The annual Essex & Eastern Indoor Athletics Championships held at Lee Valley were cut short by a power-cut, but Colchester Harriers still managed to produce some excellent performances, despite many of them not being able to progress through to finals or compete at all.

Rebecca Jeggo continued her excellent form by running her quickest ever indoor 200m at this the County’s premier Indoor Championships.

Clocking a Championship Best Performance, as well as a new club record and personal best, her time of 22.2secs in her heat will no doubt bring her confidence ahead of the National Age Group Championships at the end of this month.

Due to the power cut, she was unable to compete her final for a podium place.

Day one of the competition also saw success for Olivia Simon and Madeleine Claydon. Simon, aged 12, claimed a massive PB and with it a silver medal in the under-15 girls’ pole vault. She confidently cleared two metres in a new club record, and an equal second place in the national rankings.

Claydon, an under-13 multi-eventer, juggled both pole vault and long jump, jogging across the arena in order to compete in both events simultaneously. Her hard work paid off with a PB and bronze position in the pole vault, and a PB in the long jump.

In the short sprints, first year under-15 Graig Anya-Joseph claimed his first ever Indoor Championship gold in the 60m sprint (7.36secs in his heat, 7.37 in final). In the U17 men’s 60m, Callum McKay won his heat comfortably then went on to win the bronze in a fiercely contested final, clocking 7.20.

Eleanor Hopgood set a PB of 8.68 in the under-15 girls’ 60m, while under-17 athlete Lauren Strutt ran a season’s best time of 8.65. Megan Stevens clocked 8.49 and Savannah Harrison 8.73. Katy Rice registered a PB of 10.93 in the 60m hurdles.

On day two, Anya-Joseph continued his good form to place fastest qualifier in the U-15 boys’ 200m in a new indoor PB of 24.6, while McKay would also have qualified for his 200m final after placing second in his heat – he was the last Harrier on the track before time was called on the Championships due to t he power-cut. Charlie Dobson (U-20) posted a fastest qualifying time (22.6).