Never before have two Yate athletes competed at the same major international championships, so when Owen Garrett (Discus) and Louis Tutcher (Hammer) were both selected history had been made.

The Championships were held in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia.  Not the easiest of places to get to and indeed, the Great Britain team flew in to Vienna, Austria, before making a five-hour coach ride!

Competition took place over four days, from Thursday the 18th July, through to Sunday the 21st.

Temperatures were in the high 20’s and unfortunately the team accommodation had no air conditioning, so all athletes needed to really manage hydration and rest very carefully.

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DISCUS

The Discus qualification groups were scheduled for Thursday, with Group A at 15:35 and Group B at 1650.  With the best 12 athletes over both groups going through to the final the next day.  58m was the automatic qualifying standard, a distance only a few athletes were capable of.

Group A saw five throwers go over 54m and book a place in the final.

Owen (PB of 56.38m) was selected to compete in Group B and unfortunately his best of 48.32m wasn’t enough to see him go through in a very strong group, with two athletes throwing the automatic qualifying standard and further 5 athletes throwing over 53m and completing the line-up for the final.

All of this experience should put Owen in good stead for next year, when he will still be an U18 athlete.

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HAMMER

The Hammer qualification groups were on Friday, with Pool A at 08:55 and Pool B at 10:20

Fortunately, Louis was selected for Pool B, giving him an extra hour in the hotel.

The first competition was a very nervy affair, with the competition favourite, Irishman Thomas Williams, squeezing through on his third and final trial, after fouling the first two trials.  At the end of the competition, it was fairly apparent Louis would probably need a distance of around 65m in order to qualify for the final.

Louis was unaware of all of the drama of Pool A, whilst he was warming up and waiting in the call-room, so the nerves at this stage were probably felt more by friends and family back in the UK!

Following a shaky start, Louis managed to compose himself for round two and launched the hammer out to 68.03m, enough to see him become the first Yate athlete to qualify for a major international final with the seventh best distance.

The final was held at 17:05 the next day.

Louis settled all nerves in round one with a very confident and competent 67.75m.  A great distance to build on.  Something he did in round two, with his 68.56m, his second best distance ever. It even saw him spend some time in the medal positions… Then the competition went crazy! with some athletes hitting exceptional new PB’s and others relaxing and fulfilling their potential.

Louis gave it his all in the final four rounds, but unfortunately, he was unable to improve on his round two mark and ultimately finished the competition in 7th position.

Congratulations to both athletes!