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Ollie Hopkins from Lewes AC selected to represent England
Celebrating his selection for the junior England team in their match against Ireland next weekend Ollie Hopkins stepped up a gear and competed in the 10k race at the festival of walking held last Sunday at a circuit near Heathrow. Ten kilometres is twice the distance he has raced to date but his Lewes AC coach Peter Selby considered he would gain valuable experience. This is especially so as the main event on the programme was a 20k trial race for the 2016 Olympics and included a number of overseas athletes. Participating with top class race walkers is one of the best methods of improving technique and pacing awareness.
Ollie was not daunted by the task and recorded a very respectable 60mins 40secs for the 10K walk to take fourth place in the combined senior and junior men’s event beating the target time set by his coaching team.
Ollie is now be preparing for the international 5k race against the Irish, who are a strong race walking nation. The match is held annually and this year is at Sutcliffe Park South East London. A good performance will give him an excellent chance of selection for the away fixture next year which will be held in Dublin.