Who are the top British male athletes last year based on times, positions in major events and win-loss records against fellow competitors?

While there have been some lingering effects of the pandemic, we had the biggest ever major championships year for British athletes in 2022, writes Peter Matthews.

The decline in the domestic programme continues to be alarming with neglect by our governing body. For instance the Inter-Counties Championships, such a vital part of athletics in Britain for nearly a century, could not be held as the UK CAU cannot afford it and, for now at least, it joins the all-too-long lists of abandoned ventures, although it may again be combined with England Championships.

On a positive side, however, some specific events such as those organised by the British Milers’ Club and specialist sprints meetings have again flourished and the new shoe technology has led to sharp increases in standards across all running events. But unlike in all other major European nations there are simply insufficient opportunities of competition in Britain, particularly affecting those just below international level. Thus, more than ever, British athletes compete overseas rather than at home. One of the effects of this is that the technical events continue to decline alarmingly.

Britain had a decent year at the major championships, winning 7 medals at the Worlds outdoors (1 gold, 1 silver, 7 bronze), but although 5th on the points table, our total was well down on previous recent editions. At the Europeans, Britain again topped the points table and won most medals with 20 (6-6-8). Two bronze medals at the World Indoors was, however, disappointing.

Although only winning two gold medals, England won most medals (2-10-9) and topped the placing table at the Commonwealth Games and could have had a higher figure if a full team had been chosen. Over all the home nations the medal tally was 4-13-12.

Looking at world lists, Britain had 72 men’s and 88 women’s placings in the top 100 for all the standard events in 2022, compared to 61 and 82 in 2021, 82 and 90 in 2019 and 75 and 100 in 2018.

In the merit rankings below the first line is shown the athlete’s name, then their date of birth followed, in brackets, by the number of years ranked (including 2022) and their rankings in 2021, and finally, their best mark prior to 2022. The following lines include their best performances of the year (generally six), followed by significant indoor marks indicated by ‘i’. Then follow placings at major meetings, providing a summary of the athlete’s year at the event. As last year, comparisons to the past ignore 2020.

READ MORE: UK women’s merit rankings

Abbreviations include
BIG             Jumps & Throws Fest (BIGish) at Bedford
B’ham         Birmingham Diamond League
B.Un           British Universities at Chelmsford
CG             Commonwealth Games at Birmingham
DLF            Diamond League Final, Zürich
EC              European Championships at Munich
ENG           England Championships at Bedford
Eng-J          England U20 Championships
Eng-23        England U23 Championships
E.Sch         English Schools at Manchester
E.Thr          European Throws at Leiria
Eur-18        European U18 Champs at Jerusalem
Ind              Indoors
LI                Loughborough International on 22 May
LV              Lee Valley
MI               Manchester International on 3 Jun
Nh              Newham
NLP            National League Premier Division
UK              UK Championships at Manchester
WCh           World Outdoor Championships at Eugene
WI              World Indoor Championships at Belgrade
WJ              World Junior (U20) Championships at Cali
B’zona = Bellinzona, C’hagen = Copenhagen, Coll.Sta = College Station, F’ville = Fayetteville, G’ville = Gainesville, J’ville = Jacksonville, Lough = Loughborough, L’ranta = Lappeenranta, Manch = Manchester, Oord – Oordegem, Szék = Székfehérvár

100 METRES

1    Zharnel Hughes 13.7.95 (5y, 1)  9.91 ’18

9.97, 9.99, 10.03, 10.05, 10.10, 10.13; 9.91w, 9.97w

1 Kingston 26/3, 2 Kingston 2/4, dq h Ponce, dq B’ham, 3 Ostrava, 3 UK, 3s2 WCh. 2 EC

2    Jeremiah Azu 15.5.01 (2y, 5) 10.16 ’21

10.13, 10.13, 10.14, 10.15, 10.16, 10.16; 9.90w, 9.94w

1 Cardiff, 1B B’ham, 2 Bydgoszcz, 4 Hengelo, 1 UK, 5 CG, 3 EC, 3 Leverkusen, 3 Berlin. 2 Zagreb

3    Reece Prescod 29.2.96 (5y, 3) 9.94, 9.88w ’18

9.93, 10.06, 10.10, 10.15, 10.15, 10.16; 9.94w, 10.07w

1 Limassol, 7 B’ham. 1 Ostrava, 2 Oslo, 2 UK, 2 Stockholm. 4h4 WCh, 7 EC, 6 DLF

4    Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake 2.4.94 (5y, -) 9.99 ’18

10.10, 10.13, 10.14, 10.19, 10.23, 10.31; 9.98w, 10.09w

3 G’ville, 2 Clermont, 5 B’ham, 1A1 Barking 28/5, 1B Ostrava, 8 CG

5    Ojie Edoburun 2.6.96 (7y, -) 10.01 ’18, 9.93w 17

10.15, 10.16, 10.20, 10.21, 10.25, 10.26; 10.07dt; 10.01w, 10.02w, 10.11w, 10.13w, 10.16w

3 Atlanta, 3 Clermont, 2B J’ville, 2 Prague, 2/1 Nh 10/6, 8 Oslo, dq UK, 1B C-de-Fonds, 2 Kortrijk, 2/1 Nh 17/7, 3s1 CG, 6s3 EC

6    Eugene Amo-Dadzie 22.6.92 (2y, 4) 10.20 ’21

10.05, 10.15, 10.21, 10.22, 10.24, 10.25; 10.18w

1/2 Nh 17/7, dns ENG, 1/1 Nh 14/8, 2/2 Barking 29/8

7    Jona Efoloko 23.9.99 (2y, 11) 10.30 ’21

10.27; 10.12w, 10.16w, 10.21w, 10.39w

1r3 G’ville, 3 Nh 10/6, 4 UK

8    Adam Thomas 15.4.95 (2y, 8) 10.18 ’21

10.22, 10.24, 10.27, 10.30, 10.34, 10.36; 10.08w, 10.14w, 10.20w

4B B’ham, 1 Rehlingen, 3C Geneva, 6 UK, 1/1 LV, 7s2 CG, 1B1/4A2 Nh 17/7

9    Andrew Robertson 17.12.90 (10y, 6) 10.10 ’14, 10.01w ’21

10.22, 10.22, 10.26, 10.28, 10.32, 10.54; 10.20w, 10.23w, 10.23w

3 MI, 2C1 Nh 10/6, 4 Sollentuna, 2 Kladno, 4s2 UK, 1 Dublin, 3/3 Nh 17/7, dns s1 ENG,

10  Samuel Gordon 5.10.94 (3y, -) 10.25 ’21

10.24, 10.33, 10.33, 10.34, 10.34, 10.36i; 10.15w, 10.21w, 10.26w

1 Bradenton, 3B G’ville, 4 LI, 1/1 Barking 1/5, 2 Cardiff, 3B B’ham,1 LI, 1 Welsh, 3s2 UK, 5/3 Barking 3/7, 2 B Cork, 7/3B Nh 17/7

11  Tommy Ramdhan 28.11.96 (5y, 7) 10.16 ’21

10.22, 10.28, 10.30, 10.30, 10.33, 10.34; 10.13w, 10.13w, 10.15w, 10.18w

5 Waco, 5s3 UK, 1/2 Barking 3/7, 5 Nh 17/7, 1 L’ranta, 3 Barking 29/8

12  Toby Makoyawo 10.5.02 (2y, 12) 10.25 ’21

10.12, 10.38, 10.39; 9.90w, 10.29w

1 TexasR, 1 Durham, 6h6 NCAA-E, 8 Geneva

The European 2-3, Hughes and Azu take the top rankings, with Azu so unlucky to be unable, without the qualifying time, to run at the Worlds despite his 9.90w UK win. Hughes, just outside the world top 10, is top for the fourth time in five years. Prescod ran the year’s fastest but ranks third, then little between the next three. Nicholas Walsh and Oliver Bromby just miss the 12 in excellent standards in depth. 50th best at 10.43 is a UK record.

200 METRES

1    Zharnel Hughes 13.7.95 (7y, 1) 20.02 ’15

20.07, 20.12, 20.19, 20.29, 20.56; 20.30w, 20.21w

1 Kingston 7/5, 3 Ostrava, 2 CG, 1 EC

2    Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake 2.4.94 (8y, 3) 19.95 ’16

20.05, 20.17, 20.30, 20.33, 20.34, 20.59; 20.11w, 20.29w, 20.32w

2 Clermont, 3 J’ville, 1 Barking 28/5, 5 Rome, 1 Castellón, 1 UK, 4s1 WCh, 2 EC, 4 Luzern

3    Charlie Dobson 20.10.99 (3y, -) 20.53 18

20.19, 20.21, 20.21, 20.34, 20.34, 20.52; 19.99w

1B G’ville, 1 Clermont, 4 EC, 8 Lausanne, 3 Luzern, 3 Zagreb

4    Joe Ferguson 3.5.00 (1y, -) 20.76 ’19

20.23, 20.33, 20.38, 20.49, 20.52, 20.62; 20.18w

1G1 LI, 1 LEAP, 2 UK, 7s2 WCh, 2 Szczecin, 2B Luzern, 5 Zagreb; Ind: 1 North, 3 UKi

5    Jeriel Quainoo 17.4.03 (1y, -) 21.60 ’19, 21.55w ’21

20.40, 20.43, 20.56, 20.58, 20.65, 20.73; 20.44w

1 Nh 10/6, 3 UK, 1 Eng-J, 7 WJ, 1 Nh 14/8

6    Tommy Ramdhan 28.11.96 (6y, 4) 20.34 ’21

20.71, 20.71, 20.77, 20.80, 20.81; 20.56w

4 Waco. 3 Coll. Sta, 4 Savona, 1 Nh 17/7, dns ENG, 1 Barking 29/8, 1 Gillingham

7    James Hanson  21.8.01 (1y, -) 20.90 ’21

20.46, 20.80, 20.84, 20.86, 20.87, 21.00; 20.50w

1 Barking 1/5, 1 LI, 4 Poznan, 2 Espoo, 4 UK, 2 Eng-23, 2 Nh 14/8

8    Adam Gemili 6.10.93 (10y, 2) 19.97 ’16

20.15dt, 20.48, 20.60, 20.92, 20.97; 20.44w

2 J’ville, 5 UK, 4h6 WCh, 4s2 CG

9    Andrew Morgan-Harrison 9.3.98 (3y, 11) 20.74, 20.69w ’20

20.68, 20.75, 20.87, 20.89, 20.98; 20.46w

4B Clermont, 1 Coventry 10/5, 4 LI, 1 Espoo, dnf UK

10  Toby Harries 30.9.98 (5y, 9) 20.75 ’19, 20.56w ’15

20.78, 20.80, 20.97, 21.00, 21.03, 21.04; 20.99i; 20.73w, 20.80w

2B Barking 1/5, 3 Coventry, 2G1 LI,  2 Oord, 2 LEAP, 6 Nh 10/6, 6 UK, 3B Cork, 5 Nh 17/7, 4 ENG, 3 Nh 14/8, 1 Kettering; Ind: 1 UKi

11  Reece Prescod 29.2.96 (3y, 5) 20.31 ’21

20.55, 20.69; 1 Coventry 26/4, 1 Limassol

12  Miguel Francis 28.3.95 (4y, -) 19.88 ’16 pre GBR, 19.97 ’19

20.66, 20.71; 1/1 Kingston

Hughes is clearly top ranked for the third time with European gold and Commonwealth silver from European silver medallist Mitchell-Blake. Dobson began to unleash his formidable talent and, new to the rankings. Ferguson made a major breakthrough to world class. An even bigger advance was made by World U20 finalist Quainoo. As with the 100m, 50th best at 21.19 is a new UK record.

