Liverpool Harriers athletes James Williams and Jamie Webb have travelled to Torun to represent Team GB in this weekend’s European Indoor Athletics Championships.
400m runner Williams’ call-up is his first for his country, and he told Crickcastpod that he couldn’t believe it when he received the phone call from UK Athletics coach Benke Blomkvist to notify him of his selection.
“He offered me the place on the team and obviously, I was over the moon. It sort of hit home.
“The day before it was like ‘okay, I might be going…’ but when he phoned me and said, that was the realisation then that I’m actually going to be going, and I’m going to get a GB kit, and I’m going to try and go up against the best in Europe.”
The versatile sprinter won gold at the British Athletics Indoor Championships last year and ran an impressive personal best of 46.60 two weeks ago at the selection trials for this weekend’s event in Poland.
800m runner Jamie Webb is no stranger to the Team GB scene, and is looking to go one better this year in Torun after 2019’s silver medal at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
He, along with Elliot Giles, broke Sebastian Coe’s 38-year British indoor record for 800m with a time of 1.44.54 to go ninth in the all-time indoor records in February.
You wait 38yrs for someone to break @sebcoe british record, and two lads go and do it on the same day đ„
An honor to be a part of that race, looks like I'll have to go a bit quicker! 1:44.54i and 9th fastest global all time will do for now though đ pic.twitter.com/WNpjc5FZRH
— Jamie Webb (@jamiewebb800) February 18, 2021
“This time’s going to be a bit different,” the Rainhill-based athlete said. “I go into it with the fastest time on paper, I expect myself to get a medal at least, I want to do one better than last time.
“It’s a different pressure but I’m feeling ready for it and I’ve prepared well, everything’s gone as well as it could have, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
William’s 400m heats begin at 10:13 CET on Friday with the semi-finals later that day at 19:10. Webb’s 800m first round is also on Friday at 19:55.
Webb’s semi-final is at 19:25 CET on Saturday, with Williams’ final also on Saturday evening at 20:10.
Webb’s final is scheduled for 18:25 on the Sunday, providing all goes well in the earlier rounds.
(Featured image, – pic under creative commons by Filip Bossuyt)
