took to the track for round one of the women’s 200m with the first three in each securing qualification to the semi-finals later that day.

The 22-year-old sprinter clocked an impressive 23.87 to take the victory and an automatic qualification spot, finishing 0.26 seconds ahead of the nearest challenger.

Healy is back on the track at 10.15am GMT to contest the first of three semi-finals. The Irish sprinter has the third fastest time this year amongst the field in her race, with a good performance Healy has every chance of making Friday’s final.

Following the 200m semi-finals, Ireland’s Paul Byrne is back in action for the 400m hurdles semi-finals, lining up at 10.50am GMT.

Byrne made it through the earlier rounds with a time of 51.06 and will hope to run closer to his 50.03 personal best to advance to the final.

Fast Running’s daily updates on the World University Games can be found here.

The full schedule of athletics events can be found here, and for live coverage visit livestream.com/fisu.

The post Sarah Lavin and Phil Healy Advance to Semi-Finals at the World University Games appeared first on Fast Running.

Tracey, who made her first appearance at a global outdoor event in London at the World Championships, took to the track for the first of two 800m semi-finals.

After negotiating Wednesday’s heats comfortably, Tracey started in a similar fashion leading the field through the halfway point of the race.

As the race winded down to the final 300m the impressive Docus Ajok of Uganda lead a charge, with Tracey slipping down to fifth. Not to be outdone, 24-year-old Tracey battled back to clinch one of the three automatic qualification spots for Friday’s (August 25) final, crossing the line in 2:03.30.

Not wanting her Games to end prematurely, 24-year-old Tracey battled back strongly with a sprint down the inside lane to clinch one of the three automatic qualification spots for Friday’s (August 25) final, crossing the line in 2:03.30.

Corinne Humphreys was in action in the women’s 100m semi-finals after advancing through rounds one and two on Wednesday, with times of 11.48 and 11.52 respectively.

In a strong final that was won by Jamaican star Sashalee Forbes, Humphreys crossed the line in 11.49 to finish joint fourth with Viktoria Zyabkina of Kazakhstan.

First in action for the British delegation on day two of athletics was Jacob Paul in the first round of the 400m hurdles. The European U23 booked his place in Friday’s semi-finals after winning the fourth of six heats in 51.38.

Jess Turner was next up in the women’s equivalent event. The 22-year-old, who represented GB at the World Championships in London, finished second in her heat clocking 57.73, qualifying for Friday’s final as the fastest outside of the heat winners.

The decathlon events got underway with John Lane clocking 11.13 in the 100m, for 832 points. In tough conditions Lane followed this up with solid performances in the long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m, ending the day with 3832 points.

In the 100m semi-finals, Samuel Osewa finished fifth crossing the line in 10.42, missing out on a final spot by 0.11 seconds.

Yang Chun-han was the winner in the 100m final, with the hometown sprint star surprising many outside of Taiwan to clinch gold. The 20-year-old won with a time of 10.22, following up on his 10.20 personal best he set in the semi-finals, earlier on Thursday.

Fast Running’s daily updates on the World University Games can be found here.

The full schedule of athletics events can be found here, and for live coverage visit livestream.com/fisu.

The post Adelle Tracey Leads the way for GB at the World University Games appeared first on Fast Running.

Byrne took to the track for round one of the men’s 400m hurdles with the first three in each going through automatically, plus the next six fastest times to the semi-finals.

In the third of six heats the 27-year-old finished fourth missing out on automatic qualification, but his time of 51.06 was good to secure one of the remaining spots for Friday’s (August 25) semi-finals.

Byrne, the training partner of Irish Olympian Thomas Barr, was placed sixteenth out of the twenty-four advancing to the next round.

With a personal best of 50.03 clocked at the Brussels Grand Prix last month, Byrne has every chance of advancing to the final if he can find a similar performance on Friday.

Niamh Whelan was in action in the women’s 100m semi-finals after advancing through rounds one and two on Wednesday, with times of 11.71 and 11.74 respectively.

In a strong field that featured Jamaican star Sashalee Forbes, Whelan crossed the line in 11.81 to finish in seventh place.

With only the first four in each semi-final qualifying, the 27-year-old missed out a place in the final, finishing twelfth overall.

Finishing ahead of Whelan, were two athletes who placed in the top four of the final later on Thursday evening, including 21-year-old Forbes, the runaway gold medalist.

Athletics action from the World University Games resumes tomorrow (Friday 25), with a full day of track races for Irish athletes.

Sarah Lavin begins Friday’s athletics for Ireland in the first round of the women’s 100m hurdles, followed by Philomena Healy in the 200m first round, with Marcus Lawler next in the men’s equivalent.

Paul Byrne is then back on the track to contest the second of three 400m hurdles semi-finals.

Emma Mitchell and Shona Heaslip were scheduled to conclude the Irish involvement in Friday’s athletics in the first round of the 5000m, but at the moment it is unclear if they are going ahead, in which case it will be straight final on Sunday.

Details on when Irish athletes in competition at the World University Games can found here and the full athletics timetable can be found here.

For live coverage visit livestream.com/fisu.

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