SAMMY JOINS 8,000 CLUB AT GÖTZIS
Sammy has joined the special band of decathletes who have attained 8,000 points.
And what better place to achieve a new personal best and club record score than at the capital city of combined events - Götzis in Austria.
Sammy started the competition magnificently with a 10.55 sec 100m beating Olympic silver medalist Leo Neugebauer and world leader Sander Skotheim. At the end of day one, Sammy also set a new club record of 47.29 secs for the 400m beating former World and European champion Niklas Kaul. At the end of day one Sammy was in tenth position from thirty-four starters.
After safe performances in the 110m hurdles and discus Sammy lost a number of places in the pole vault when his pole snapped on his second attempt at 4.50m. The broken pole whipped into his ribs, winded him and left a few surface level cuts. He was in no shape to continue the pole vault and so retired to go off and recuperate. After a painful javelin event Sammy was left in sixteenth position with the dreaded 1,500m to go.
Determined to join the 8,000 club the calculations were made and Sammy chose to make an attempt to get to 8,100 points. It would require a minimum time of 4:18.26 mins - eight seconds faster than his decathlon best. Sammy set off and kept to his pace. Sammy ran the whole race alone with the leader steadily increasing his lead and the pack about forty metres behind. With one lap to go, Sammy was bang on target as he maintained his pace for the final push. Meanwhile, behind Britain’s Lewis Church made a gallant attempt to close the gap with Sammy, knowing that if he finished within two seconds of Sammy or faster he would end the competition as the leading Brit. As Sammy crossed the line he had done enough. His time 4:18.12 mins, his score 8,100 exactly finishing the oerall competition in twelth position. The organizers awarded him ‘Rookie of the Year’.
As a result Sammy has passed the qualifying standards for both this year’s European U23 Championships in July in Bergen, Norway and next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The result also leaves him as the current number one British decathlete for 2025 and places him seventh on the UK all-time list. He is only the second British twenty-year old to pass the 8,000 point barrier. The only other athletes? Daley Thoompson, of course.
