Athletes sharpen form as championship season approaches

With the Commonwealth Games soon upon us this summer, alongside the 2026 GAAA Open Championships scheduled for June, as well as the World Athletics U20 Championships and European Athletics Championships in August, athletes have continued building on their track and field performances.

In the latest Track Meet, the fifth of the season, athletes competed in the 100m, 400m, 800m, Shot Put and Long Jump.

National records remained unchanged, with times still some way off the current marks, especially in the 100m.

An 11.74s finish in the 100m for under-20 athlete Pau Funes Fa still leaves some distance to the 10.89s national record set by Jessy Franco in 2019.

It was a similar story in the 400m, with Deven Mcinniss finishing in 51.65s. The current national record in the men’s event stands at 47.41s.

Only one competitor took part in the 800m, with Kieran George finishing in 2:27.06. This remains some way from the overall national record of 1:51.17, set by Johnny Chappory in 1984.

Athletics last week saw a boost in participation, with the Kids Athletics Day and DNA events becoming the main focal points, highlighting how the sport is once again finding its feet after years of struggling while based at the Victoria Stadium.

The gap left by years in which the sport was unable to retain many promising young athletes, however, continues to impact participation levels and it could still take some time before the recovery now being seen fully takes shape. Recent participation numbers in youth and junior leagues have nevertheless seen more than 180 young runners registered this year — a positive sign for the future if participation can be maintained and the transition between junior level and youth/senior level is successfully bridged in the coming years.

100m

Place | Bib | Name | Category | Club | Time
1 | 154 | Pau Funes Fa | U20M | LOURD | 11.74
2 | 115 | Luka Desoiza | U20M | IND | 11.81
3 | 113 | Liam Byrne | M50 | ATLAS | 12.95
4 | 156 | Reuben Young | U16B | IND | 13.10
5 | 192 | Arianna Dalli Dalli | U18W | ATLAS | 13.83
6 | 199 | Scarlet Cumings | U18W | IND | 14.76
7 | 7 | Rachael Jackson | W35 | LOURD | 18.90

400m

Place | Bib | Name | Category | Club | Time
1 | 197 | Deven Mcinniss | M35 | IND | 51.65
2 | 154 | Pau Funes Fa | U20M | LOURD | 54.69
3 | 22 | Finley Cant | U20M | LOURD | 54.76
4 | 178 | Devon Joshua Mumford | U16B | IND | 58.39
5 | 30 | Jacek Trojanowski | M40 | LOURD | 59.06
6 | 17 | Sebastian Galia | U20M | LOURD | 1:05.38

800m

Place | Bib | Name | Category | Club | Time
1 | 190 | Kieran George | U18M | IND | 2:27.06

Shot Put

Place | Bib | Name | Category | Club | Best
1 | 198 | Rhys Byrne | U23M | ATLAS | 8.86
2 | 200 | Alex Trinidad | M35 | IND | 7.87
NM | 194 | Julian Turnock | U23M | LOURD | NM

Long Jump

Place | Bib | Name | Category | Club | Best
1 | 198 | Rhys Byrne | U23M | ATLAS | 6.25
2 | 113 | Liam Byrne | M50 | ATLAS | 5.33
3 | 189 | Leyre Makpa Garcia | U18W | ATLAS | 4.99
NM | 191 | Kerianne Coulthard | U16G | ATLAS | NM
NM | 192 | Arianna Dalli Dalli | U18W | ATLAS | NM
NM | 7 | Rachael Jackson | W35 | LOURD | NM