400 METRES

1    Matthew Hudson-Smith 26.10.94 (9y, 1) 44.48 ‘16

44.35, 44.38, 44.53, 44.61, 44.66, 44.81

1 G’ville, 3 B,Rouge, 1A B’ham, 3 Eugene, 1 UK, 3 WCh, 2 CG, 1 EC

2    Alex Haydock-Wilson 28.7.99 (4y, 3) 45.57 ’21

45.08, 45.17, 45.45, 45.50, 45.62, 45.65

2 Hamilton, 5 Walnut, 7A B’ham, 2 Haniá, 1 C’hagen, 5 UK, 4s3 WCh, 4 Szék, 3 EC, 2 Rovereto, 5B Zürich; Ind: 3r4 Miramas, 1 LV, dq (1) UKi

3    Charlie Dobson 20.10.99 (3y, 9) 45.11 ’21

45.11, 45.27; 1 Nh, 1 Soderhamn

4    Joseph Brier 16.3.99 (3y, 5) 4584 ’21

45.56, 45.74, 45.75, 46.06, 46.21, 46.30

1 Bradenton, 1B G’ville, 1B B’ham, 2 Oord, 3 Geneva, 4 UK, 8s2 CG, 5h2 EC

5    Jamal Rhoden-Stevens 27.4.94 (3y, 8) 45.86 ’21

45.95, 46.34, 46.35, 46.63, 46.63, 46.79

1 Azusa, 1 San Diego, 2 Palafrugell, 1D Geneva, 5 C-de-Fonds, 1 B’ham Un, 1 ENG, 1 NLP-A; Ind: 1 Glasgow

6    Lewis Davey 24.10.00 (1y, -) 46.65 ’21

46.18, 46.52, 46.55, 46.58, 46.62, 46.84

2 Coventry, 4B B’ham, 2B MI, 1 Nh 10/6, 4B Bern, 2 UK, 4 Szczecin, 6 Berlin

7    Kevin Metzger 13.11.97 (3y, 12) 45.97 ’21

46.00, 46.16, 46.27, 46.28, 46.40, 46.55

8 Hamilton. 2B B’ham, 2 LI, 1B MI, 4C Geneva, 1B Kladno, 8 UK, 2 Nh 12/7, 8 Padua; Ind: 1 Sheffield, 6s3 UKi

8    Ben Jefferies 10.9.99 (1y, -) 46.53 ’21

46.00, 46.02, 47.23, 47.33, 47.40; 46.33i, 47.78i

1 Sioux Falls, 2 Drake R, 1 GPAC, 1 NAIA; Ind: 1 GPAC, 1 NAIA

9    Rio Mitcham 30.8.99 (1y, -) 47.03 ’21

46.22, 46.65, 46.75, 46.81, 47.04, 47.33

4 Coventry, 1 LI, 2 Nh 10/6, 3 UK, 5B C-de-Fonds, dns sf ENG

10  Dan Putnam 30.12.91 (1y, -) 47.08 ’21

46.30, 46.33, 46.4, 46.69, 46.75, 46.94

1B Coventry, 5 LI, 3h1 Oord, 6 UK, 2 B’ham Un, 1B Nh 12/7, 3 ENG, 2 NLP-A

11  Ben Higgins 14.11.00 (1y, -) 46.56 ’21

46.38, 46.57, 46.59, 46.68, 46.79, 46.84; 46.71i

1 B.Un, 1 Coventry. 3B B’ham, 6 LI, 3C Oord, 6D Geneva, 7 UK, 2B Nh 12/7, 2 ENG; Ind: 1 North, 2 LV, 1 UKi

12  Cameron Chalmers 6.2.97 (6y, 2) 45.64 ’17

46.27, 46.43, 46.59, 46.69, 47.49

6 G’ville, 5B B’ham, 2B Oord, 4 Nh 17/7, 4h4 CG

The 25 year-old UK record set by Iwan Thomas was beaten by Hudson-Smith, who had a great season, winning individual 400m medals at all three major championships. This was his sixth top ranking and the eighth successive year that he ran the fastest 400m time. Haydock-Wilson had a prolific season at a new level, ending with the European 400m bronze. Dobson only ran two individual 400m races but played a major part in Britain winning the European 4x400m title, after Britain had not even sent a team to the Worlds and non home country had sent a team to the Commonwealths. However, only five sub-46 men was very disappointing. Unfortunately the 2021 European junior champion Ed Faulds missed most of the year through injury.

800 METRES

1    Jake Wightman 11.7.94 (9y, 3) 1:44.18 ’20

1:43.65, 1:44.10, 1:44.91, 1:45.94, 1:46.39, 1:46.44

1 San Juan C, 4 B’ham, 2 EC, 1 Brussels, 3 DLF

2    Max Burgin 20.5.02 (5y, 6) 1:44.14 ’21

1:43.52, 1:44.54, 1:44.54, 1:48.68

3 Ostrava, 1 Turku, 1 UK

3    Kyle Langford 2.2.96 (10y, 10) 1:44.83 ‘20

1:44.49, 1:44.61, 1:45.68, 1:45.91, 1:46.11, 1:46.34

9 Walnut, 1 Penn R, 3/3 San Juan C, 3 B’ham, 1 MI, 2 Watford, 1 Bern, 1 Pfungstadt, 3 UK, 1 Dublin, 4s1 WCh, 7 Chorzów, 1 Rovereto;

Ind: 1 Boston, 4 Staten Is

4    Ben Pattison 15.12.01 (2y, 7) 1:45.70 ’21

1:44.60, 1:45.16, 1:45.44, 1:45,63, 1:46.06, 1:46.45

1 B’ham Un, 1 B’ham, 2 MI, 2 Samorín, 1 Sollentuna, 4 UK, 1 Stockholm, 1 Stretford, 3 CG, 6 EC

5    Jamie Webb 1.6.94 (6y5) 1:44.14 ’21

1:45.32, 1:45.39, 1:45.54, 1:46.02, 1:46.28, 1:46.49

4 B.Un, 2 B’ham, 5 Dessau, 9 Bydgoszcz, 8 Chorzów, 5 Samorín, 6 Turku, dnf UK, 4 Heusden. 2 Stretford, 4 CG

6    Elliot Giles 26.5.94 (8y, 1) 1:43.63i, 1:44,05 ’21

1:45.94, 1:46.19, 1:46.65, 1:46.73, 1:46.91, 1:47.04; 1:45.42i, 1:45.42i, 1:45.43i, 1:46.50i

4 Marseille, 9 Paris, 5 UK, 1/1 Eltham, 4 Stretford, 5 Szczecin; Ind: 1 Karlsruhe, 2 Liévin, 2 B’ham, 1 Torun, 1 UKi, 1 Madrid

7    Daniel Rowden 9.9.97 (6y, 2) 1:44.09 ’20

1:45.53, 1:45.58, 1:45.65, 1:45.84, 1:46.27, 1:47.29

4 Doha, 8 B’ham, 9 Ostrava, 3 Sollentuna, 2 UK, 3s2 WCh, 5s1 EC

8    Neil Gourley 7.2.95 (1y, -) 1:46.12 ’19

1:44.82, 1:46.38; 1 Tucson, 2 Pfungstadt

9    Thomas Staines 22.2.98 (3y, -) 1:45.57 ’18

1:45.28, 1:46.08. 1:46.52A, 1:46.87, 1:48.89

1 Pueblo, 1 Azusa, 8 Nashville, 3 Marseille, 1 Kortrijk, 4h2 UK, 6 Stretford

10  David Locke 21.8.02 (1y, -) 1:48.50 ’21

1:46.41, 1:46.47, 1:46.5. 1:46.91, 1:47.36, 1:47.39

1 Lough, 1/1 Watford, 5 Stretford, 2 Schifflange, 3 Nembro, 1 NLP-B, 2 Lough, 4 Zagreb; Ind: 3 B.Un, 3h2 UKi

11  Guy Learmonth 20.4.92 (1y, -) 1:44.73 ‘18

1:47.27, 1:47.51, 1:47.86, 1:48.42, 1:48.82, 1:49.15; 1:46.46i, 1:46.90i, 1:47.40i

5 Brisbane, 6 Tokyo, 7 B’ham, 4h1 UK, 5 Cork, 2 Stretford, 6 CG, 7 Leverkusen; Ind: 5 New York, 6 Metz, 4 B’ham, 2 UKi, 3h1 WI

12  Josh Kerr 8.10.97 (2y, -) 1:45.35 ’19

1:46.59. 1:46.95; 1:46.64i

7 Portland, 1 Seattle; Ind: 1 Spokane

Burgin continued his progress with the UK U23 record, but his season was cruelly cut short and we were left with thoughts on what might have been. The master tactician Wightman made it double top ranking with great late season form to add to his 1500m triumph. Pattison made two major champs finals and improved his PB by more than a second, Last year’s No.1 Giles had a great indoor season until stopped by injury, and did not quite recapture that form outdoors. 1:45.56 (all in the world top 100) was an improvement on 1:45.70 as the record 10th best.

