Sammy Wins UK Outdoor Championships
Congratulations to Sammy who has won the UK outdoor decathlon title in Bedford with 7,809 points performance in the run up to the Commonwealth Games at the end of the month.
Sammy has been working on recovering from an issue that has affected his training for a while and kept him out of the Götzis Decathlon in Austria at the end of May. He decided to enter these championships as an alternative and although only three and a half weeks away from the Commonwealth Games, Sammy felt on balanace that it was the right thing to do given he felt ‘competition rusty’.
The UK decathlon championships was hosted by a well organized England Athletics at the newly renovated but blustery Bedford International Athletics Stadium. With coaches Rafer Joseph and Mike Dyer present, and competing with fellow Reading AC decathlete Will Alexander, himself in his first ever senior British Championships, Sammy started the competition with a win in the 100m clocking a respectable 10.88 secs with a +0.9 wind. Two no jumps followed in the long jump before a tense final leap of 7.19m that brought him first place in that event. Sammy produced a 14.02m shot put which although a metre and a bit down on his personal best, he was content with. His high jump technique looked really promising and he cleared 1.97m and cleared the bar at 2.00m but clipped then clipped it off on his way down. In the final event of day one, the 400m, Sammy made a good start despite the strong headwind in the back straight but struggled with his breathing as the lactic acid built up in his body in the home straight, eventually crossing the line second in 49.14 secs.
Sammy went into day two as the overnight leader with a 184 point lead over Tonbridge’s Harry Kendall, himself a former English decathlon champion and 2022 Commonwealth Games entrant. Day two started with a 14.62 sec personal best in 110m hurdles with a legal +1.9 wind. This was quickly followed with a further personal best in discus of 44.54m. Having undertaken limited preparation and on a shortened runway approach, Sammy and his team were unsure what to expect in the the next event, the pole vault. Sammy decided to enter the competition at 4.20m which he cleared at the first attempt before moving on to 4.40m and then 4.60m which he cleared on his third attempt. In the ninth event, javelin, Sammy was clearly below par and recorded a 45.26m final throw, though his second attempt was a marginal foul and seemingly a further two metres on but alas. For the final event Sammy decided that he would like to attempt a 4:30 mins 1,500m and came up with a lap plan that he managed to maintain to the second each passing lap and crossed the finish line in a tidy 4:30.86 mins.
With a final 314 point lead ove Harry Kendall, Sammy managed to win his second outdoor British decathlon that also leaves him as the reigning British indoor and outdoor champion for 2026.
Sammy is especially pleased to have competed, and despite any potential risks, feels that this has been excellent preparation for the Commonwealth Games in a few weeks. With his result behind him, there is still much to do in the run up to the Commonwealth Games including a short preparation camp in the few days leading up to the journey to Glasgow and his first ever senior international level outdoor championships. Following that, and injury permitting, Sammy is planning a further decathlon in the middle of September
