Home Countries Under 20 International
Swansea, Tuesday 25th July 2018
Kingston upon Hull AC’s Adam Coles had his first taste of international competition when representing England North in the annual Home Countries under20 match staged at the Swansea University Stadium. The 17 year old who has 2 further seasons in the under 20 age group earned his selection for this prestigious event when winning the North of England 110m hurdles title in Manchester in June. With teams from Wales, Welsh Schools, Scotland, Northern Ireland, England South & England Midlands together with England North many of the top young athletes in the United Kingdom were on display in an event which is rapidly establishing itself as one of the best organised and most entertaining evenings on the athletics calendar.
A warm evening greeted the athletes but unfortunately for the sprinters & hurdlers this was accompanied by a stiff breeze blowing off the sea so fast times were difficult to come by. Adam coped well with the conditions to record a time of 15.72 seconds, only 0.02 away from his personal best, to finish 5th in a race won by Ethan Akanni (Loughborough Students AC) who earlier in the season took the bronze medal in the England Athletics under 20 championships. The experience gained will be a great help to Adam as he progresses through the age group and looks to build on a solid first season over the 3’3” hurdles when the indoor competition season starts later in the year.