1500 METRES – 1 MILE

1    Jake Wightman 11.7.94 (9y, 3) 3:29.47 ‘20, 3:52.02M ’19

3:29.23, 3:30.53, 3:32.62, 3:50.30M/3:33.21, 3:34.48, 3:35.31

1 Rabat, 3 Oslo, 1 UK, 1 WCh, 3 CG; Ind: dnf B’ham

2    Josh Kerr 8.10.97 (7y, 1) 3:29.05 ’21, 3:53.88M ’19

3:30.60, 3:31.85, 3:32.28, 3:35.72, 3:35.92, 3:36.92; 3:48.87Mi/3:32.86, 3:52.27Mi/3:35.48

5 B’ham, 3 UK, 5 WCh, 12 CG, 4 Lausanne, 6 DLF; Ind: 2 New York, 1 Boston

3    Jake Heyward 26.4.99 (4y, 2) 3:32.82, 3:52.15M ’21

3:31.08, 3:33.54, 3:34.27, 3:34.44, 3:51.99M/3:36.34, 3:34.99; 3:53.25Mi

3 San Juan C, 7 Eugene, 2 Rabat, 4 UK, 5 CG, 2 EC, 9 Lausanne, 9 DLF

4    Matthew Stonier 24.9.01 (1y, -) 3:39.17 ’21

3:32.50, 3:35.57, 3:35.92, 3:35.97, 3:36.60, 3:37.25

1 B.Un, 1 E.Carr, 8 B’ham, 3 Bydgoszcz, 6 S’tuna, 6 UK. 2 Stockholm, 7 CG. 5 EC, 10 Lausanne

5    Neil Gourley 7.2.95 (7y, -) 3:35.79i ’21, 3:35.95 ’19, 3:57.11M ’18

3:32.93, 3:34.85, 3:35.43, 3:52.91M/3:37.60, 3:36.54, 3:37.22; 3:35.32i

1 San Juan C, 1 Walnut, 2 Eugene, 4 Oslo, 2 UK, 6s1 WCh, 8 CG, 8 EC, 14 Lausanne;

Ind: 1 Boston, 12 B’ham, 2 UKi, 6 WI

6    Elliot Giles 26.5.94 (3y, 4) 3:33.80, 3:52.49M ’21

3:33.56, 3:36.26, 3:37.48, 3:37.98, 3:38.54, 3:38.74; 3:35.93i, 3:37.49i

8 Hengelo, 7 Sollentuna, 2 Soderhamn, 9 CG, 1 Watford; Ind: 1 Ostrava, 1 Val-de-Reuil

7    George Mills 12.5.99 (3y, 8) 3:36.31, 3:58.73M ’21

3:35.30, 3:36.00, 3:36.63, 3:36.92, 3:37.10, 3:37.53; 3:36.03i

5 E.Carr, 13 B’ham, 5 Hengelo, 1 Geneva, 2 Marseille, 5 UK, 1 Tomblaine, 10 Sotteville, 2 Luzern, 2 Berlin; Ind: 7 Dortmund, 4 B’ham, dns UKi, 7h3 WI

8    Piers Copeland 26.11.98 (4y, 7) 3:34.62 ’21, 3:56.05M ’19

3:54.91M/3:40.24, 3:40.22, 3:40.31, 3:41.75, 3:49.18; 3:36.12i, 3:38.64i

2 E.Carr, 1 Watford, 9 Marseille, 5 Soderhamn, 7h2 CG; Ind: 1 Manch, 6 Ostrava, 5 B’ham. 1 UKi

9    James Young 29.12.97 (2y, 11) 3:37.72, 3:58.71M ’21

3:38.95, 3:40.03, 3:40.61, 3:41.06, 3:42.29, 3:43.99; 3:55.20Mi, 3:57.81Mi, 3:58.64Mi

2h SEC, 6 Watford, 7 UK, 2 Manch, 4 Schifflange, 5 L’ranta, 3 Lough; Ind: 1/5 Nashville, 9 SEC, 9 NCAA

10  Adam Fogg 27.1.99 (1y, -) 3:38.79, 3:57.32Mi ’21

3:37.96, 3:38.15, 3:38.23, 3:57.04M, 3:41.59; 3:56.60Mi, 3:56.89Mi, 3:57.24Mi

7B Azusa, 4 Drake R, 6 Lough, 6h3 UK, 3 Pfung-stadt, 2= Schifflange, 4 Falmouth; Ind: 1 Ames, 9B New York, 3 F’ville, 1 Chicago, 7h1 NCAA

11  Thomas Keen 16.6.01 (1y, -) 3:41.34, 3:59.86M ’21

3:37.70, 3:38.92, 3:40.13, 3:59.05M/3:41.37, 3:42.42, 3:42.90

8 E.Carr, 6 Manch, 9 MI, 8 UK, 1B Schifflange, 1 Wimb.Pk, 2 Watford

12  James West 30.1.96 (6y, 10) 3:34.07 ’20, 3:56.79M ’19

3:38.44, 3:38.47, 3:40.29, 3:43.04, 3:43.09

9/9/10 Eugene 7/5, 2 Watford, 4 Marseille, 11 UK

–    Charlie Da’Vall Grice 7.11.93 (19y, 5) 3:30.62 ’19, 3:52.64M ’16

3:40.13; 3:38.00i, 3:39.59i, 3:57.22Mi, 3:57.39Mi, 3:47.10i

11 Decines C, dnf Hengelo, Marseille & Padua; Ind: 1 F’ville, 1 W-Salem, 3 Boston, 8 B’ham, 3 UKi

Wightman is top for the fourth time in five years, capping his career (so far) with a marvellous World Champs win. All of the top eight competed in at least one of the major international championships. Joining the elite was Stonier from his initial surprise win in the Emsley Carr Mile. The impact of shoe technology is shown by 3:41.89 (including converted mile times) as easily the record 50th best, and 152 men at 3:49.0 or 4:07.2M beats the previous best of 148 back in 1984.

5000 METRES

1    Marc Scott 21.12.93 (8y, 2) 13:05.13 ’21

3 Boston 12/2 12:57.08i, 4 CG 13:19.64, 4 Portland 13:22.15, 14 WCh 13:41.04 (13:22.54h), 1 UK 13:42.82

2    Andrew Butchart 14.10.91 (6y, 1) 13:06.21 ’19

9h1 WCh 13:31.26, 7 EC 13:31.47, 4 UK 13:46.55, 13:47.5e+

3    Sam Atkin 14.3.93 (4y, 11) 13:18.57 ’20

5 Boston 12/22 13:03.64i, 5 Eugene 13:15.31, 13:23.2+, 9 EC 13:32.35, 10h1 WCh 13:34.38, 13:43.43+, dnf Oslo

4    Patrick Dever 5.9.96 (2y, 3) 13:19.85 ’21

2 Portland 13:20.12, 9 San Juan C 13:20.59, 7 CG 13:22.10, 2 Raleigh 13:26.84, 13:45.8e+, 21 EC 13:45.89, 5 UK 13:47.46

5    Jack Rowe 30.1.96 (3y, 6) 13:35.77 ’21

4 Stanford 29/4 13:26.37, 1 Oslo 13:30.58, 7 MI 13:34.50, 3 Dublin 13:36.36, 3 UK 13:45.30, 13:45.79+

6    Neil Gourley 7.2.95 (1y,-) 13:23.35i ’21, 14:02.40 ’16.  Ind: 7 Boston 3/12 13:16.24i

7    Tom Anderson 12.1.90 (2y, -) 13:34.05 ’20

2 Eugene 22/4 13:28.07, 6 Stanford 29/4 13:28.19, 1 LA 13:31.39, 14:02.83+

8    Charles Hicks 25.7.01 (2y, 8) 13:33.89 ’21

      2 Stanford 1/4 13:24.58, 7 Seattle 13:37.08i, 10h1 NCAA-W 13:44.77

9    Emile Cairess 27.12.97 (3y, -) 13:37.55 ’19

4 Heusden 13:26.40, 13:43.32+, 13:55.11+

10  Charlie Wheeler 4.7.98 (1y, -) 14:06.79i ’21, 14:21.48 ’20

5C Boston 3/12 13:34.84i, 1 M.Keynes 13:38.67, 7 Eugene 22/4 13:43.42, 10h2 NCAA-W 13:44.83, 6 UK 13:49.85, 5 Geneva OH 13:57.61i

11  Scott Beattie 4.12.98 (1y, -) 13:40.42i, 13:58.14 ’21

      10 Stanford 29/4 13:31.34, 3B Boston 3/12 13:32.38i, 11h1 NCAA-W 13:45.42, 7 UK 13:51.36;

12  Alex George 6.2.96 (2y, -) 13:40.66 ’17

6 Carquefou 13:33.25, 5 LA 13:49.94, 2 L’ranta 13:50.08, 3 Milan 13:51.48, 11 UK 13:57.18

–    David Mullarkey 7.3.00 (1y) 13:56.52 ’21

12 CG 13:43.92, 2 Watford 13:47.55, 5 B’ham Un 13:52.47

–    Jamaine Coleman 22.9.95 (0y, -)  13:50.80 ’18

13B Boston 13:26.23

Much conflicting form here, but Scott had the fastest time (indoors) and the best championship placing with 4th at the Commonwealth Games. Although Atkin and Dever had much the better times, Butchart, only 9th on the year list, beat them both twice in major races. James West was only 22nd on the UK year list with his 2nd in the UKs and was lowly placed in his other three races. 50th best at 13:57.79 is a new record and 10th best of 13:31.26 the best since 1992. 30 of those top 50 fastest times were set overseas, including the top 16.

10,000 METRES

1    Sam Atkin 14.3.93 (2y, -) 27:26.58 ’20

2 (1) UK 27:31,98, 1 Leiden 27:33.52, dnf EC

2    Andrew Butchart 14.10.91 (1y, -) 29:32.43 ’15

      11 San Juan C 27:36.77, 7 CG 27:53.57

3    Emile Cairess 27.12.97 (3y, 4) 27:53.19 ’21

3 (2) UK 27:34.08, 11 EC 28:07.37

4    Patrick Dever 5.9.96 (2y, 3) 27:41.87 ’21

6 San Juan C 27:23.88, 23 WCh 29:13.88

5    Charles Hicks 25.7.01 (2y, 5) 27:47.63 ’21

3 Stanford 27:40.16, 1 Pac-12 28:11.17, 6 NCAA 28:17.88 (28:47.37)

6    Ben Connor 17.10.92 (5y, -) 27:57.60 ’19

5 (3) UK 27:51.82

7    Jake Smith 19.5.98 (2y, -) 29:01.08 ’18

7 UK 28:01.05, 7 Leiden 28:14.10

8    Marc Scott 21.12.93 (5y, 1) 27:10.41 ’21

12 EC 28:07.72

9    Mahamed Mahamed 18.9.97 (3y, 9) 28:26.77 ’21

11 UK 28:19.27, 28 Eur Cup 28:38.03

10  Luke Caldwell 2.8.91 (5y, -) 28:29.61 ’15

      10 San Juan C 28:18.13

11  Scott Beattie 4.12.98 (2y, 11) 28:41.38 ’21

      7 Stanford 28:19.90, 39 NCAA-W 30:02.19

12  Jack Rowe 30.1.96 (3y, -) 28:50.22 ’19

12 UK 28:20.31

Difficult to rank as some of the fastest men fared less well than one might have hoped in the major championships. Butchart’s CG 7th was the best of these, but Atkin was UK champion and had two very fast times, returning to the top ranking he had in 2020. Hicks broke Dave Bedford’s 51-year-old UK U23 record. The UK champs was at Parliament Hill (where 32/50 fastest UK times of the year were set). 10th best at 28:19.27 is the best since 1986 and 5 men in the world top 100 (under 27:50) is the most since 1993.

