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Ross 2nd in National Championships

Ross with Noel after the medal ceremony

Ross Franks exceeded his own expectations by picking up the Silver medal at the misleadingly named England Athletics U17 Championships at Bedford today - misleading because the field included athletes from all corners of the British Isles.

Having already finished 4th in the 800 at the English Schools Championships it was decided that Ross would run 1500 at these championships in order to learn even more in this fantastic début season. We also suspected that his strong finishing speed would see him do well over 1500 and so it proved as Ross broke clear of the main pack with just over 200m to go and caught one of the two breakaway runners in the final straight. It was a run timed to perfection and a great season was made even better by a national medal to hang up alongside those gained in southern and county races. After having had to run quick in the heats on Saturday and then again in the final on Sunday it was a hard weekend.