Mille Is The Golden Girl After She Smashes Welsh Athletics Record

Promising young steeplechaser Millie Gold lived up to her surname at a record-breaking Welsh Junior Athletics Championships in Swansea at the weekend.

Not only did the Swansea Harrier take the gold medal in the 2,000m Under-20 steeplechase, she also collected an armful of records in the process.

Gold’s time of 6:48.53 smashed the under-20 and under-23 Welsh records, along with the under-20 all-comers record and championship best time. All of which were set by Rhianwedd Price (Brecon AC) in 2012.

The Welsh Athletics National Development Programme (NDP) athlete’s winning time on Sunday surpassed Price’s best by almost nine-and-a-half seconds. 

Gold’s performance was even more remarkable as it was largely a solo effort from the front, taking over the running after fellow NDP athlete Lucy Bickerton (Yeovil Olympiads) had led briefly at the start of the race.

On her home track at the Swansea Bay Sports Park, Gold pressed home her advantage as the laps ticked by, cheered on by the large crowd who sensed they were witnessing a remarkable run.

The performance marked the end of a memorable week for the teenager. At last weekend’s British Milers’ Club Grand Prix in Birmingham, she ran 10:28.89 over the 3,000m steeplechase.

The time gave Gold the Great Britain team’s qualifying standard for the European Under-20 Championships to be held in Finland this August.

Commenting on Sunday’s performance in Swansea, Gold said: “My plan was to just start off strong, see if I could keep it up, and then just hold on for dear life! I was really happy to get the Welsh record by nine or 10 seconds. A really good day!

“It shows why you should turn up to training. Yes, it’s hard, but pain is temporary, whereas dreams and accomplishments are forever. It makes me happy that my training is working. 

Millie Gold (right) pictured with silver medallist Lucy Bickerton.

“I said to my dad, that everyone can run, but not everyone can steeple. You've got to be able to do steeple to run it fast. Just because you're a fast runner, doesn't  mean you're a fast steeplechaser. Once you run it, you realise it's more difficult than most people think.”

Welsh women’s steeplechasing is enjoying something of a purple patch with Gwenno Goode (Cardiff Athletics) having made her debut for La Salle University at the hugely prestigious NCAA finals at the iconic Heyward Field track in Oregon last week.

Gold said of Goode, who is second on the all-time Welsh 3,000m steeplechase rankings: “She’s such an inspiration to me, she always messages me. She's like a proper mentor. I look up to her. 

“I'd love to one day make the NCAA championships like her. I'm going to Elon University in North Carolina. So I’m really looking forward to that.”

In the meantime, Gold is hoping to be selected to represent Great Britain at the European Under-20 Championships, and looking further ahead, the Commonwealth Games.

“Last weekend, I did the Birmingham Grand Prix BMC. The British team European standard was 10:30 and I ran 10:28,” said Gold. “To get that standard was just amazing. All the hard work paid off.

“I’d love to run at the Commonwealths for Wales. Obviously their standards are really high, so that's probably a 2030 goal of mine. So we'll just have to see when the time comes. But definitely, it's 100 per cent a goal. I’d love to do it!”

Last weekend’s Junior championships proved to be a record breaking event all round thanks to a bumper entry of almost 600 athletes and a number of other outstanding performances across the under-13, under-15 and under-20 age groups. 

On Saturday, 16-year-old Darcy Coslett (Llanelli AC) claimed gold in a high quality women’s Under-20 400m final clocking 54.62 – more than a second faster than the championship best set by Amanda Pritchard (Cardiff Athletics) back in 1996. 

Darcy Coslett wins the Under-20 women's 400m in a Championship best time in front of a large crowd at Swansea.

A delighted Coslett, who celebrated a new UK under-17 400m record at the UK Indoor Athletics Championships earlier this year, said afterwards: “I was really happy to take the win and do what I came here to do.”

On breaking the championship record, the NDP athlete added: “There are some amazing athletes who have come through the Welsh champs, so it meant a lot for me to get it.”

Second placed Millie Webb (Cardiff Athletics) also surpassed the previous championship best as she clocked a PB of 55.27.

 

Millie Webb wins the Under-20 women 200m final ahead of 400m champion Darcy Coslett and 100m champion Jessica Mantle.

Webb was in sparkling form throughout the weekend as she claimed revenge over Coslett in the 200m final on Sunday – again in a championship best of 24.21. 

The time surpassed the hand timed effort of Commonwealth Games star Sallyanne Short in 1986 and the electronically timed mark of 24.50 by Hannah Thomas (Wrexham AAC) in 2011. Coslett was second in 24.65 and Jessica Mantle (Cardiff Athletics) third in 25.06. 

The previous day, NDP athlete Mantle had claimed the 100m title in 11.95 at the end of a week when she was named in the Great Britain Under-20 team for the Mannheim Gala in Germany later this month.

Another Welsh NDP sprinter named in the GB team – Lewis Stephens (Cardiff Athletics) - was the first Welsh finisher in the men’s Under-20 200m final where he clocked 21.55. The race was won by non-Welsh athlete Leon Francis in 21.51.

At the other end of the speed scale, Spencer Jones (Wrexham AC) was in outstanding form in the boys under-13 1K walk as he smashed both the championship best and national age group records.

Jones, who had earlier claimed gold in the under-13 javelin as well as silver in the shot the previous day, crossed the line in a remarkable time of 4:44.48, surpassing the Welsh under-13 boys record and championship best of 6:16.35 set by Ioan Vale (Aberdare) in 2023.

There were further eye-catching under-13 boys performances in the 1500m time trials. 

In a high-quality first heat, Rowan Carson (Bridgend Athletics) produced a devasting finish to win in a new championship best time and PB of 4:33.88, to beat Elliot Rowe’s (Deeside AAC) previous best 4:39.91. 

The time was also narrowly outside the Welsh age group record. Second placed Zac Munn (Cardiff Athletics) was also inside the previous championship best with a PB of 4:38.46.

Carson also won the boys 800m time trial the previous day, recording a new PB of 2:12.77, which was just 0.07 outside the championship best time.

In a sport of fine margins one of the most thrilling races of the weekend came in the under-20 men’s 800m final where in-form NDP athlete Thomas Loynes (Neath Harriers) led for most of the two laps.

Thomas Loynes (right) hangs on to win the Welsh under-20 800m final under the challenge of Louis Starr.

However, Louis Starr (Rugby and Northampton AC) fought back down the back straight and it took a lunge for the line from Loynes to hold on for the win in 1:55.12 – just 0.06 of a second ahead of Starr. Loynes completed the middle distance double on Sunday when he won the 1500m 4:03.91.

FULL RESULTS

https://wales.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/wa-jun-ch/event/