Cambridge & Coleridge AC pair Holly Archer and Marc Scott named in British team for European Athletics Indoor Championships

Off the back of big performances at the weekend, Cambridge & Coleridge running stars Holly Archer and Marc Scott have been named in the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team for the European Athletics Indoor Championships, which start in Torun, Poland from next Thursday (March 7).

Archer had already secured her 1500m European Indoor qualifying standard earlier this month. But she backed it up at SportCity in the indoor selection trials in Manchester with a last-gasp victory, flying off the final bend to win in 4:13:02.

She had found herself behind Herne Hill's Katie Snowden and Shatesbury Barnet's Ellie Baker, but dug in and found space on the outside to pass both and secure herself victory by 0.14 seconds from Snowden, with Baker third.

"I feel like I have the speed and the strength and it's all coming together when I want it to so I enjoyed it. It was good just to race and not worry about times, last week it was all about checking off the time and today was fun because it felt easier," she told British Athletics.

Fellow Cambridge member Scott also had a memorable weekend with the US-based partner of Archer taking a huge 46 seconds off his PB over 10,000m in a race in California with his 27:10:41 winning time putting him second in the all-time UK rankings behind only Sir Mo Farah.

Having overtaken such previous UK record-holders as Jon Brown, Dave Bedford and Eamonn Martin, he told race organisers Sound Running: “It was a goal of mine coming into tonight. I’m really glad to get into that position (second all-time) and hopefully I can have a few more opportunities to break the 27 minute barrier and get into the 26 second and then maybe go for that number one time.”

It also saw the 5,000m British record holder on indoor track and road, who is also a member of Nike-backed Bowerman Track Club in Portland, Oregon, go inside the Oympic qualifying time by 18 seconds.

Olympic head coach at British Athletics, Christian Malcolm, said: “I’m pleased to be selecting such a strong Great Britain & Northern Ireland team for the European Indoor Championships next month. It has been a challenging time for all athletes and coaches recently, but we have seen some incredible performances.

“Of course, we are looking to maximise the number of opportunities to win medals, but it is also about providing opportunities for developing athletes as well as established athletes to achieve a GB&NI vest.

"We have a real mix in the squad with several young athletes demonstrating their potential in really challenging circumstances. I am really looking forward to seeing how the team perform in Torun.

“We are awaiting decisions from European Athletics on several field event nominations that we have put forward, so we hope to add several other athletes to the team later this week.”

The British Athletics team for the European Athletics Indoor Championships 4-7 March 2021:

Women:

400m: Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong; Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow); Ama Pipi (Linford Christie; Enfield & Haringey); Jodie Williams (Ryan Freckleton; Herts Phoenix)

800m: Ellie Baker (Jon Bigg; Shaftesbury Barnet); Isabelle Boffey (Luke Gunn; Enfield & Haringey); Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter; Leigh)

1500m: Holly Archer (Andrew Parmenter; Cambridge & Coleridge); Katie Snowden (Dan Stepney; Herne Hill)

3000m: Amy-Eloise Markovc (Chris Fox; Wakefield); Verity Ockenden (Tony Houchin; Swansea); Amelia Quirk (Mick Woods; Bracknell)

4x400m Relay: Zoey Clark (Eddie McKenna; Thames Valley); Beth Dobbin (Leon Baptiste; Edinburgh); Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong; Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow); Yasmin Liverpool (Stewart Marshall; Coventry); Ama Pipi (Linford Christie; Enfield & Haringey); Jodie Williams (Ryan Freckleton; Herts Phoenix)

60m Hurdles: Emma Nwofor (Newham & Essex Beagles); Tiffany Porter (Jeff Porter; Woodford Green Essex Ladies); Cindy Sember (Jeff Porter; Woodford Green Essex Ladies)

Pole Vault: Holly Bradshaw (Scott Simpson; Blackburn)

Long Jump: Abigail Irozuru (self-coached; Sale Harriers Manchester)

Shot Put: Sophie McKinna (Mike Winch; Great Yarmouth)

Pentathlon: Holly Mills (Laura Turner-Alleyne; Andover)

Men:

60m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Benke Blomkvist; Sutton & District); Oliver Bromby (Marvin Rowe; Southampton); Andrew Robertson (Sam Robertson; Sale Harriers Manchester)

400m: Joe Brier (Matt Elias; Swansea); Lee Thompson (John Henson; Sheffield & Dearne); James Williams (Paul Waters; Liverpool)

800m: Elliot Giles (Jon Bigg; Birchfield); Guy Learmonth (Justin Rinaldi; Lasswade); Jamie Webb (Adrian Webb; Liverpool)

1500m: Piers Copeland (Bob Smith; Wimborne); Archie Davis (Joel Kidger; Brighton Phoenix); Neil Gourley (Ben Thomas; Giffnock North)

3000m: Andrew Butchart (Barry Fudge; Central); Jack Rowe (Tim Eglen; Aldershot Farnham & District); Marc Scott (Jerry Schumacher; Cambridge & Coleridge)

4x400m Relay: Joe Brier (Matt Elias; Swansea); Efe Okoro (Tony Hadley; Birchfield Harriers); Tom Somers (Newham & Essex Beagles); Owen Smith (Matt Elias; Cardiff); Lee Thompson (John Henson; Sheffield & Dearne); James Williams (Paul Waters; Liverpool)

60m Hurdles: Andrew Pozzi (Santiago Antunez; Stratford-upon-Avon)

Long Jump: Jacob Fincham-Dukes (Matt Barton; Leeds City).

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