(10 MILES –) HALF MARATHON

1    Emile Cairess 27.12.97 (3y, 4) 61:57 ’21

12 Valencia 60:32, 5 Gent 61:16, 62:14+ pace London Mar

2    Mohamed Farah 23.3.83 (12y, 10) 59:22 ‘15

1 Greenwich 61:49

3    Mahamed Mahamed 18.9.97 (2y, -) -0-

3 Breda 62:08, 21 Valencia 62:11, 2 Cardiff 62:52

4    Marc Scott 21.12.93 (4y, 1) 60:39 ’20

6 GNR 62:28, 5 Larne 62:58

5    Jack Rowe 30.1.96 (2y, 3) 52:11 ’21

2 Greenwich 62:04, 24 Valencia 63:05

6    Jake Smith 19.5.98 (4y, 2) 60.31 ’20

3 Greenwich 62:10

7    Andrew Butchart 14.10.91 (1y, -) -0-

4 Greenwich 62:59

8    Paulos Surafel 12.1.97 (2y, 11) 63:18 ’21

8 Gent 61:51, 38 C’hagen 63:38

9    Ben Connor 17.10.92 (6y, -) 60:55 ’20

1 Derby 63:00, 21 New York 63:59, 11 GNR 64:05, 1 Liverpool 64:34,  10M: 1 G.South 47:19

10  Jonathan Mellor 27.12.86 (7y. -) 62:23 ’17

5 Seville 62:20, 1 Wilmslow 64:14, 13 GNR 64:38, 4 Barrowford 65:12

11  Weynay Ghebresilasie 24.3.94 (1y, -) 64:06 ’19

6 Greenwich 63:39, 64:27+, 64:42+

12  Matthew Leach 25.9.93 (2y, -) 62:57 ’20

19 Houston 63:29, 7 Greenwich 64:06

–    Philip Sesemann 3.10.92 (1y. 7) 62:47 ’21

14 Gent 63:32, 10 Greenwich 65:40

10M: 1 Brampton-Carlisle 48:48dh

–    Ross Millington 19.9.89 (4y, -) 62:33 ’20

29 C’hagen 63:09. 4 Granollers 65:06, 2 Wilmslow 65:14; 11 Greenwich 65:51.  10M: 4 G.South 47:51

nr   Omar Ahmed ETH 18.4.97 62:14 ’21

6 Larne 63:10, 5 Greenwich 63:20, 12 Seville 64:01, 1 Swansea 64:01.  10M: 3 G.South

Cairess went to fourth on the UK A-time list. Farah only competed once but that was to head a strong field in Greenwich, and he ranks for an event record 12 years.

MARATHON

1. Jonathan Mellor 27.12.86 (7y, 12) 2:10:05 ‘20

1 Manchester 2:10:46, 6 CG 2:15:31

2. Weynay Ghebresilasie 24.3.94 (1y, -) 2:16:27- 21

9 London 2:11:57, 10 Rotterdam 2:12:17

3. Philip Sesemann 3.10.92 (2y, 4) 2:12::58 ’21

10 London 2:12:10, 17 EC 2:15:17

4. Joshua Griffiths 3.11.93 (6y, 7) 2:13:11 ’20

31 Seville 2:11:28, 49 WCh 2:17:37

5. Mohamud Aadan 11.1.90 (2y, 5) 2:12:20 ’21

40 Seville 2:12:37, 30 EC 2:17:34

6. Ross Millington 19.9.99 (1y, -) -0-

2 Manchester 2:11:38

7. Luke Caldwell 2.8.91 (1y, -) -0-

7 Houston 2:11:33, dnf EC

8. Andrew Davies 30.10.79 (9y, 10) 2:14:38 ’19

51 Seville 2:14:23, 25 EC 2:18:23

9. Andrew Heyes 22.6.90 (1y, -) -0-

5 Manchester 2:13:53, 44 EC 2:19:47

10. Derek Hawkins 29.4.89 (6y, -) 2:12:49 ’19

35 Valencia 2:13:14

11. Adam Craig 9.5.95 (1y, 0) -0-

42 Valencia 2:13:58

12. Nigel Martin 23.3.87 (1y, -) 2:18:09 ’21

7 Manchester 2:15:19

nr Kevin Seaward IRL 3.10.83  2:10:09 ’20

3 Manchester 2:11:54, 9 CG 2:16:54

nr Stephen Scullion IRL 9.11.88  2:09:49 ’20

13 Rotterdam 2:14:32, 10 CG 2:17:51

Sir Mo Farah was due to run the London Marathon, but was a late withdrawal due to a hip injury. Mellor regains the top ranking that he had in 2020. 10th best of 2:13:58 and 50th of 2:21:25 are the best since 1989, but is daunting to realise that on the world list there are over 350 men faster than our fastest!

3000 METRES STEEPLECHASE

1    Phil Norman 20.10.89 (6y, 3) 8:20.12 ’21

8:26.28, 8:26.90, 8:28.86, 8:29.20, 8:32.00

1 B’ham Un, 8 Ostrava, 9 Turku, 2 UK, 9 EC

2    Zak Seddon 28.6.94 (11y, 2) 8:21.28 ’19

8:24,68, 8:25.68, 8:26.45, 8:29.58, 8:31.24

5 Eugene, 2 B’ham Un, 6 Toulouse, 10 Ostrava, 2 Bergen, 6 Marseille, 3 UK, 8 CG, 11h2 EC

3    Jamaine Coleman 22.9.95 (6y, 4) 8:29.39 ’21

8:27.01, 8:28.56, 8:31.70, 8:37.73, 8:39.22

15 Walnut 19/5, 3 Nashville, 5 Portland, 1 UK, 10h1 EC

4    William Battershill 25.2.98 (3y, 5) 8:32.92

8:27.59, 8:31.89, 8:36.56, 8:38.15, 8:42.12  (2000mSt: 5 Zagreb 5:26.91)

1 B.Un. 4 B’ham Un, 1 B’ham, 8 Bergen, 4 UK, 1 Stretford, 2 Budapest

5    Jonathan Hopkins 3.6.92 (9y, 6) 8:30.52 ’18

8:31.80, 8:34.78, 8:36.92, 8:42.75, 8:45.38

2 Stanford 1/4, 4 Walnut 14/4, 8 Eugene, 5B Stanford 29/4, 13 Ostrava, 6 UK

6    Daniel Jarvis 21.10.95 (5y, 7) 8:39.49 ’21

8:37.58, 8:41.28, 8:48.88

2 B’ham, 12 Oord, 1 Watford, dnf UK

7    Mark Pearce 19.1.96 (4y, 1) 8:24.83 ’21

8:42.77, 8:44.75, 8:49.76, 8:49.99

dnf B’ham, 14 Ostrava, 9 Bergen, 5 UK, 2 Stretford, dnf Budapest

8    Aidan Thompson 19.12.96 (2y, 11) 8:49.91 ’21

8:47.32, 8:50.15, 8:57.02, 9:00.89, 9:04.42

4 Oxford MS, 8 Ch’ville, 9C Oord, 2 Watford, 8 UK, 1 Scot

9    Thomas Chaston 30.9.99 (2y, 11) 8:49.91 ’21

8:48.04, 8:55.41, 9:04.30, 9:06.53

2 Clovis, 3 Walnut 14/4, 9 MWC, 11h1 NCAA-W

10  Declan Neary 18.2.97 (1y, -) -0-

8:51.60, 8:53.05, 9:01.77, 9:09.82, 9:13.90

1/1 Houston, 5 Texas R, 7 Oxford MS, 3 WAC, 12h1 NCAA-W

11  Thomas Bridger 22.3.03 (1y, -) 9:38.45 ’21

8:51.93, 8:57.26, 9:02.27, 9:06.37

5 B’ham Un, 1 LI, 1 Eng-23, 6h2 WJ

12  Ieuan Thomas 17.7.89 (7y, 12) 8:30.16 ‘18

8:52.48, 8:56.75, 1 Cardiff, 3 B’ham

Norman returns to the top ranking that he had in 2020. He was beaten only once by a British athlete – by Coleman at the UKs – he made the European final and beat Seddon, in his ninth year in the top three, who had slightly better times, 3-0. Last year’s top man, Pearce, did not break 8:40. Standards in depth remain very poor with just 28 men under 9:20, even worse than the 33 in 2021, but, as I commented then, there are so few steeplechase races in Britain. The last UK time under 8:20 was in 1993.

110 METRES HURDLES

1    Joshua Zeller 19.10.00 (2y, 6) 13.64, 13.60w ’21

13.19, 13.26, 13.31, 13.33, 13.35, 13.39; 13.31w

1 C.Gables, 1 Durham, 3 Walnut, 1 Drake R, 1 Big Ten, 3 NCAA, 2 UK, 5 WCh, 4 CG

2    Andrew Pozzi 15.5.92 (10y, 1) 13.14, 13.13w ’17

13.28, 13.37, 13.39, 13.41, 13.45, 13.46; 13.35w, 13.44w

1 Clermont, 3 J’ville, 5 B’ham, 2 Montreuil, 7 Turku, 6 Paris, 4 UK, 6s3 WCh, 3 CG, 6 EC

3    Onatade Ojora 14.10.99 (4y, 3) 13.38 ’21

13.48, 13.48, 13.50, 13.53, 13.58, 13.74; 13.27w, 13.31w, 13.52w

1 LA, 3 Texas R, 4 Walnut, 1 USC v UCLA, 2 Pac-12, 8 NCAA, 1 UK, 4h2 CG

4    David King 13.6.94 (9y, 2) 13.48 ’17, 13.4h ’16

13.46, 13.51, 13.57, 13.59, 13.61, 13.62; 13.38w, 13.44w, 13.52w

1 Mesa, 5 Drake R, 1 San Juan C, 7 B’ham, 4 Bydgoszcz, 5/6B Geneva, 3 Turku, 3 UK, 5s2 WCh, 5s3 EC

5    Miguel Perera 30.9.96 (6y, 7) 13.85 ’21, 13.76w ’19

13.58, 13.60, 13.64, 13.72, 13.74, 13.81; 13.59w, 13.62w

4 LI, 5 Oord, 4 MI, 7 Geneva. 5 UK, 1 Liège, 6 Karlstad, 1 ENG, 4s2 EC, 1 NLP-A

6    Cameron Fillery 2.11.98 (6y, 4) 13.46 ’21

13.68, 13.90, 13.95, 14.15, 14.18, 14.33; 13.67w, 14.24w

1/4B Clermont, 5 J’ville, 9 B’ham, 7h1 Bydgoszcz, 8 Prague, 6h2 Geneva, 7 Marseille

