Evaun Williams, Andrea Jenkins and Sue Yeomans also among the winners on penultimate day of European Masters Championships

Britain won 13 gold medals on the penultimate day of the European Masters Championships in Italy.

Evaun Williams, Andrea Jenkins and Sue Yeomans gained field gold, while Ian Richards, Cath Duhig and Noel Blatchford won walks titles, there were two team victories and Britain won five golds in the sprint relays with Steve Peters and Caroline Powell on course for the five sprint titles.

First to strike was Britain’s W65 team who took gold by all of 17 seconds from Germany with a British record 62.00.

After good work from double hurdles champion Jean Fail, Joylyn Saunders-Mullins and Caroline Marler, triple sprint champion Caroline Powell anchored them in style.

Saunders-Mullins also won her fourth medal, having come second to Powell in the three individual events.

Britain’s W65 team anchored by triple sprint champion Caroline Powell win the W65 race by almost 12 seconds in 62.00.@emacvenice2019 pic.twitter.com/ABmm4ovmxb

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 14, 2019

It was actually Germany’s W75 team that followed Britain home in a European record 73.92. Britain’s W75 team of Iris Holder, Betty Stracey, Jeanne Coker and W80 Dot Fraser took silver in 99.31.

Like Powell, two other British athletes were seeking their fourth sprint gold and with the M60 and M65 race being combined, John Wright and Steve Peters were drawn in the same race on the anchor leg.

It was Peters’ M65 team (backed up by Walwyn Franklyn, Ian Broadhurst and Simon Barrett) that got the baton well ahead of his younger team-mate, but he still showed what has made him an all-time sprinting great as he ran down the German M60 team to pip them by a hundredth of a second in 50.56 to smash the British record by over a second and win gold in the age group by over three seconds.

In combined M65 and M60 4x100m it is triple sprint champion Steve Peters who anchors GB M65s to a one hundredth of a second win over Germany’s M60 team in 50.56. GB M60 take bronze in 52.63 anchored by triple sprint winner John Wright @emacvenice2019 pic.twitter.com/ehXqfg6qef

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 14, 2019

Both Peters and Franklyn were in the 43.42 M45 winning world masters team from 20 years ago at Gateshead that still stands as the world record.

Wright come from a long way back after earlier legs from Trevor Wade, Tony Mitchell and Adrian Essex and finishing fast the M60 team took bronze in 52.63.

Also striking gold was the M45 team. Led off by Julian Ions, there was a stunning second leg from 200m champion Mike Coogan and the good work was finished by Craig Beecham and a strong anchor from Cieran Harvey. They were timed at 44.84 to Italy’s 45.01.

Another British squad to strike gold was the W40 team. They won by well over a second in a British record 49.65 (pictured).

They led all the way with good legs from Karen Burles, double sprint silver medallist Susie McCloughlin, Naana Adusei and Joanne Frost.

Finland were runners-up in 50.77.

In the M40 race, it seemed that Sweden, courtesy of a stunning second leg and changeover from double sprint champion Lion Martinez, had won gold in 43.95. However, they were later disqualified – seemingly due to a technical issue in their declaration according to the result sheet – and Britain, with fine legs from Alan Robertson, Dominic Bradley, Andy Parkin and Michael Barugh, won in 44.29 from Italy’s 44.61.

Britain’s M75 team of Barry Ferguson, James Smith, Mel James and Allan Long won M75 silvers in a British record 60.48 while the M80 team of Tony Bowman, Colin Field, Roger Bruck and Anthony Treacher set an inaugural UK mark of 68.02 in coming second to Germany’s 63.58.

The M70 squad of Tony Wells, Victor Novell, Bruce Hendrie and David Spencer finished third in 55.79.

Italy won the W60 relay in 59.77 with Britain’s team of Joan Trimble, Carole Filer, Louise Jeffries and Jane Horder second in 60.94.

Horder won both hurdles titles on offer but for Filer, who won four golds in the last championships in Denmark but has been injured since last year’s World Masters and had to miss her gold medal events of two years ago, was delighted to contribute to a British medal with a fine second leg.

