King’s Complete Historic Treble with Outdoor Championships Success
The LUCA Outdoor Championships 2024, held at Battersea Park Millennium Arena, delivered a day of thrilling athletics as university athletes competed for top honours. This year’s event, on June 1st, saw the first appearance of several new LUCA clubs including the University of Kent, UEA and the University of Surrey.
Over 180 student athletes turned out to compete over 38 events, with individual and team glory on the line.
The overall LUCA Championship was fiercely contested, with athletes scoring points for their respective clubs across all events. Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each event, contributing to the club’s overall score. The final results saw some traditional powerhouses maintaining their dominance while newer clubs made significant strides in their performance.
Records fall
The 100m sprint was highly competitive, with Ayinla Mustapha from Kingston University winning the men’s race in 10.88 seconds. Mustapha also claimed gold in the 200m with a time of 21.96. In the women’s 100m, Serena Grace of UEA claimed victory with a time of 12.04 seconds. Grace also claimed gold in the 200m with a time of 24.41 seconds, setting a new championship record.
Records also fell in the sprint hurdles. Isabel Walton (King’s) broke the 100mH record with a time of 15.36 and Elena Rodopoulou (King’s) broke the 400mH record with 64.36.
In the middle-distance events, Nina Pearce (King’s) ran a personal best of 5:09.68 in the 1500m to take gold ahead of teammates Salihah Baig and Megan Friedli, making it an all King’s podium.
In the 5000m, Tie Zheng (Imperial) stormed to victory with a championship record breaking time 15:00.86, fractions away from breaking the 15min barrier. In the women’s race there were four personal bests, including Emma Gordon (UCL) who took gold with a time of 17:46.79.
Over in the field, Zak Collins-Iddi (UEA) broke a championship record and took gold in the Triple Jump with an impressive 13.82.
The medley relay, a highlight of the LUCA Outdoor Championships, tested the versatility and depth of the competing clubs. Teams composed of sprinters and middle-distance runners collaborated to produce a thrilling relay race, with UEA coming out in top with a time of 7:20.75.
Elsewhere in the relays, two championship records were broken. UEA women broke the 4X100 record with a stomping 48.59 and King’s women broke the 4X400 with 4:19.49.
Team Sucsess
King’s College London (KCL) dominated the championships, winning the LUCA Outdoor trophy, the UL trophy, and the new UH Outdoor trophy. KCL’s success was spearheaded by Lateefah Agberemi, who won the ‘MVP award’ for her exceptional performance across multiple events, showcasing her versatility and athletic excellence. Agberemi became the first athlete to win the MVP shield in consecutive seasons. She took gold in the triple and long jump, bronze in the discus, javelin and shot put. She also competed in the 100m and relays, picking up vital points for the team.
King’s success in the outdoor championships completed an historic treble of indoor, XC and outdoor team trophies.
As always, the outdoor championships not only celebrated athletic achievement but also fostered camaraderie and sportsmanship among university athletes. Organisers were indebted to the efforts of volunteers and officials, without whom the event could not happen.
LUCA will be back for the 2024-25 season with the XC league, indoor championships, outdoor open and outdoor championship.
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