7    Sam Talbot 17.2.99 (2y, 10) 14.33 ’21

14.02, 14.09, 14.25, 14.31, 14.34; 13.80w, 13.89w, 13.95w.  3G LI, 6 UK, 3 Eng

8    Jake Porter 13.11.93 (7y, 8) 13.68 ’17

14.00, 14.10, 14.15, 14.20, 14.20, 14.38; 13.94w, 13.95w

5 Haniá, 6 MI, 5h2 Geneva, 1 Mid, 7 UK, 5 Heusden, 8 Liège

9    Joseph Agbodza 4.11.01 (1y, -) 14.96 ’21

14.07, 14.13, 14.18, 14.32, 14.37; 14.04w, 14.07w, 14.31w

dq B.Un, 5 LI, 2/3r2 LEAP, 2 South, 8 UK, 1 Eng-23, 7 ENG

10  Thomas Wilcock 29.5.02 (1y, -) 14.5 ’21

14.09, 14.21, 14.25, 14.30, 14.33, 14.40; 14.07w

1 B.Un, 6 LI, 2r2 LEAP, 3h2 UK, 2 Eng-23

11  Callum Holder 1.8.02 (1y, -) -0-

14.17, 14.22, 14.26, 14.34, 14.36, 14.49; 14.08w

2 B.Un, 2G LI, 7 MI, 1 South, 4h1 UK, 1 Eng-23, 7 ENG

12  Mayowa Osunsami 23.10.99 (2y, 9) 14.19 ’21

14.21, 14.38, 14.38, 14.46, 14.52; 14.10w, 14.18w, 14.26w

3B Carolina, 3B Texas R, 1B Tampa, 1, C.Gables. 2 Storrs, 5B C’ville, 3 IC4A, 4h3 UK

nr   Alex Al-Ameen NGR 2.3.89  13.54 ’14

13.68, 13.82, 13.85, 13.86, 13.87, 13.91; 13.79w, 13.85w

3/2 Clermont, 4 Pen R, 1 LI, 1 LEAP, 3 NGR Ch, 6 C-de-Fonds, 2 ENG, 3 POR Ch, 1 NLP-B

nr   Edson Gomes POR 1.11.98  13.85 ’21

13.83, 13.93, 13.95, 13.99, 14.02, 14.02; 13.82w, 13.95w, 13.98w

2 LI, 7 Oord, 3D Geneva, 3 POR Ch, 4 Karlstad, 4 ENG, 3 POR Ch, 2 NLP-A

After six years at number one, Pozzi loses his top ranking to Zeller, who followed a fine US collegiate season with championship success. Perera was inside his pre-season best in almost every race.

400 METRES HURDLES

1    Alastair Chalmers 31.3.00 (6y, 2) 49.55 ‘21

48.88, 49.21, 49.37, 49.72, 49.81, 49.97

3 G’ville, 1 Oord, dnf Hengelo, 3 Geneva, 1 UK, 6s1 WCh, 3 CG

2    Jacob Paul 6.2.95 (9y, 5) 49.49 ’17

49.40, 49.48, 49.62, 49.69, 49.80, 49.81

1 LI, 1 Samorín, 7/2C Geneva, 3 UK, 1B Stockholm, 2 Linz, 1 Hendon, 1 ENG, 5s2 EC, 5 Zagreb

3    Christopher McAlister 3.12.95 (7y, 1) 49.16 ’21

49.36, 49.40, 49.76, 49.95, 50.07, 50.14

1 Cardiff, 5 Savona, 3 LI, 4 Bydgoszcz, 5 Hengelo, 1B Geneva, 5 Turku, 2 UK, 7 Stockholm, 6h1 WCh

4    Seamus Derbyshire 27.1.00 (4y, 10) 50.44 ’20

49.44, 49.53, 49.62, 49.63, 49.64, 49.70

dnf B.Un, 1 G1 LI, 1B Oord, 3C Geneva, dnf Bern, 1 Prague, 7 UK, 1 Barcelona, dq ht ENG, 4s1 EC, 6 Rovereto

5    Joshua Faulds 7.3.00 (2y, 7) 50.84 ’21

50.05, 50.16, 50.33, 50.35, 50.65, 50.69

1 B.Un, 2 LI, 5B Geneva, 5 UK, dq ht Eng-23, 3 Hendon, 3 Lignano, 5q3 EC, 2 Budapest, 2 Pápa

6    Bayley Stickings 27.8.98 (1y) 51.89 ’21

50.08, 50.32, 50.61, 50.64, 51.07, 51.18

5 LI, 2 South, 6 UK, 2 Hendon, 2 ENG, 1 NLP-A

7    Jack Lawrie 21.2.96 (6y, -) 50.25 ’17

50.07, 50.18, 50.54, 50.60, 50.69, 50.70

2 Cardiff, 4 LI, 3B Oord, 3B Geneva, 2h2 UK, 5 ENG, 1 Scot, 2 NLP-A

8    Alex Knibbs 26.4.99 (4y, 3) 49.37 ’21

50.10, 50.30, 50.46; 2B Geneva, 5 Bern, dns UK

9    Efekemo Okoro 21.2.92 (5y, 4) 49.34 ’21

50.12, 50.70, 50.75, 50.76, 50.93, 51.21

1 Tempe, 8B B’ham, 2 Oord, 6B Geneva, 4 Sollentuna, 2 Soderhamn, 3 ENG

10  Maranga Mokaya 30.8.96 (1y) 53.17 ’21

50.33, 50.48, 51,16, 51.30, 51.48, 51.49

2 Ox v Cam, 3G1 LI, 1 South, 4 UK, 4 Hendon, 4 ENG

11  Onyekachukwo Okoh 23.10.04 (1y, -) 54.06 ’21

50.95, 51.13, 51.29, 51.58, 51.63, 51.91

7 LI, 1 LEAP, 1 South-J, 3h1 UK, 2 E.Sch, 1 Eng-J, 5s2 WJ

12  Tyri Donovan 20.10.98 (4y, 6) 50.64 ’21

50.77, 51.76, 52.12, 52.24, 52.44, 52.56

2 South, 3h4 UK, 1 W.London

Chalmers, whose 12th on the UK all-time list made him the first ‘new’ UK runner under 49 secs for ten years, replaces McAlister at the top. Paul had the busiest season and had ten sub-50 times and was closely followed by Derbyshire. Faulds also had a very solid record. Stickings and Mokaya made great progress, as even more so did 17-year-old Okoh.

HIGH JUMP

1    Joel Clarke-Khan 30.9.99 (6y, 4) 2.23i, 2.21- 21

2.27, 2.25, 2.23, 2.23, 2.22, 2.21

1 Cardiff, 6 B’ham, 1 St. Polten, 1 BIG, 2 Geneva, 1 UK, dnq 23 WCh, 5 CG, nh EC

Ind: 1 Lough 16/1, 2B Hustopece, 3= UKi

2    David Smith 14.7.91 (13y, 5) 2.25 ’14

2.25, 2.23, 2.20, 2.19, 2.18, 2.17; 2.22i, 2.21i

1 LI, 2 BIG, 2= Carquefou, 2 UK, 6 Liège, 9 CG, dnq 18 EC; Ind: 2 Manch, 3 Miramas, 1= UKi

3    William Grimsey 14.12.96 (5y, 2) 2.25 ’21

2.24, 2.19, 2.18, 2.15; 2.09i

3 BIG, 1 Essen, 4 UK, 7 CG; Ind: 3= UKi

4    Kelechi Aguocha 10.2.01 (2y, -) 2.20 ’20, 2.13 ’21

2.18, 2.17, 2.16, 2.16, 2.16, 2.14; 2.17i

2 LI, 4 Lucca, 3 UK, 1 Eng-23, 2 ENG; Ind: 4 Lough 16/1, 1 B.Un, 1= UKi

5    Divine Duruaku 10.2.02 (1y, -) 2.07 ’21

2.15, 2.11, 2.10, 2.10, 2.10, 2.10; 2.12i

2 Cardiff, 3 LI, 5 BIG, 1 Mid, 5 UK, 2 Eng-23, 8 ENG; Ind: 2 Lough 16/1, 8 UKi

6    Adam Brooks 13.4.99 (3y, 7) 2.17 ’21

2.16, 2.14, 2.14, 2.11, 2.10, 2.10

4  LI, 7 BIG, 6 UK, 1 ENG, 1 Solihull; Ind: 6= Lough 16/1, 9=B Hustopece. 9= UKi

7    Toni Ademuwagun 7.8.00 (1y, -) 2.11i, 2.10 ’19

2.12, 2.10, 2.08, 2.08; 2.15i, 2.07i

1 B.Un, 3 Eng-23, 3 ENG, 2 NLP-A; Ind: 3= Lough 16/1, 4B Hustopece

8    Lewis McGuire 22.10.97 (5y, 11) 2.17 ’21

2.09, 2.07, 2.07, 2.06, 2.05, 2.02; 2.15i, 2.09i

5 LI, 6= BIG, 6 Carquefou, 1 Scot, 4 NLP-A; Ind: 1 Scot, 3B Hustopece, 7 UKi

9    Akin Coward 26.7.96 (3y, -) 2.15 ’19

2.13, 2.10, 2.05, 2.04, 2.02; 2.10i, 2.09i

8= BIG, 2 South, 5= ENG, 1 NLP-A; Ind: 2 LV, 5B Hustopece. 12 UKi

10  Rory Dwyer 11.10.97 (6y, 8) 2.17 ’16

2.06, 2.05, 2.02; 2.11i, 2.10i, 2.09i, 2.07i

3 B.Un, 9= LI; Ind: 9=B Hustopece. 2 B.Un, 6 UKi

11  Jack Ennis 7.6.02 (3y, 7) 2.10i ’20, 2.09 ’21

2.10, 2.07, 2.07, 2.05, 2.05; 2.12i, 2.07i, 2.05i

6  LI, 1 South; Ind: 4 Lough 16/1, 1 LV, 9= UKi

12  Luke Ball 28.10.04 (1y, -) 2.10 ’21

2.12, 2.10, 2.08, 2.07, 2.06, 2.04; 2.05i

1 E.Sch, 1 Eng-J; Ind: 6= Lough 16/1, 1J Hustopece, 1 Eng-Ji, 9= UKi

Smith equalled his PB and best ever ranking of 2nd (also 2015 and 2020). 10th best at 2013 was the worst since 2013.

