PRESS RELEASE
9th August 2017
GOLD RUSH FOR COPSON AT EUROPEAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Angela Copson dominates in Denmark with six individual golds
Angela Copson BEM came away with six individual gold medals and two team silvers when competing in the European Masters Championships in Denmark.
The Rugby & Northampton athlete is in her first year as a W70 runner and had already set five world records or bests this year, before taking part in her first race of the Championships.
That race was the 10000m, and she broke another world record with a time of 44:25.14, knocking 18 seconds off the previous best to win her age category by more than five minutes from her nearest competitor. In doing so, Copson also defeated all the W65 runners in the race.
Two days later, she took victory in the 4k cross country event. A time of 15:33 earned gold in an event where Copson finished fourth overall competing against women over 55.
Later the same day she reached the milestone of 100 Championship medals by taking the title in the 1500m, crossing the line in 5:54.97 to win by more than a minute, at a distance in which she already held the W70 world record.
Copson had set a 5000m world record in winning the British Masters title at Birmingham in June, and she added the European title to her collection with a time of 21:44.68 to claim her fourth gold.
On the penultimate day of the Championships in Aarhus, she set another world record — this time in the 800m, when she recorded 2:51.49 to win by over 18 seconds.
The final day saw Copson claim her first ever European title on the road with a W70 British best time over the half-marathon distance of 1:43:03.
She also won a silver medal in the same event as part of the W40 Great Britain & Northern Ireland team behind Germany, before returning to the track to clinch another silver in the W65+ 4x400m.
Rugby & Northampton’s John Moreland also made the trip to Denmark, where he competed in four events.
On the first day, in the weight throw, he threw the 11.34 kg weight 13.03 metres to finish 12th in the M55 category, and followed this up with his best event — the discus — in which he claimed fifth spot with a throw of 43:45.
The Hammer came next, where a distance of 38:36 secured ninth, before finishing with the throws pentathlon, where all five events take place on one day.
Moreland improved his discus to 43:92 and the weight to 13:20, and he finished ninth overall after his efforts in the hammer (37:75), shot (10:91) and javelin (25:74).
– Ends –
