He won a tactical U16 boys’ 800m final at the England Age Group Championships in Bedford, sprinting to the line in 1min. 58.65sec. and adding to his previous titles achieved over multiple track and field disciplines.
‘To defend my title means the world,’ the 15-year-old said.
‘Few athletes at my age have ever been able to do so.
‘Together with the incredible fundraising success and quick recovery from injury, these last few weeks were incredible.’
The teenager has been utilising his field prowess to throw unusual objects suggested by giving.gg donors in the last three weeks and has already generated well over £1,500 for Cancer Research UK, having lost his dad – outstanding marathoner Richard – to a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia in February 2022.
Friedrich’s training year has otherwise not gone so smoothly, hitting two ideal weeks in the immediate build-up but overall losing plenty of time to injury.
‘Well, it’s been rollercoaster of a season,’ he said.
‘I wasn’t able to finish any of my longer training blocks as I was constantly getting injured.
‘By my maths, I was injured for about a total of 16 weeks in preparation to this year’s big events. Being able to come here, let alone win, is a big achievement in my book.’
He has spent a lot of time working on the psychological side of the sport, which he feels has ‘massively changed the way that I’ve been able to approach both training and competing’.
He breezed through his heat in 2-00.67 and, in the final, had been content to sit in second behind Stoke’s Luke Smith until dropping the hammer with half a lap remaining.
A yo-yo finish behind him had Rushcliffe’s Adam Paget dipping Smith on the line, but the Guernsey youngster had come in 0.53sec. clear.
‘The strong wind deterred anyone in the field from taking the lead, and so I hung on in second until the last 200m, where I was then able to unleash my now almost signature sprint finish to take my fourth national title.
‘So much of my thanks goes to Dale Garland, who coached me not only to success physically, but also taught me how to go about this sport mentally. If there is anyone to credit for my continued success, it’s him.’
Of the other Guernsey athletes competing in Bedford, fellow U16 Amelie Van Heerden achieved a sixth-place finish over 200m.
She finished second behind a younger Honor Oteng in her heat, posting 25.01 with a marginally illegal wind reading, and reached the final ranked sixth overall.
That set the tone for a final in which Oteng took the win and Van Heerden claimed sixth in 25.00 with an only slightly stronger aiding tailwind.
U18 sprint talent Theo Le Tissier looked classy in putting down a 22.08 to win his own heat of the 200m.
However, he had to go through a ‘semi’ in order to reach a final, and his wind-assisted 22.27 was only sufficient for 16th.
Aged just 14, Daisy Le Page took the step up to competing at national level and faced some older opponents in the U16 girls’ 300m hurdles.
She placed fifth in her heat with a 49.16.
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