Leeds grandad smashes the UK M85 200m record in Manchester with 36.67 into a headwind

Tony Bowman took an incredible four seconds off of the British M85 200m record when he opened his 2021 season at a cold unseasonable Trafford Open meeting at Stretford on Saturday night with a 36.67 clocking into a 1.3m/sec headwind.

Running in heat one, Bowman finished fourth in a race won by Holly Jessop (29.24), who at the age of 15 is 70 years Bowman’s junior!

His time was seven seconds quicker than he achieved last year in winning the British M80 indoor title and improved Duncan McLean’s 49-year-old age group record which was set at Crystal Palace in 1972. The Scot McLean was quite a star at the time and was nicknamed the Tartan Flash.

Bowman also ran the 100m in 16.58/0.4 although that fell short of McLean’s 16.3 mark set in San Diego in 1973.

Bowman’s best event in recent years has been the hurdles and he is the reigning world masters 60m hurdles champion – winning that title in 2019 in Toruń in Poland – and he also won the European outdoor title later in the year in Venice over 80m hurdles.

The Leeds City grandad competed as a teenager in the early 1950s when he was second in the England Schools Championships at Bradford. He gave up running at the age of 27 but made a comeback to masters athletics in his 40s.

He is now fully recovered after two heart attacks and he competes at a variety of events and apart from the sprints and hurdles he took part at the long and triple jumps events last year and finished third in the M80 decathlon at the European Masters Championships.

READ MORE: Tony Bowman battles through a tough year

Judging by the cool weather and the headwind he encountered at Stretford,  he should go faster later in the season.

Elsewhere, Scott Lincoln improved his UK lead in the shot put with a 20.29m throw, bettering his 20.06m indoor throw at Loughborough.

Seren Bundy-Davies won a European indoor 400m bronze medallist in 2015 and made the Rio Olympics in 2016 but she has had a quiet last few years. However, it looks like she has wintered well as she ran 1:30.70 for the 600m.