Athletes took full advantage of the warmer weather and lighter winds in last Saturday's Brooks Cornwall Track and Field Championships at Par, setting or equalling an astonishing total of seven County Records and  fourteen Championship Best Performances.

This number of record breaking performances, which was certainly the highest for many years, was equally shared between the male and female athletes, although the ladies had the upper hand in setting the county records, with five of the seven records achieved by the fairer sex.

One of Cornwall AC's most promising up and coming young athletes, Georgia Doyle-Lay, led the way in the under-15 age group, with Georgia improving her own triple jump record, set at last year's championships, not once, not twice, but three times during the competition, leaping 10 metres 17, 10m 34 and finally 10m 45.

Georgia also won the 200 metres (27.3 secs) and 300 metres (43.1 secs), before joining forces with Rebecca Gray, Molly Caudery and Kerenza Hurr, to set a new championship best performance in the 4 x 100 metre relay.

In the equivalent Boys’ age group Jack Nancarrow (Cornwall AC) won his 800 metres early in the day before smashing the county 300 metre record by 3.4 seconds, with second placed Jordan Smart (Truro School) also inside the previous record.

The sprinters were certainly enjoying the conditions, none more so than Lamorna Newman (Cornwall AC, pictured), who equalled the Under 20 100 metre record (12.2), set twenty nine years ago by Jacky Brett (nee Fisher, pictured).

Jacky, who is still heavily involved in Cornish athletics, was there to witness her record being equalled and congratulated Lamorna after the race.

Lamorna also equalled her own championship best, set last year, in the 200 metres  (25.8) and was joined by club mates Alice Vage, Katie Yeomans and Alisha Webb, with this quartet setting a new County Record of 52.1 in the sprint relay.

The name Brett also featured prominently in this age group, with Jacky's daughter Maria improving the Championship Record in the hammer by almost three metres, with a best throw of 41 metres 92.

Cornwall AC's men's sprint relay team were not going to be outdone by the club's ladies team and also set a county record  (46.2) in their 4 x 100 metres race, with two Under 17 runners, Ollie Clark and Jordan Walklett,  joining their Under 20 team mates, Jay Hussaini and Kieran Harvey.

One of the day's triple winners, Molly Long (Truro School) used the championships to race below and above her preferred distance, the 800 metres, where she is ranked number one in the UK.
Molly, sharpening her speed, set a new county record in the 200 metres (25.5), beat her own Championship Record in the 300 metres (40.7) and cruised home in the 1500 metres, clocking 4.56.5.

The day's only middle distance County Record came in the Veteran Ladies 5000 metres, where England marathon international Emma Stepto (Cornwall AC) moved to the top of the UK Veteran 5000 metre rankings, improving on the previous record set last year by Miranda Heathcote (Newquay & Par) by just over two seconds, crossing the line in 16 minutes 47.8 seconds.

Championship best performances were also set by eight other athletes, with the youngest being the under-15 girls’ Rebecca Gray (Cornwall AC) in the pole vault (2 metres 90) and Sian Temple (Tavistock AC) in the 3000 metres (10.47.3).

In the Under 17 Men's 1500 metres steeplechase Sam Lane de Courtin (Tavistock AC) improved the championship record set thirty five years ago by almost two seconds, crossing the line in 4.33.7 and in the discus Paddy Swan (Cornwall AC) added almost six metres to the previous Championship Best with a throw of 46 metres 49.

Sam Robins (Newquay and Par) completed a trio of Under 17 record breakers, equalling the Championship Best in the high jump with a clearance of 1 metre 80.

Senior sprinter Daniel Pearce (Newquay and Par) equalled  another long standing Championship Record set thirty one years ago, clocking 22.8 seconds in the 200 metres.  The Men's Veteran competition produced two regular record breakers from Cornwall AC.

Hurdler Neil Tunstall, shaved three tenths of a second off his own 100 metre hurdles  Championship Record (14.7) and in the field events Stuart Caudery raised the bar in the pole vault, clearing 3 metres, which again broke his own two year old Championship Best.

Very rarely does a Cornish athlete run under 50 seconds in the 400 metres but last weekend the crowd were treated to a sub 50 seconds double in the under-20 race, courtesy of Andy Worden (Cornwall AC) and Jack Wightman (Newquay and Par).

Andy, timing his effort to perfection, passed Jack in the home straight, stopping the watches at an outstanding 48.9 seconds, with Jack just three tenths of a second behind in 49.2.

Top performance in the Senior Men’s competition came from the Newquay and Par hammer thrower Jay Hill who put on an exhibition of quality hammer throwing, recording a best distance of 56 metres, just a couple of metres below his County Record.