POLE VAULT

1    Harry Coppell 11.7.96 (10y, 1) 5.85 ’20

5.75, 5.65, 5.62, 5.60, 5.50, 5.50; 5.67i, 5.54i

3 MI, 8 Hengelo, 4 Olympia, 8= Paris, 1 UK, 5 Täby, 10 Rottach, dnq 19= WCh, 3 CG, dnq nh EC; Ind: 10 Tourcoing, 7 B’ham, 9= Torun, 1 UKi, 5 Paris

2    Adam Hague 29.8.97 (9y, 3) 5.65 ‘18

5.55, 5.55, 5.45, 5.30, 5.21i

1 LI, 4 MI, 2 UK, 2 CG; Ind: 1 Lough

3    Owen Heard 29.12.01 (1y, -) 4.90’21

5.45, 5.36, 5.30. 5.30, 5.27, 5.25

2 B.Un, 1 LI, 1 Lough 1/6, 5 MI, 1 Welsh, 4 UK, 5 CG

4    Charlie Myers 12.6.97 (8y, 2) 5.71 ‘19

5.30, 5.22, 5.00, 4.90, 4.90; 5.39i

1 San Diego, 1 ENG; Ind: 4C Tourcoing

5    Lazarus Benjamin 19.1.04 (2y, 8) 5.05 ’21

5.30, 5.20, 5.00, 5.00, 5.00; 5.10i, 5.07i, 5.06i

3 LI, 3 UK, 4 Mannheim, 1 E.Sch, 1 Eng-J; Ind: 1 Manch, 1 Eng-J, 4 UKi

6    Jacob Clark 1.6.02 (2y, 12) 5.12 ’21

5.26, 5.18, 5.10, 5.10, 5.10, 5.10; 5/25i, 5.15i

1/1 Emporia, 5 Wichita, 2 Azusa, 4 MIAA, 9 NCAA-II, 7 UK, 2 B’ham Un, 1 Eng-23; Ind: 2 Wichita, 6 Pittsburg  , 6 NCAA-IIi. 1 Pittsburg

7    Thomas Walley 18.3.98 (2y. 10) 5.10 ’21

5.21, 5.10, 5.10, 5.05, 5.00, 4.96; 5.00i

3 San Diego, 5= Azusa, 4= LI, 3 Welsh, 5 UK, 1 Woodford, 1 Manch; Ind: 5/4/5 Lough, nh UKi

8    George Heppinstall 17.10.97 (4y, 5) 5.15 ’21

5.10, 5.00, 5.00, 4.90, 4.90, 4.80; 5.07i, 5.00i, 5.00i

1 B.Un, 4= LI, nh UK, 4 B’ham Un, 1 NLP-B; Ind: 3/1 Manch, 2 B.Un, 5= UKi

9    Rowan May 12.8.95 (3y, -) 5.25 ’13

5.10i, 5.07i, 5.01i, 4.96i, 4.91i, 4.86i

Ind: 1/1/2 Lough, 2 LV, 5= UKi, 5 Manch, 1 Cardiff

10  Jack Phipps 2.4.94 (8y, 6) 5.25i ’17, 5.20 ’15

5.02, 5.00, 4.93, 4.92, 4.90, 4.85; 5.07i, 4.96i, 4.94i

6 LI, 2 Lough 1/6, 2 Welsh, 9 UK, 5 B’ham Un, 2 ENG, 1 NLP-A, Ind: 2 Lough, 3 LV, 6 Manch, 4C Tourcoing, 3 UKi, 3 Manch, 2 Cardiff

11  George Turner 13.7.98 (3y, 4) 5.25 ’21

5.05, 4.90, 4.62, 4.60, 4.50; 5.01i, 5.00i, 4.94i

2 South, 6 UK, nh ENG; Ind: 1 LV, 1 South, 7 UKi

12  Jake Watson 19.12.00 (2y. 11) 5.03 ’21

5.10i, 5.06i, 5.00i, 4.91i, 4.81i,  4.71i

Ind: 3/2 Lough, 4 LV, 1 B.Un, 8 UKi

nr   Rubem Miranda POR 10.6.93  5.46 ’18

5.45, 5.35, 5.30, 5.25, 5.20, 5.20; 5.30, 5.25i

2 Ibero-Am Ch, 1 South

Coppell is top ranked for the fourth time and Hague, who beat Coppell at the Commonwealth Games, returns to second place after the 2021 no. 2 Myers competed sparingly. Making huge progress was Heard, from 4.90 in 2021 to 5.45, and 18 year-old Benjamin also improved from 5.05 to 5.30. Little to choose between those in second half of these rankings.

LONG JUMP

1    Jacob Fincham-Dukes 12.1.97 (8y, 2) 8.00 ’19, 8.02w ‘17

8.45w, 7.97, 7.96w, 7.86, 7.85, 7.76

1 Texas R, 2 LI, 5 Ostrava, 5 Prague, 3 Innsbruck, 1 Tullamore, 1 ENG, 5 EC

2    Reynold Banigo 13.8.98 (5y, 3) 7.94 ’20

8.04, 8.00, 7.94, 7.75, 7.66, 7.63

2 Limassol, 1 Grosseto, 3 Bergen, 5 Sollentuna, 1 UK, 7 Stockholm, 10 EC

3    Jack Roach 8.1.95 (5y, 9) 7.83 ’20

7.88w/7.82, 7.88w/7.73, 7.85w, 7.81, 7.80w/7.79. 7.79, 7.78

1 LI, 1 Belfast, 1 BIG, 1 Leiden, 2 Kosice, 2 UK, 1 Cork, 2 Tullamore, dnq 18 EC; Ind: 1 Lough, 1 Scot, 1 Welsh, 4 UKi, 2 Aarhus

4    Samuel Khogali 15.7.97 (3y, 6) 7.75 ’19

7.83, 7.79w, 7.75, 7.71, 7.67w, 7.67w

2 B.Un, 1 Faro, 6 Athens, 2 BIG, 7 Geneva, 3 UK, 4 Cork, 1 B’ham Un, 4 Ninove, 4 Tullamore, 3 ENG, 8 L’ranta; Ind: 2 Jablonec, 2 Welsh, 2 LV, 3 B.Un, 1 UKi, 6 Aarhus

5    Timothy Duckworth 18.6.96 (5y, 4) 8.03, 8.19w ’18

7.90w, 7.81w (7.68), 7.77, 7.67w (7.61), 7.57, 7.37; 7.61i

2 Raleigh, 1 Clovis, 1 Fresno, 1 Eugene, 2 C.Vista, 4 UK; Ind: 1 Seattle

6    Alexander Farquharson 9.6.97 (6y, 1) 8.01 ’21

7.56, 7.54, 7.53, 7.46, 7.42, 7.22; 7.49i

4 LI, 3 BIG, 3 Kosice, 5 UK, 6 Cork, 6 ENG; Ind: 3 Nantes

7    Jake Burkey 25.2.00 (1y, -) 7.37, 7.42w ’21

7.50, 7.47, 7.47, 7.47; 7.50i, 7.48i

6 UK, 2 Barcelona, 1 Eng-23, 2 ENG; Ind: 2 Lough, 1 LV, 1 B.Un

8    Alessandro Schenini 28.4.00 (3y, 7) 7.76 ’21

7.49, 7.43, 7.33, 7.22; 7.56i, 7.39i, 7.31i

4 B.Un, 5 BIG, 13 Geneva, 1, C.Ligure, 7 UK; Ind: 2 Scot, 4 B.Un, 7 UKi

9    Reuben Nairne 22.9.02 (1y, -) 6.52 ’19

7.48, 7.47w, 7.35w/7.21; 1 Scot, 1 NLP-B

10  Paul Ogun 3.6.89 (2y, -) 7.79 ’16

7.44w/7.26, 7.34, 7.30w, 7.29, 7.28; 7.37i, 7.37i

6 LI, 1B BIG, 1 Welsh, 4 ENG, 1 NLP-A; Ind: 5 UKi

11  Patrick Sylla 10.10.98 (1y -)  7.61 ’16

7.54, 7.32, 7.28; 1 Lubbock, 32 NCAA-W, 8 UK

12  Bradley Davies-Pughe 16.2.03 (2y, 10) 7.56 ’21

7.53, 7.43w, 7.35, 7.31w, 7.28w, 7.25

8 NJCAC, 1 Sth-J, 9 UK, 1 Eng-J, 5 ENG

Although unlucky at the Europeans, Fincham-Dukes had an excellent year and regains the top ranking he had in 2019. There was no UK competitor at the CG! The top five all had good records, but the standard drops after that.

TRIPLE JUMP

1    Ben Williams 25.1.92 (10y, 19- 1) 17.27 ’19

16.87, 16.76, 16.66, 16.49, 16.47, 16.31

1 Clermont, 2 LI, 1 BIG, 1 Geneva, 1 UK, dnq 26 WCh, 8 CG, 6 EC; Ind: 4 Lough, 2 UKi

2    Jude Bright-Davies 27.3.99 (3y, 7) 15.89/16.02w ’21

16.18, 16.10, 15.93, 15.89, 15.59, 15.56; 15.91i

1 LI, 1 Welsh, 2 UK, 1 ENG, 1 NLP-A; Ind: 1 UKi

3    Seun Okome 26.3.95 (4y, 9) 15.97i, 15.84 ’19

16.09w/15.81, 15.68, 15.53, 15.45, 15.36, 14.60; 16.13i

4 BIG, 3 UK, 2 ENG, 1 NLCh-A; Ind: 1 North, 1 UKi

4    Daniel Falode 27.11.02 (3y, 8) 15.90i ’20. 15.81 ’21

15.83w/15.54, 15.77, 15.73, 15.72w, 15.53w; 15.54i, 15.40i

3 Waco, 1 Ivy Lg, 20 NCAA, 6 UK;

Ind: 2 Cambridge MA, 9 Clemson, 1 Ivy Lg

5    Daniel Igbokwe 28.6.98 (5y, 10) 15.88 ’19

15.94w/15.43, 15.64, 15.56, 15.41; 15.70i, 15.46i

3/1 F’ville, 4 C.Vista, 1 TTO Ch; Ind: 5/4 F’ville

6    Sam Trigg-Petrovic 1.11.93 (7y, 12) 16.38 ’17

15.74w/15.31, 15.51, 15.45, 15.28, 15.24, 15.23

4 LI, 2 Kosice, 4 UK; Ind: 1 LV, 7 UKi

7    Nathan Douglas 4.12.82 (21y, 3) 17.64 ’05

15.76, 15.73w/15.43, 15.37, 15.14; 15.07i, 14.88i

8 Long Beach, 1 Irvine, 2 BIG, 5 UK; Ind: 2 South, 8 UKi

8    Berachiah Ajala 26.8.02 (2y, 11) 15.89 ’21

15.84, 15.58w, 15.32, 15.27w, 15.14w, 14.99; 15.68i, 15.52i

3 Durham, 9 Walnut, 4 Drake R, 10 Big 10, 27 NCAA-E, 8 UK, 1 Eng-23, 1 Scot; Ind: 1/3 Ann Arbor, 5 Lexington, 5 Chicago, 5 Big 10

