National champions Lee Emanuel (Sheffield/Hastings) and Charlie Grice (Brighton Phoenix) have been confirmed as members of the Great Britain Squad for the European Indoor championships in Prague next month. Emanuel will race over 3,000m and Grice 1,500m which are the events at which they won their National titles a couple of weeks back.
Following his brilliant run over 1,500m at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix at Birmingham last weekend when the thirty old Hastings athlete ran the second fastest indoor 1,500m ever by a British athlete Emanuel was given the opportunity of running the 1,500m in Prague but he elected to run the longer event as this had been his plan..
The performances of both Emanuel and Grice at Birmingham were rather overshadowed by their placings in what was a World class race.
Emanuel had finished sixth in 3:35.66s, a time that has only been bettered, amongst British athletes, by Peter Elliott when he set the British Indoor record at 3:34.20s, twenty five years ago.
It was a personal best both indoors and out for Emanuel and although indoor times do not count as far at the Sussex Top Ten All Time lists only Steve Ovett, Mark Rowland and Charlie Grice have run faster outdoors.
Although back in ninth place at Birmingham Grice also set an indoor personal best in 3:39.44s but the leading runners at Birmingham were non-European and so will not be racing in Prague.
Neither will there be a pace maker when it comes to the final of either the 1500m or 3000m at Prague so the races will be much more of a tactical battle.