Jeremiah Azu successfully retained his British indoor men’s 60m title, narrowly defeating his rival by a mere 0.06 seconds at the British Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
The athlete equalled his personal best time of 6.56, which was enough to secure the top spot ahead of John Otugade and Andrew Robertson. The entire eight-man field was separated by just 0.22 seconds.
With this victory, Azu admitted: “It’s amazing. I don’t think words can describe it… I love what I do, entertaining people in the right way. You take one step wrong [and] you are out [of] the race. I’m a winner at heart, and what my heart wanted, it got.”
In a social media post, the athlete also expressed: “Thank you, Lord! Massive shoutout to my team! Wouldn’t be here without you! A week ago today I was unsure if I would be on the start line let alone defending my title! Thanks to all the fans who came out and made the atmosphere so amazing! Couldn’t get the best out of myself without you guys there to watch it all happen!”
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In similar news, Bianca Williams set a personal best of 7.19 seconds to claim her first-ever women’s 60m title. She expressed: “I’ve had so many ups and downs in my journey, and I feel like I’m on a great path now and over the moon.”
She added: “It’s so nice to be number one, I’m so happy. I know I’m in great shape, and I can’t wait for the European Championships.”
Moreover, Abigail Pawlett also set a personal best of 8.09 seconds to win the women’s 60m hurdles, edging out Emma Nwofor by 0.02 seconds, with Marli Jessop finishing third.
In the men’s 60m hurdles, Daniel Goriola, the 2024 bronze medallist, took the win ahead of Lola Grant and William Ritchie-Moulin. Meanwhile, in the para 60m events, Zac Shaw claimed victory in the men’s race, while Sophie Hahn triumphed in the women’s.
The next event would be at the European Indoor Championships, which is scheduled to take place in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, from March 6 to 9.