The curtain came down on the European Junior Championships this Sunday evening with medal success for one of the Herts Phoenix contingent in the GB squad.  In what had been a frustrating championships for the Club’s athletes, Nathan Wake, still 16, who just over a fortnight ago had finished a superb, but agonising, 4th in the World Youth (U18) Championships in Italy, turned his disappointment to joy in winning a gold medal with the GB 4x400m relay team.

The frustrations endured by his sister Laura and clubmate Stephanie Gaynor and the withdrawal of sprint sensation Jodie Williams to rest a back injury had threatened to cast a shadow over these championships from a Herts Phoenix point of view but Nathan’s superb run on the third leg of the final event soon raised a cheer.  In the flurry of change-over madness, Wake found himself suddenly in third with the Polish squad exchanging slightly quicker, but the World Youth fourth placer used his strength to hold off the Pole into the bend and regained the inside line.

Running almost conservatively, the German team were stretching away, but Wake had boxed clever, leaving plenty of energy left for the home straight, where he handed 400m individual champion Chris Clarke of Milton Keynes AC the baton, just 15 metres behind Marco Kaiser.

Clarke made up the ground within 80metres and overtook him and despite a strong challenge off the final bend, kept him at bay to bring home the gold medal for Nathan and his colleagues.

Nathan said “That was good. I was strong at the end because we discussed tactics and running smart. The final 50m in the 4x400 is the most important, so I made sure I had something left. To come here and medal is great.”

Sister Laura had run her individual 400m earlier in the week and having been drawn in a heat with several of the fastest women finished in 5th place with 54.37 and didn’t progress.  This was mainly the result of poor seeding as all three eventual medallists were in Laura’s heat.

Having taken to the event after running a relay leg for the Club at a UK Women’s League fixture, Laura has progressed impressively to take her debut GB vest and today’s run was only her seventh venture over the one lap distance.

“That was tough, I was drinking water trying to cool down before the start but it was hard work and I think perhaps nerves make you hotter,” she said after.

“I’m completely overwhelmed by the occasion but I’ve got so much from being here. I had to run my own race, there was no way I could go with that, but it’s been such an eye-opener".

“Yesterday it was really fun and everyone in the team was happy and then today the championships started and it got very serious - everyone is just so focussed, but that has been good as it meant I was able to focus on my race and do my best. I’m happy with how I’ve run, but I’m also going to aim for Canada (World Junior Championships) next year.”

For Stephanie Gaynor there was heart break as she failed to progress from her heat through no fault of her own.  Running a  strong race in the women’s 100m hurdles, Steph left the track in utter frustration when France’s Jessica Alcan clattered the 8th hurdle and in falling took Gaynor off stride. Steph failed to clear the next hurdle and recorded a DNF (did not finish) in circumstances she clearly could not avoid. Despite appeals from the GB & NI team management, the championships refused to reinstate Gaynor and allowed the result to stand.

Club spokesman Jon Humphries said
‘We are extremely pleased for Nathan that his disappointment at the World Youth Championships has been turned around in such a positive way and that he was able to make such a significant contribution to the gold medal winning team.

His medal caps what has been a year of unprecedented success for the club at international level.

We are also proud of Laura and Steph and we are sure that they will go on to wear the GB vest with distinction again in the near future’.