Welsh 1500m Ace Jake Heyward Tokyo Bound After Getting Olympic Games Call-Up

By Ian Gordon

Welsh 1500m star Jake Heyward is Tokyo bound after being named in GB’s team for the Olympic Games.

The Cardiff runner – now based at the Oregon Elite Track Club in the USA – finished third in the trials in Manchester last Saturday.

Heyward came home behind Edinburgh duo Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman in a tactical battle with the top two automatically selected for Tokyo.

But former Cardiff Uni student Heyward had deservedly bagged the third spot having twice run the Olympic qualifying time this summer.

Jake Heyward Targets Olympic Road . . . Via Oregon, USA

That included smashing Neil Horsfield’s 31-year-old Welsh record for the distance when he clocked a sensational 3:33.99 at the Portland Track Festival in May.

Heyward moved to the US in 2019 to train alongside many of the world’s best middle distance runners and the switch has paid off with his Olympic selection in the Blue Riband event.

The 22-year-old has championship experience having won 1500m gold at the 2016 European Youth Championships and European Junior Championships the following year, where he beat Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

Heyward was one of 65 athletes added to the GB team for the Games which start in July.

Former Welsh sprint star Christian Malcolm, now Olympic Head Coach at UK Athletics, said: “Every athlete and their support network should be incredibly proud of their achievement during a challenging last 18 months. As we saw from the high-quality British Athletics Championships and Trials at the weekend, a number of athletes stepped up and delivered exceptional performances to earn their nomination to Team GB.

“To represent your country at an Olympic Games is an incredibly rewarding achievement, whether you have competed at a Games previously or if this is your first call-up. My message to those athletes nominated is enjoy this moment and keep your focus in these last few weeks as we countdown to the Games.”

The Athletics team nominated to Team GB for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games:

Women

100m
Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie, Blackheath and Bromley)
Daryll Neita (Rana Reider, Cambridge)
Asha Philip (Steve Fudge, Newham and Essex Beagles)

200m
Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie, Blackheath and Bromley)
Beth Dobbin (Leon Baptiste, Edinburgh)

400m
Ama Pipi (Linford Christie, Enfield and Haringey)
Jodie Williams (Ryan Freckleton, Herts Phoenix)
Nicole Yeargin (Quincy Watts, Pitreavie)

800m
Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter, Leigh)
Laura Muir (Andy Young, Dundee Hawkhill)
Jemma Reekie (Andy Young, Kilbarchan)

1500m
Laura Muir (Andy Young, Dundee Hawkhill)
Katie Snowden (Dan Stepney, Herne Hill)

5000m
Jess Judd (Mick Judd, Blackburn)
Amy-Eloise Markovc (Chris Fox, Wakefield)
Eilish McColgan (Liz Nuttall, Dundee Hawkhill)

10,000m
Jess Judd (Mick Judd, Blackburn)
Eilish McColgan (Liz Nuttall, Dundee Hawkhill)

Marathon
Stephanie Davis (Phillip Kissi, Clapham Chasers)
Jessica Piasecki (Robert Hawkins, Stockport)
Steph Twell (Aldershot Farnham and District)

3000m Steeplechase
Elizabeth Bird (Pat McCurry, Shaftesbury Barnet)
Aimee Pratt (Vicente Modahl, Sale Harriers Manchester)

100m Hurdles
Tiffany Porter (Jeff Porter, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)
Cindy Sember (Jeff Porter, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)

400m Hurdles
Meghan Beesley (Benke Blomkvist, Birchfield)
Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow)
Jessica Turner (Nick Dakin, Amber Valley and Erewash)

High Jump
Morgan Lake (Fuzz Caan, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow)

Pole Vault
Holly Bradshaw (Scott Simpson, Blackburn)

Long Jump
Abigail Irozuru (Aston Moore, Sale Harriers Manchester)
Jazmin Sawyers (Lance Brauman, City of Stoke)
Lorraine Ugen (Dwight Phillips, Thames Valley)

