ATHLETICS: THURROCK sprint hurdlers Khai Riley-Laborde and Robbie Clarricoats were both involved in the highest quality under-20 men’s 60m hurdles race ever seen in this country.

Riley-Laborde, 18, ran the fourth fastest time ever by a British junior man but only won a bronze medal in the race that was the final of the English Championships at Sheffield.

There was pain for his former William Edwards school-mate Robbie Clarricoats, however, who ran a personal best time of 8.13s to make the final but was disqualified after a false start.

The Tilbury teenager, drawn in an outside lane, just twitched in the starting blocks but it was enough to receive a red card from the officials.

Once the race was under way, Purfleet’s Riley-Laborde made a fantastic start, getting to the first hurdle in the lead but he was swarmed by eventual winner David Omoregie – who ran the fastest ever time by a British junior of 7.62s – and Euan Dickson-Earle who was just one-hundreth of a second slower.

Riley Laborde crossed the line in a massive personal best of 7.66s to put him in the top five of the all-time British rankings.

Both Clarricoats and Riley-Laborde will now turn their attentions to the outdoor season, with both harbouring ambitions of making the Great Britain team that will travel to the World Junior Championships in Oregon, USA, in July. Meanwhile, Aveley’s Modupe Shokunbi was in action in the under-17 women’s 60m sprint at the English Champions. The Havering Mayesbrook athlete was second in her heat with 7.91s and improved to 7.86s to placing fifth in her semi-final but would have needed a PB to progress to the final.

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