Reading ACs Sammy Ball, coached by Mike Dyer, Kev Cranmer, Rafer Joseph and Tom Dobbing set a new British record and 2023 world leading score in the U20 Decathlon in Manchester on the weekend of 27 & 28 May 2023. Setting three personal bests during the competition Sammy led from the start and it became clear before the final 1,500m event that Sammy had the British record (7,691 points set by David Guest in 2010) and the world leading score for 2023 (7,843 set by a German decathlete) firmly in his sights.

Sammy’s achievement means he has automatic selection for the U20 European Championships in Jerusalem, Israel in August.

Sammy’s overall score was 7,870 points and the breakdown of his individual performances were:

    
                100m
            
                10.86 secs
            
                Long jump
            
                7.02m
            
                Shot put
            
                15.77m
            
                PB
            
                High jump
            
                2.03m
            
                PB
            
                400m
            
                48.10 secs
            
                PB
            
                110m hurdles
            
                14.50 secs
            
                Discus
            
                39.59m
            
                Pole vault
            
                4.40m
            
                Javelin
            
                46.17m
            
                1,500m
            
                4:27.99 mins

Sammy said, “I’ve been working hard over the winter to get my body balanced better and have spent the last few months improving my speed and the technical elements of the ten events. I was targetting getting the qualification standard of 7.250 points for the European championships and keeping injury free in the process.

“By the end of day one it was clear that the British record was achievable and by the time I’d finished the pole vault I sensed the world lead for the year of 7,843 points was in range but we were moved to the javelin so quickly I couldn’t do the calculations.

“By the time we got to the final event, 1,500m, we had worked out that I needed 4:32 minutes to get the world leading score and I knew this was posible. I set my own pace in the 1,500m and was very happy to see the clock at the end showing I had achieved the target by four seconds.

“Thank you to all my coaches, my sponsors EGK athletes foundation and SportsAid and also thank you to my physios Gordon at The Bosworth Clinic and Dan at GoPerform.

“I’m really proud to be able to go on and represent my country at the European U20 champs in August”

Below is a link to the video of his performance on Sammy’s YouTube channel

Sammy Ball YouTube Link