All queries should be directed to Luke Gunn
Details for the meeting can be found HERE
Start Lists for the meeting are available HERE
Timetable is available HERE
Live streaming of the meeting is available at Vinco HERE Use discount code britishmilersclub10
Live Results are available HERE
Spectator Tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bmc-2024-grand-prix-gp4-birmingham-spectator-tickets-tickets-936322956167?aff=oddtdtcreator
Wavelight timings for each race are
| Race Order |
RACE |
Wavelight (GREEN) |
Target finish | Wavelight (RED) | Target Finish |
| 1 | Women 800 E | 400-65, 400-69 | 2m14 | ||
| 2 | Men 800 I | 400-56, 400-58.5 | 1m54.5 | ||
| 3 | Women 800 D | 400-64, 400-68 | 2m12 | ||
| 4 | Men 800 B | 400-52, 400-56 | 1m48 | ||
| 5 | Men 800 F | 400-54.5, 400-57.5 | 1m52 | ||
| 6 | Men 800 E | 400-54, 400-57 | 1m51 | ||
| 7 | Men 800 D | 400-53.5, 400-56.5 | 1m50 | ||
| 8 | Men 800 G | 400-55, 400-58 | 1m53 | ||
| 9 | Men 800 H | 400-55.5, 400-58 | 1m53.5 | ||
| 10 | Women 800 B | 400-61, 400-64 | 2m05 | 400-63, 400-65 | 2m08 |
| 11 | Women 800 A | 400-59, 400-61 | 2m00 | 400-61, 400-63 | 2m04 |
| 12 | Men 800 A | 400-51.5, 400-54 | 1m45.5 | ||
| (800 interviews) | |||||
| 13 | Men 800 C | 400-53, 400-56 | 1m49 | ||
| 14 | Women 800 C | 400-63, 400-67 | 2m10 | ||
| 15 | Men 1500 E | 229 | 3m49 | 235 | 3m55 |
| 16 | Men 1500 B | 222 | 3m42 | 225 | 3m45 |
| 17 | Women 1500 B | 255 | 4m15 | 260 | 4m20 |
| 18 | Men 1500 H | 236 | 3m56 | 240 | 4m00 |
| 19 | Men 1500 C | 225 | 3m45 | 228 | 3m48 |
| 20 | Men 1500 D | 227 | 3m47 | ||
| 21 | |||||
| 22 | Women 1500 A | 247 | 4m07 | 255 | 4m 15 |
| (W1500 presentation) | |||||
| 23 | Women 1500 C | 264 | 4m24 | 270 | 4m30 |
| 24 | Men 1500 A | 217.5 | 3m37.5 | 220 | 3m40 |
| (M1500 presentation) | |||||
| 25 | Men 1500 F | 232 | 3m52 | 235 | 3m55 |
| 26 | Women 1500 D | 270 | 4m30 | 275 | 4m35 |
| 27 | Men 1500 G | 233 | 3m53 | 240 | 4m00 |
| 28 | Men 3000 C | 495 | 8m15 | 500 | 8m20 |
| 29 | Men 3000 B | 487 | 8m07 | 495 | 8m15 |
| 30 | Women 3000 A | 536 | 8m56 | 555 | 9m 15 |
| 31 | Men 3000 A | 472 | 7m52 | 480 | 8m00 |
| 32 | Men 2000m Steeple | 320 | 5m20 | 340 | 5m40 |
| 33 | Women 2000m Steeple | 370 | 6m10 | 385 | 6m25 |
| FINISH |
BRITISH MILERS CLUB PRESS RELEASE – BIRMINGHAM UNI GP PREVIEW
THERE is a strong focus upon the ‘next generation’ in the fourth Grand Prix/World Athletics Challenger Tour meeting at Birmingham University on Saturday evening.
Some of the country’s top U23, U20 and U17 runners have entered the meeting which offers the chance to not only chase a personal best but also to put down a marker for the future.
But there is also a strong overseas presence which meeting director Luke Gunn believes will ensure a terrific night of racing.
“There is a definite international spice to the event and with plenty of British juniors still looking for World qualifying times we have a really nice blend,” said Gunn.
“We have had around 400 entries which I gather is a record for a meeting at this time of the year which is great. We’ll have the wavelighting again and in-field warm-up available, plus a good PA system and plenty of raucous students down the back straight to make some noise.
“It is going to be a nice, fun evening.”
The men’s 800m A race boasts Henry Jonas, who is the current UK No 1 in the U20 men’s age group. Jonas is the reigning BUCS champion and Loughborough International winner and knows what it is like to run fast on the Birmingham University track having posted his PB of 1:47.44 in a BMC Gold Standard meeting there in May.
William Robjohns is the current UK U20 No 2 with the 1:48.09 he clocked when winning the C race at the Watford GP and he joins Jonas on the start line.
There are also six of our best U23 runners in the line-up led by Justin Davies, who is No 5, who ran a lifetime best of 1:46.71 at the Watford GP and is looking to improve upon that and No 7 David Race, who has run 1:47.21 this summer.
Indeed, the only ‘senior’ athlete in the field is Angus Harrington (1:46.98 last year) – and he only recently celebrated his 23rd birthday!