Shot Put
Sophie McKinna (Mike Winch, Great Yarmouth)

Heptathlon
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Bertrand Valcin, Liverpool) *Subject to fitness

4x100m Relay
Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie, Blackheath and Bromley)
Beth Dobbin (Leon Baptiste, Edinburgh)
Imani-Lara Lansiquot (Steve Fudge, Sutton and District)
Daryll Neita (Rana Reider, Cambridge)
Ashleigh Nelson (Michael Afilaka, City of Stoke)
Asha Philip (Steve Fudge, Newham and Essex Beagles)

4x400m Relay
Zoey Clark (Eddie McKenna, Thames Valley)
Emily Diamond (Benke Blomkvist, Bristol and West)
Jessie Knight (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow)
Laviai Nielsen (Christine Bowmaker, Enfield and Haringey)
Ama Pipi (Linford Christie, Enfield and Haringey)
Jessica Turner (Nick Dakin, Amber Valley and Erewash)
Hannah Williams (Glyn Hawkes, Herts Phoenix)
Jodie Williams (Ryan Freckleton, Herts Phoenix)
Nicole Yeargin (Quincy Watts, Pitreavie)

Men

100m
CJ Ujah (Ryan Freckleton, Enfield and Haringey)
Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet)
Reece Prescod (Marvin Rowe, Enfield and Haringey)

Men’s 200m
Adam Gemili (Rana Reider, Blackheath and Bromley)

Men’s 800m
Oliver Dustin (Graeme Mason, Border)
Elliot Giles (Jon Bigg, Birchfield)
Daniel Rowden (Matt Yates, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)

1500m
Jake Heyward (Mark Rowland, Cardiff)
Josh Kerr (Danny Mackey, Edinburgh)
Jake Wightman (Geoff Wightman, Edinburgh)

5000m
Andrew Butchart (Barry Fudge, Central)
Marc Scott (Jerry Schumacher, Richmond and Zetland)

10,000m
Sam Atkin (Mike Collins, Lincoln Wellington)
Marc Scott (Jerry Schumacher, Richmond and Zetland)

Marathon
Ben Connor (Steve Vernon, Derby)
Callum Hawkins (Robert Hawkins, Kilbarchan)
Chris Thompson (Alan Storey, Aldershot Farnham and District)

20km Race Walk
Tom Bosworth (Andi Drake, Tonbridge)
Callum Wilkinson (Rob Heffernan, Enfield and Haringey)

3000m Steeplechase
Phil Norman (Tomaz Plibersek, Woodford Green Essex Ladies)
Zak Seddon (Jeff Seddon, Bracknell)

110m Hurdles
Andrew Pozzi (Santiago Antunez, Stratford-upon, Avon)

High Jump
Tom Gale (Denis Doyle, Team Bath)

Pole Vault
Harry Coppell (Scott Simpson, Wigan and District)

Triple Jump
Ben Williams (Aston Moore, City of Stoke)

Shot Put
Scott Lincoln (Paul Wilson, City of York)

Discus
Lawrence Okoye (Zane Duquemin / John Hillier, Croydon)

Hammer
Taylor Campbell (John Pearson, Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow)
Nick Miller (Tore Gustafsson, Border)

Men’s 4x100m Relay
Adam Gemili (Rana Reider, Blackheath and Bromley)
Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet)
Richard Kilty (Gateshead)
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Lance Brauman, Newham and Essex Beagles)
Reece Prescod (Marvin Rowe, Enfield and Haringey)
CJ Ujah (Ryan Freckleton, Enfield and Haringey)

Men’s 4x400m Relay
Niclas Baker (Piotr Spas, Crawley)
Cameron Chalmers (Matt Elias, Guernsey)
Matthew Hudson-Smith (Lance Brauman, Birchfield)
Michael Ohioze (Dan Tomlin, Shaftesbury Barnet)
Lee Thompson (John Henson, Sheffield and Dearne)