Hurdler Tiffany Porter shrugged off an early morning flight to end her season on a winning note with victory at the Great North CityGames.
Porter only landed in Newcastle at 10.05am Saturday morning following a flight from Brussels where she had been competing in the Diamond League on Friday night.
But there was little sign of tiredness as she posted a quicker time than in Belgium to win the 100m hurdles in 12.77 seconds and nudge out Jasmin Stowers and Cindy Roleder in the process.
It was the fifth successive victory at the event for 27-year-old Porter who admitted she couldn’t have asked for a better end to her year.
“This is my fifth consecutive Great CityGames victory. I love the street races, I really thrive off the crowd and it is such a good atmosphere,” said the Commonwealth Games silver medallist.
“I actually ran quicker here than I did last night which makes no sense; I didn’t even sleep last night!
“I’m really surprised to run that time but I always seem to have good luck here. The support is awesome, we really appreciate these crowds coming out and cheering for us. To come out here and get the win is really special.”
There were plenty of other English adthletes in action too, including local runner and Commonwealth Games 4x100m relay silver medallist Richard Kilty taking second place in the 150m behind Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade.
“It is absolutely phenomenal to come out and race in front of a home crowd,” he said. “This is my favourite competition of the year and it’s great that so many people came out to support us in this weather.”
Desiree Henry was third in the 100m behind world 200m champion Dafne Schippers while Jodie Williams was fourth in the 150m.
Chijindu Ujah was second in the 100m behind Mike Rodgers with Lawrence Clarke second in the 110m hurdles.
While Holly Bradshaw continued her comeback from injury jumping 4.55m for second behind world champion Yarisley Silva, and Bobby Clay was the leading Brit in the women’s two mile race in fourth ahead of European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey.
© Sportsbeat 2015