The women’s 800m A race also has an exciting, young feel to it sprinkled with some overseas star dust in the shape of Americans Kaitlin Ryan and Emily Richards.
Richards, 28, has a lifetime best of 2:00.20 set two years ago and this summer clocked 2:02.65 last month while 25-year-old Ryan, who set her PB of 2:02.77 last year, arrives in the country with a recent season’s best of 2:05.51.
The British opposition includes one of the country’s best teenagers plus two top juniors and a leading U23 runner.
Bethany Trow, 16, is third in the UK U17 Rankings with a PB of 2:06.12 after finishing runner-up in the B race at the Watford GP.
The leading junior is fellow Shrewsbury runner Iris Downes with a season’s best of 2:05.39, putting her second in the rankings with fourth-placed Ava Lloyd, winner of the 1500m at Watford in a lifetime best of 4:12.07, on 2:06.39.
U23 runner Indienne King, who has run 2:06.06 this summer after posting an indoor PB of 2:04.89, is also entered as is Hannah Segrave, who was fourth in the UK Championships last weekend.
In the women’s 1500m Bethan Morley will be looking to extend her impressive Grand Prix record. The 22-year-old boasts wins at Sportcity, where she ran her PB of 4:11.84 and Loughborough (PB of 2:02.76 in the 800m), plus a fifth place in the 1500m at Watford. Last weekend she finished 10th at the UK Championships.
But it looks like Morley will face one of the strongest fields of the summer with a strong overseas presence.
American Christina Aragon won the bronze medal at the World Juniors in 2016 and arrives in fine form having posted a lifetime best of 4:05.36 in the heats of the American Olympic trials last month. She finished 10th in the final.
Fellow American Melissa Tanaka, 25, boasts a PB of 4:09.66 from 2023 and this year has run 4:12.72 while two 22-year-olds, Saki Katagihar of Japan and Grethe Tyldum of Norway, have run PBs of 4:11.63 – third in her country’s Olympic trials – and 4:15.28 respectively.
The men’s 1500m field includes new BMC Members’ U20 record holder George Couttie with the 19-year-old having followed up that 3:40.56 at the Watford Grand Prix with a very creditable 12th place in the Olympic trails last weekend.
Fellow junior Alex Riley (3:42.37, UK No 3) and U23 No 7 runner Alex Mellow (3:40.53) are also entered as is Tyler Bilyard, who was runner-up at Watford (3:39.71) and last week came seventh at the UK Championships.
The overseas entry features Canada’s 2023 Pan American 1500m champion Riley Flemington, 20, who ran a PB of 3:40.52 last month, 24-year-old Australian Thomas Moorcroft (3:44.31) and Frenchman Nicholas Medouin (3:44.49).
Meeting organiser Luke Gunn has always prided himself in setting up competitive steeplechase races and the 2000m events on Saturday should be no different.
The men’s field boasts the top three fastest juniors in the country this year; Henry Yelling (5:53.7), Loughborough Grand Prix winner Dillon Millard (5:58.32) and Dylan Stoneman (6:07.34).
These are Britian’s next generation of ‘chasers and they will certainly have their sights set on current UK Senior No 3 Mark Pearce (8:20.83 PB this summer), who finished fourth in that epic steeplechase final at the Olympic trials last weekend.
The women’s race is headed by strong American runner Logan Jolly, who ran a PB of 9:26.23 at Los Angeles in May and she too looks set to improve her 2k ’chase best of 6:49.12 set six years ago.
“Logan is keen to go for the American record so that is shaping up to be a very fast race,” said Gunn.
That record was set 10 years ago by Stephanie Garcia and stands at 6:14.66 so keep an eye out for that.
Domestically U23 runner Martha Collings and junior Eadie Yelling will be ones to watch. Both coached by Gunn at the University where they are students Collings ran a PB of 10:42.26 for the 3k discipline at the Watford GP while Yelling finished seventh in the UK Championships last weekend with a PB of 11:11.41.
Outstanding British junior international Innes Fitzerald is a late entry for the women’s 3000m and will be looking to get close to her two-year-old lifetime best of 8:59.67.
She’ll be up against 2022 Australian 5000m champion Paige Campbell plus her twin sister Holly Campbell, who ran 15:09.92 in Austria last month.
Also in the field is seven-times Argentine champion Carolina Lozano, who has lifetime bests of 9:11.09 (3000m indoors last year) and just last month 16:02.30 for 5000m in Spain.
Other top British runners include steeplechaser Poppy Tank, Bryony Gunn, India Barwell and Charlotte Alexander.
Junior Henry Dover has enjoyed a terrific Grand Prix season. Runner-up in the 1500m D race at Sportcity he recorded a PB of 3:48.22 for third in the D race at Watford before claiming his first A race victory with a lifetime best of 7:57.47 to win a great 3000m race at Loughborough.
He is in a strong domestic field for the 3000m on Saturday with the likes of George Wheeler, runner-up in the BMC Indoor Championships with a PB of 7:54.77, Toby Cooke, Jonathan Shields, Angus McMillan and Biruk Aduna Kebede also entered.
