The 20-year-old breaks Merlene Ottey’s championship record while Amber Anning settles for British indoor 400m bronze.
The second day of the UK Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham (February 15) had a heart warming twist when Renee Regis was presented with her gold medal in the 200m by none other than her father, John Regis — the former world 200m champion.
Regis entered the 200m final as the favourite after a stunning 22.89 run in the semi-finals, which set a new championship record. The previous record of 23.07 had stood since 1990, held by the legendary Merlene Ottey.
In the final, Regis didn’t just win; she powered away from the field with an impressive 22.95, finishing comfortably ahead. Hannah Brier claimed silver in 23.37, while Brooke Ironside secured bronze with a time of 23.92.
“I didn’t expect to run that fast in the semi-final,” said Regis. “My coaches told me to commit, so that’s exactly what I did.
“It was funny seeing my dad present me with the medal. He didn’t tell me he was going to do that, but it made the moment even more special.”
The emotional family moment was just one of many highlights on a day that saw plenty of drama unfold on the track.
In the final race of the day, the women’s 400m, reigning world indoor champion Amber Anning was the favourite, but it was Yemi Mary John who stole the spotlight. Holding her form into the final bend, John surged ahead of Anning to take the win in 51.69, securing her first British title. Louisa Stoney narrowly edged out Anning on the line, claiming silver in a personal best 51.83. Anning matched that time to take bronze.
The women’s 800m final had high expectations after Issy Boffey’s 1:57.43 performance in Boston a few weeks earlier. Boffey wasted no time asserting control in the final, stringing out the field early on. She pulled away with 100m to go to clock 1:59.64 — her second-fastest indoor time ever.
Emily Simpson produced a brilliant surge in the final stages to secure an indoor personal best of 2:01.43 for silver. Shaikira King also set a new indoor best, with a time of 2:01.49 to claim bronze.
In the women’s 1500m, Jemma Reekie was the clear favourite, and she lived up to expectations with a commanding victory in 4:26.27. Molly Hudson showed remarkable strength to take silver in 4:27.21, while Revee Walcott-Nolan completed the podium with a time of 4:27.28 for bronze.
The women’s 3000m also featured a strong field, although only seven women were on the start line. Eloise Walker led for much of the race, but Hannah Nuttall made her move with 800m to go, pushing the pace and eventually breaking Jo Pavey’s 24-year-old championship record with an 8:41.76 victory. Snowden claimed silver in 8:46.09, while Walker earned bronze in 8:48.45.
“I never know how championship races will play out,” said Nuttall. “I wasn’t thinking about the time, but when I saw the clock, I was thrilled.”
Serena Vincent claimed the women’s shot put title with a season’s best throw of 17.33m, comfortably ahead of Sophie McKinna, who took silver with a throw of 16.27m. Sabrina Fortune produced a new personal best of 15.12m to take bronze.
Kate Anson enjoyed a flawless series of jumps to take the women’s high jump title with a clearance of 1.81m. She then went on to clear 1.84m, drawing all eyes in the stadium. The competition was tight, with Thea Brown clearing 1.81m to take silver, and Hannah Lake earning bronze with a season’s best 1.78m.
Reigning champion Georgina Forde-Wells had to battle hard for her title in the women’s triple jump. Despite strong performances from Reese Robinson and Leila Newth, Forde-Wells found her rhythm in round four, jumping 13.46m and improving to 13.53m in the final round. Robinson took silver with a personal best of 13.05m, while 15-year-old Leila Newth claimed bronze with a leap of 12.95m, also a personal best.
Returning to the British Indoor Championships for the first time in four years, Bethan Davies added another British title to her name with a time of 14:00.94 in the 3000m race walk.