Davies secures qualifying time

JUSTIN Davies fired a warning to his rivals that he is going to be a strong contender for the GB team at the World Championships in Tokyo in September, after an astonishing performance last weekend.

- Kevin Fahey

The Team Bath AC’s victory in the 800m at the Irish Milers’ Club Meeting, in Belfast, was one of those ‘pinch-me’ moments as he smashed his personal best with a time of 1mins 44.35secs.

It was Davies’ first outdoor race of the summer and he not only carved over a second from his 2024 PB but also ran inside the UK Athletics qualifying standard of 1:44.5 for the Worlds.

That time also put Davies top of the UK Rankings and 17th in the All-Time Rankings, just a stride away from a certain Steve Ovett. It also cements Davies’ place as the fastest 800m runner ever from the South West.

Nonetheless, Davies knows the competition over 800m is so intense in the UK that rankings can quickly change but, for now, the former Running Bath/Chron competition winner is understandably thrilled with his season opener.

“To go from 1:45 to 1:44 is crazy and that time shocked me,’ said Davies.

“Honestly, I was not expecting that time. Obviously I was hoping to run it before the end of the season leading up the World Championships but to do it now in May and get the qualifying standard is such a relief. I'm delighted”

The performance should rubberstamp Davies’ place in the GB team for the European U23 Championships, in Bergen, in July but he and coach Martin Rush can now look at Tokyo as another realistic prize.

“T'm taking nothing for granted but this is a really positive start to the season,” he added.

“Training is going well and I'm staying injury-free and hopefully that will continue. I'm so excited about the season.”