9    Efe Uwaifo 15.5.95 (9y, 4) 16.20 ’21, 16.31w ’19

15.81i, 15.73i, 15.44i; Ind: 2 Lough, 1 South, 4 UKi

10  Montel Nevers 22.5.96 (5y, -) 16.15i, 16.14 ’18

15.29, 14.99; 15.81i, 15.63i, 15.54i

2 NLP-B; Ind: 1/1 Lough, 6 UKi

11  Aidan Quinn 10.2.00 (1y, -) 15.73i, 15.54 ’21

15.58, 15.52w/15.16, 15.30; 15.67Ai, 15.58Ai, 15.46Ai, 15.42Ai

5 Tempe, 2 Lubbock, 2 Azusa, 1 A’que, 1 MWC, 27 NCAA-W; Ind: 2/1/3/3 A’que, 7 F’Ville, 2 MWC

12  Michael Puplampu 11.1.90 (8y, 2) 16.50 ’19, 16.59w ’12.  15.71, 15.53; 3 LI, 3 BIG

Williams is clearly top for the fourth time, the only man in the world top 100, and Nathan Douglas retires after 21 years in the rankings from 2001, twice number one.

SHOT

1    Scott Lincoln 7.5.93 (9y, 1) 20.65 ‘20

20.92, 20.66, 20.64, 20.59, 20.57, 20.41; 20.73i

6 E.Thr, 1 Halle, 1 Thum, 2 Osterode, 1 Rehlingen, 1 Leiden, 2 Kladno, 1 UK, dnq 16 WCh, 3 CG, 10 EC; Ind: 1 Manch, 4 Kladno, 5 Nehvidzy, 1 Glasgow, 1 UKi, 16 WI

2    Youcef Zatat 13.4.94 (9y, 2) 18.61i ’20, 18.50 ’19

18.73, 18.67, 18.54, 18.48, 18.33, 18.21; 18.50i

2 Cardiff, 1 LI, 1 Eton, 1 South, 2 UK, 5 Dublin, 7 Cork, 2 ENG, 1 NLP-A; Ind: 5 Manch, 2 Växjö, 2 UKi

3    Lewis Byng 29.9.01 (4y, 4) 18.56 ’20

18.40, 17.97, 17.76, 17.66, 17.62, 17.56

1 B’ham Un, 2 LI, 1 Eng-23, 1 ENG

4    Patrick Swan 14.9.97 (4y, 3) 17.45 ’21

17.60, 17.46, 17.24, 17.22, 17.05, 17.05; 17.09i

1 Cardiff, 3 LI, 3 Eton, 1 Welsh, 3 UK, 1 NLP-B; Ind: 1 Welsh, 4 Glasgow, 3 UKi

5    George Evans 21.1.98 (5y, 5) 17.57 ’21

17.07, 16.05, 16.01; 17.04i

4 Tulsa, 13 Tempe, 4 Lawrence; Ind: 11 Big 12

6    Kane Aubrey 4.11.02 (1y, -) 14.77 ’21

16.61, 16.52, 16.37, 16.37, 16.31, 16.17

2 B.Un, 4 Cardiff, 4 LI, 5 UK, 3 Eng-23, 3 ENG, 3 NLP-A; Ind: 4 B.Un, 6 UKi

7    George Hyde 30.3.01 (3y, 7) 17.13 ’21

16.61, 16.29, 16.22, 15.72, 15.62, 15.39; 16.42i, 16.28, 16.19i

1 B.Un, 5 LI, 6 UK, 2 Eng-23, 4 ENG, 4 NLP-A; Ind: 3 Växjö, 2 B.Un, 4 UKi

8    Andrew Knight 10.11.01 (3y, 9) 16.93’21

16.48, 16.41, 16.37, 16.29, 16.23, 15.78; 15.81i

5 B.Un, 1 BIG, 4 UK, Ind: 5 B.Un, 5 UKi

9    Adam Phillips 13.10.01 (1y, -) 14.67 ’21

16.50, 16.39, 16.14, 16.11, 15.82, 15.48; 15.98i

1 Des Moines, 11 F’ville, 31 Long Beach, 8 Iowa C, 9 MVC, 2 Welsh, 8 UK; Ind: 11/13 Lincoln, 4/15 Ames

10  Chukwuemeka Osammor 15.6.01 (1y, -) 15.16 ’21

16.54, 16.46, 15.69; 16.13i

2 Eton, 2 NLP-B; Ind: 3 B.Un

11  Daniel Cartwright 14.11.98 (6y, 11) 16.99 ’18

15.73, 15.53, 15.44, 15.15; 7 UK

12  Craig Charlton 7.3.87 (3y, 10) 17.08 ’20

16.28, 14.21; 15.74i, 14.97i, 14.72i

7 Eton; Ind: 1 North, 1 Scot, 6 Glasgow

Lincoln, top for the eighth time, had 14 competitions (10 outdoor, 4 indoor) over 20m. Zatat is a clear 2nd for the sixth year, with two PBs. Severe weakness in depth continues with only 74 over 13m.

DISCUS

1    Lawrence Okoye 6.10.91 (6y, 1) 68.24 ’12

67.14, 66.16, 65.49, 64.99, 64.99, 64.78

1 Winchester, 7 Rabat, 5 Rome, 5 UK, 6 Stockholm, dnq 13 WCh, 2 CG, 3 EC, 1 Szczecin, -/2 Moulton, 4 Zagreb

2    Nicholas Percy 5.12.94 (10y, 2) 63.38 ’16

65.00, 64.95, 64.35, 63.72, 63.53, 63.47

3 UK Winter, 11 E.Thr, 7 C.Vista, 6 San Diego, 4 Walnut, 2 Winchester, 3 Limassol, 6 B’ham, 1 LI, 1 Huelva, 1 BIG, 3 MI, 2 Bergen, 1 Welsh, 1 UK, 1 Oslo, dnq 14 WCh, 5 CG, dnq 14 EC, 3 Helsing-borg, 1/1 Moulton

3    Zane Duquemin 23.9.91 (11y, 4) 63.46 ’12

63.76, 61.39, 59.14, 58.87, 58.44, 58.14

1 UK Winter, 5B Halle, 1 Ruda Slaska, 2 Gliwice, 1 LI, 2 UK, 11 CG

4    Gregory Thompson 5.5.94 (8y, 3) 65.56 ’19

61.23, 60.26, 60.07, 58.93, 58.56, 57.87

1 Växjö, 2 UK Winter; 1 Antalya, 2 LI, 5 MI, 5 Bergen, 3 Aubière, 1 South, 3 UK, 2 Hendon, 1 ENG, 1 NLP-A

5    Chukwuemeka Osammor 15.6.01 (3y, 9) 55.36 ’21

60.81, 59.83, 57.46, 56.48, 55.88, 55.77

2 Växjö, 4 UK Winter, 1 B.Un, 3 LI, 2 LEAP, 1 North, 4 UK, 1 Hendon, 1 Eng-23, 1 NLP-B, 1/1 Moulton

6    George Armstrong 8.12.97 (6y, 5) 61.21 ’19

58.77, 57.86, 56.66, 55.88, 54.46, 52.50

2 B.Un, 1 Cardiff,  6 UK, 3 Hendon

7    James Tomlinson 11.1.00 (2y, 7) 55.58 ’21

56.21, 55.34, 54.79, 54.58, 54.09, 54.03

3 Antalya, 4 B.Un, 2/1 Cardiff, 2 Welsh,  2 Eng-23, 3 NLP-A

8    Samuel Woodley 17.11.99 (3y, 6) 58.71 ’21

56.48, 55.14, 54.55, 53.88, 53.28, 52.96, 52.65

1/1 San Antonio, 13 Texas R, 3 Coll.Sta. 1 Azusa, 1/2 Houston, 2 Conf USA

9    Chris Scott 21.3.88 (12y, 8) 63.00 ’11

55.75, 53.86, 53.85, 53.41, 53.35, 52.95

3 Winchester, 4 LI, 2 BIG, 7 UK, 2 ENG

10  George Evans 21.1.98 (4y, 10) 59.84 ’19

59.62, 54.74, 53.71, 52.74, 50.07

1 Tulsa, 4 Tempe, 8 Waco, 1 Lawrence, 38 NCAA-W

11  Mark Plowman 26.3.85 (10y, 11) 56.04 ’14

51.98, 51.57, 50.93, 50.51, 49.75, 49.42

3 BIG, 1 B.Masters, 1 RAF, 3 South, 1 I-Services, 4 ENG

12  Joshua Douglas 24.12.01 (1y, -) 50.91 ’21

52.03, 51.70, 50.38, 50.18, 49.63, 49.31

5 B.Un, 3 Cardiff, 2B BIG, 3 Eng-23, 3 ENG, 4 NLP-B

Okoye’s bronze medal at the European Champs (with his best throw since his return to the sport) was the best field event performance by a British athlete in 2022, and he backed this with Commonwealth bronze. Percy was again prolific. with 28 competitions, and he improved his Scottish record four times. Also over 60m were Duquemin, who improved his 10 year-old PB, and Thompson swapping places from 2021, with Osammor joining then and making big progress. Although the order was slightly different the top ten are the same as in 2021. 10th best at 55.75 is the best since 2014.

