ATHLETE Sam Ellis has one foot in the European Championships in Gothenburg in August – after producing a sensational performance in the British Miler’s Club race in Watford. The 23-year-old Barnsley AC star has been struggling with injuries and spent most of last season on the sidelines but, in his first serious race, he achieved the qualifying time for this summer’s major event – which is 1.46 – after taking the tape at 1-45.6. Ellis came third in the race behind fellow Brits Richard Hill (1-45.1) and Michael Rimmer (1-45.4) and all three runners not only lead the British rankings but are 1, 2 and 3 in the European rankings, a feat not seen since the days of Seb Coe and Steve Ovett.
All three are expected to fly the flag for Britain at the Euro games in Sweden but to make certain of his place, Ellis will need to finish in the top two at next month’s AAA Championships. He stormed to victory at the AAA’s in 2004, which also incorporated the Olympic trials in Manchester, but did not make the team after failing to reach the qualifying time, posting 1-49.19. However, despite being tipped for stardom after the race, a number of injuries have hampered his progress.
To his credit, Sam has persevered and a rigorous training programme of 11 sessions a week since Christmas has put him back on the road to success. With the qualifying time already in the bag, he has set his sights on a top two finish at this year’s AAAs, to guarantee a place on the plane to Gothenburg. The selection committee, providing the athletes have made the qualifying time, will choose the first two finishers at the AAA’s – and then select a third athlete at their discretion. Ellis, who spent some time with well-known coach Pete Watson, is back with Alan Hastey, the man who coached him to so much success as a junior.
Hastey has formed a team to help guide Sam to the top. Also helping the former Penistone Grammer School pupil is ex-Gladiator referee John Anderton, who is renowned for his knowledge of the sport, Max Oscroft (sports masseur) and Rhian Hastey (training partner). Athletics guru Anderton has also advised Barnsley AC high jump star Adele Lassu and, in the past, has helped coach top athletes such as Dave Moorcroft and Liz McColgan, among others. Hastey took Sam to visit him last winter – and Anderton was immediately impressed by the young athlete.
Hastey explained: “John needed just one session to make his mind up on Sam. As soon as he saw him on the track he said ‘this lad can go far.’ “John talked about his ideas on training methods and they were very similar to mine, so we knew we could work together. “He is a firm believer in doing sprint work all year round. “Some coaches like to split the training into speed, mileage work and strength but John believes that sometimes does more harm than good. “To be able to sprint and have a finishing kick, you need to have a high percentage of fast twitch fibres in your legs. “You lose them when you don’t do speed training so John is keen to push the theory that speed should be done all year round. “He has also given us suggestions on training sessions. He is an expert at training people at this sort of level.” Ellis continued his comeback to peak fitness with an 800m race at the Bratislava Open on Tuesday and was pipped at the line by fellow Brit Hill. However, he still clocked 1-47.9 which delighted Hastey: “For Sam to have been out of action for a year and to comeback and start hitting 1-46 and 1-47 straight away is incredible. He’s not even fully fit yet! “We are going to be getting back into training and hopefully get him another British Miler’s Race and a 400m race close together before the AAA’s. “That should help sharpen him up and also get him used to running a few races close together because he will need to do that if he is to be successful .” It is hoped Sam, who has put his career in architecture on hold to concentrate on athletics, will gain governent funding or sponsorship in the near future.” l More athletics news on page 20.