The W55 team of another double hurdles champion, Julie Rogers, plus Melanie Garland, Janice Ellacott and Honoria Font Freide, also took silver in 55.26.

The M55 team matched the women with a silver in 49.50 well behind Italy’s 47.02.

After earlier legs from Pat Logan, Ronnie Hunter and Glen Reddington, it was Don Brown, who had previously won gold in the two sprints and the sprint hurdles, who took the baton well back but drew gasps from the crowd as he caught Spain and Germany in his final stride.

There was a bronze for the W45 team of Deborah Ricci, Sharon Dooley, Amanda Broadhurst and Anita Saunders in 56.13 as they benefitted from Poland’s disqualification.

Italy won in 51.09.

Poland’s W35 team (49.76), though well clear, were slower than GB’s W40 team, with Ireland second and Italy’s M35 team (42.91) were the fastest men overall.

Ian Richards completed the full set of walking gold medals when he won the M70 20km walk gold in 1:55:37 and then added the team golds thanks to Peter Bosczo, who won his own fifth medal with a silver in 2:00:49, and Roger Michell, who was eighth in 2:16:03.

They won by 25 minutes from Italy.

Also striking gold was Cath Duhig. She won the W60 title in 2:11:28 to win by two minutes from France’s Maryse Philibert Chaves.

Duhig also medalled in the earlier walks and won a team gold alongside Ann Wheeler and Judy Howard in seventh and ninth respectively as they scored a four-minute win over France.

Another multi medallist is now Noel Blatchford, who followed up her 10km win with another gold medal success and her 2:25:58 gave her a three-minute win over Ukraine’s Antonina Tyshko.

Britain’s W40 team won a bronze.

In the field, Evaun Williams won her fifth gold medal of the week to match middle distance runner Clare Elms and walker Richards, though Peters and Powell look sure to join them tomorrow.

Having already won the standard four individual throws, it was a formality that she would win the weights pentathlon and her 5568 points (made up of 31.04m hammer, 9.59m shot, 23.04m discus, 25.86m javelin and 9.63m weight) gave her gold over Bruni Ponzelar’s 3831 by over 1700 points.

W40 Andrea Jenkins also won gold, her second of the championships, thanks to her 81-point win over France’s Anne Bazat.

Her respective marks were 40.61m, 9.32m, 37.15m, 21.68m and 13.53m.

Lucy Marshall won W35 silver with 3813 points, 46 points down on winner Maria Sloek Hansen.

Sue Yeomans broke her own British W65 pole vault record as she took gold with a 2.65m leap to defeat Germany’s Ute Ritte’s 2.40m.

Sue Yeomans wins a GB gold in the W65 pole vault with a 2.65m leap @emacvenice2019 pic.twitter.com/ZAsx7eddSg

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 14, 2019

However, Petra Herrman broke Yeomans’ W60 European record with a 2.83m leap.

Neil Barton won a M35 silver in the long jump with a 6.55m leap behind Germany’s Matti Herrmann’s 6.96m.

Cosmin Lupu of Romania won the M40 event with 6.40m though all the attention was on triple global senior silver medallist James Beckford. The Jamaican, who has a 8.62m PB, jumped 6.67m but was not eligible for a medal.

One of the world’s best ever long jumpers James Beckford (PB 8.62m) and a three-time global silver medallist is jumping as a guest in Jesolo in the M40 event @emacvenice2019 pic.twitter.com/UqUsuqNh6b

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 14, 2019

With the final day including the 4x400m relays plus the 10km and half-marathon, Britain are guaranteed third spot but Italy with a great home advantage in the road races should overhaul Germany at the top of the table.

Medal table

1 GER 101 G 98 S 83 B. Total: 282
2 ITA 101 86 84 271
3 GBR 89 62 67 218
4 ESP 37 45 43 125
5 FRA 34 45 39 118
6 FIN 34 24 14 72