HAMMER

1    Nick Miller 1.5.93 (10y, 1) 80.25 ’18

77.29, 77.13, 76.43, 76.09, 75.61, 73.84

1 Stanford, 5 Tucson, 1 UK, 11 WCh, 1 CG, 8 EC

2    Joseph Ellis 10.4.96 (6y, 7) 73.80 ’18

74.52, 74.19, 73.50, 73.09, 73.03, 71.94

1 E.Lansing, 1 Cleveland, 1/1 Allendale, 1 Ann Arbor, 7 Tucson, 4 CG

3    Osian Jones 23.6.93 (8y, 5) 73.89 ’19

71.85, 70.81, 70.74, 70.42, 70.19, 70.16

1 UK Winter, 1 LI, 1 Belfast, 4 Fr-Crumbach, 1 Welsh, 2 UK, 1 Cardiff

4    Chris Bennett 17.12.89 (12y, 3) 76.45 ’16

73.48, 72.66, 72.62, 71.96, 71.52, 71.34

3 UK Winter, 9 E.Thr, 2 Bälsta, 3 Halle, 4 Forbach, 6 Tampere, 6 Fr-Crumbach, 5 Kladno, 5 UK, 5 Oslo, 1 Tullamore, 12 CG, 1 Scot, 1 NLP-A

5    Craig Murch 27.6.93 (8y, 4) 73.64 ’19

72.69, 71.76, 70.58, 70.52, 70.52, 70.24

2 LI, 1 BIG, 1 LEAP, 3 Aubière, 6 UK, 8 CG, 2 NLP-A

6    Jake Norris 30.6.99 (6y, 6) 73.24 ’18

70.89, 70.20, 69.65, 69.35, 68.79, 68.13

2 Tempe, 3 Texas R, 1/4 B.Rouge, 5 SEC, 10 NCAA, 3 UK, 1 H Circle

7    Mark Dry 11.10.87 (12y, -) 76.93 ’15

70.54, 70.49, 70.03, 69.91, 68.75, 68.38

2 UK Winter, 6 LI, 2 BIG, 2 LEAP, 1 Woodford, 4 UK, 10 CG, 3 NLP-A

8    Ben Hawkes 8.11.00 (3y, 9) 68.03 ’21

69.88, 69.56, 69.19, 68.34, 67.28, 67.12

3 B.Un, 3 LI, 2 U23 Fr-Crumbach, 2 Welsh, 7 UK, 1 ENG

9    Bayley Campbell 24.6.00 (2y, -) 66.27 ’19

70.15, 69.33, 68.74, 68.71, 68.47, 67.57

1 Fort Worth, 6 Texas R, 4 C.Gables, 2 Norman, 1 Coll.Sta, 1 Big 12, 11 NCAA, 8 UK

10  Jac Palmer 13.3.96 (4y, 8) 70.01 ’19

68.82, 67.59, 66.63, 66.62, 66.20, 66.11

4 UK-W, 1 Antalya, 2 B.Un, 5 LI, 7 Fr-Crumbach, 3 Welsh, 3 Cardiff, 11 CG

11  Jack Paget 31.0.97 (1y, -) 64.47 ’21

68.88, 67.70, 67.28, 65.02, 64.74, 64.29

1 B.Un, 3 Cardiff, 4 LI, 4 BIG, 9 UK 2 ENG, 4 NLP-A

12  Edward Jeans 28.9.98 (1y, -) 65.26 ’21

68.10, 66.99, 66.55, 66.30, 65.61, 65.37

2 Fort Worth, 9 Texas R, 5 C.Gables, 3/2 Norman, 2 Coll.Sta, 4 F’ville, 3 Big 12, 12 NCAA

Miller, who retained his Commonwealth title, is comfortably top for the seventh time. The 2021 no.2 Taylor Campbell did not compete in 2022, but Ellis had his best year to rate second. Although Bennett had better marks, Jones beat him 4-0 and was also 2-0 v Murch. Dry returned after four years. As usual the hammer is a contrast to other field events as 10th best was a record 69.01 although standards in depth remained well below those of 1978-2019.

JAVELIN

1    James Whiteaker 8.10.98 (6y, 6) 77.81 ‘20

79.26, 74.86, 74.06, 73.87, 70.88, 69.54

1 UK. 5 Heusden, 1 NLP-A, 1 Tonbridge

2    Joe Harris 23.5.97 (6y, 3) 75.71 ’17

79.53, 75.17, 70.52, 70.31, 69.25, 67.95

1 UK Winter, 5 Offenburg. 6 Halle, 5 UK, 11 Pihtipudas, 11 CG

3    Joe Dunderdale 4.9.92 (11y, 4) 76.13 ‘14

75.47, 75.37, 70.24, 69.58, 68.05, 66.98

1 Sheffield, 1 Manch, 1 LI, 1 Eton, 4 UK, 3 Dublin

4    Daniel Bainbridge 2.6.99 (5y, 1) 73.73 ’21

74.73, 72.95, 71.91, 71.35, 71.23, 71.08

2 UK Winter, 1 B.Un, 2 LI, 1 Lough 1/6, 2 Eton, 1 Geneva, 4 Bern, 3 UK, 7 Pihtipudas, 2 ENG

5    Benjamin East 19.11.03 (1y, -) 61.62 ’21

73.49, 69.76, 69.50, 69.36, 66.68, 64.05

2 Berks Sch., 2 UK, dnq 15 WJ, 1/1 Moulton

6    Benji Pearson 23.5.94 (5y, 10) 74.71 ’14

69.93, 68.55, 68.04, 67.82, 67.16, 66.75

3 LI, 7 UK, 1 ENG, 2 NLP-A, 1B Moulton

7    Greg Millar 19.12.92 (9y, 5) 71.90 ’21

68.71, 68.43, 67.21, 66.99, 66.39, 66.34

4 LI, 1 Scot, 3 NLP-A

8    Michael Allison 17.5.04 (1y, -) 61.27 ’21

69.70, 69.60, 67.16, 65.11, 65.01, 63.49

2 Berks, 8 LI, 1 Berks Sch, 6B Pihtipudas, 3 E.Sch, 1 Eng-J, 12 WJ

9    Callum Taylor 29.6.04 (1y, -) 67.08 ’21

67.69, 67.63, 67.20, 65.23, 65.12, 65.04,

3 UK Winter, 1 Hants, 5 LI, 8 UK, 1 E.Sch, 4 Eng-J, 3/2 Moulton

10  Daniel Pembroke 16.7.91 (7y, 9) 75.89 ’11

67.99, 63.95, 62.07; 3 World Paras, 7 LI, 6 UK

Whiteaker got close to Harris’s best and, though he did not compete often, won the UK title and had the best series of marks. Harris started well with a big PB in May, but after that month did not get beyond 70m again. Competing for the Isle of Man, he was the only UK athlete at the major champs. At the end of the season Harry Hughes, our one current 80m thrower, retired and neither he nor the 2021 junior champion Tom Holmes competed in 2022. A rare sign of encouragement came from 18-year-olds, Ben East with a terrific 73.49 for 2nd at the UK Champs, and Michael Allison, who made the World Junior final.

DECATHLON

1    Harry Kendall 4.10.96 (3y, 4) 7301 ’21

1 ENG 7843, 7 CG 7480

2    Lewis Church 27.9.96 (6y, 3) 7545 ’21

6 Grosseto 7773, 1 Kent 7721, 1 Laval 7583, 1 South 7393

3    Sam Talbot 17.2.99 (2y, 9) 7054 ’21

2 ENG 7692, 1B Azusa 7643

4    Ollie Thorner 16.3.01 (2y.5) 7388 ’21

8 Walnut 7602, 15 NCAA 7473, 4 Pac-12 6715,

5    Caius Joseph 24.7.99 (2y, -) 6933 ’19

3 ENG 7383, 2 UK 7169(w)

6    Jack Turner 11.7.01 (2y, 1) 7659 ’21

1 San Antonio 7487w (7465(w)), 3 UK 7121(w)

7    Elliot Thompson 10.8.92 (4y, 10) 7191 ’18

2 Laval 7204, 1 UK 7197(w), 2 NI 6934, dnf ENG

8    Nicolas Gerome 7.11.99 (3y, 11) 7054 ’21

4 ENG 7141, 5 FRA Ch 7047

9    Jami Schlueter 6.10.02 (1y, -) -0-

11 Walnut 7139, 3 Pac-12 6887, dnf UK

10  Charlie Roe 28.4.92 (1y, -) 6710 ’21

4 UK 6937(w), 6 ENG 6922, 3 NI 6737

11  Andrew Murphy 26.12.94 (5y, 8) 7594 ’19

1 NI 6963, 3 Laval 6456 (nh PV), dnf Arona

12  Thomas Chandler 19.9.97 (1y, -) 6725 ’18

7 ENG 6913, 5 UK 6675(w), 4 NI 6515

Kendall moves up to take top ranking and was the only British decathlete to compete at one of the big three championships. All the top five made substantial improvements of their PBs, but the standard in depth remains very poor – just 9 men over 7000 and 21 over 6000. Tim Duckworth, the best in recent years, competed only at long jump.

10,000m/20 KILOMETRES WALK

1    Callum Wilkinson 14.3.97 (6y, 1) 1:20:32 ’21

dnf La Coruña, dq EC; 10k: 4 CG 39:06.28, 2 IRL Ch 39:55.69

2    Tom Bosworth 17.1.90 (13y, 2) 1:19:38 ‘18

1 Leeds 1:25:27, 50 La Coruña 1:27:27; dnf W.Team, dnf Podebrady; 10k: 1 Espoo 40:45.38, 7 CG 40:58.74

3    Cameron Corbishley 31.3.97 (7y, 3) 1:22:50 ’21

2 Leeds 1:28:02, 43 Podebrady 1:28:12, 40 W.Team 1:33:20; 10k: 1 Coventry 42:49.97

4    Dominic King 30.5.83 (6) 1:26:09 ’17

1:32:45+ in Dudince 35k, 1:35:57 W.Masters, dnf La Coruña

5    Christopher Snook 14.1.00 (2y, 7) 1:33:54 ’21

10k: 1 Eng Winter 43:27.6, 1 Welsh 42:11.42, 2 Coventry 44:21.48

6    Tom Partington 8.7.99 (4y, -) 1:32:27 ’19

3 Leeds 1:36:09; 10k: 1 Douglas 43:40.8

The top three remain as in 2021, although it seems rather odd to rank top a man who did not finish either of his 20k walks, but Wilkinson is there as I included the 10,000m since this was contested at the Common-wealth Games. Bosworth bows out, having established himself as one of the all-time greats of British walking; he spent 12 years in the top two at this event.

35 KILOMETRES WALK

1    Dominic King 30.5.83 (10y, 1) 3:55:48 ’16

40 Dudince 2:45:49, dq W.Team

With grateful thanks to Tony Miller, Alan Lindop, Ian Tempest, Stewart Mazdon and Ian Hodge

READ MORE: UK women’s merit rankings

The UK merit rankings are produced annually by Peter Matthews for all standard events – 12 deep where possible, giving details of all significant performances during 2022. Similarly the World Rankings (10 deep) are produced by Peter with positions being determined by a panel of international experts. Both sets of rankings were sent to subscribers of Athletics International before Christmas.

Athletics International is published by email at least 35 times a year (there were 39 issues plus the rankings in 2022) and included all worldwide results to a depth of the top 150-200 athletes for each event together with reports on major events, news and comment. For sample issues or a subscription form contact [email protected].

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