Trio of bronze medals for south Essex stars at British Athletics Championships

Canvey pair Jessica Judd and Dale Clutterbuck, plus Stanford-le-Hope’s Hayley McLean all won medals on the track.

Judd finished strongly to finish third in the women’s 1,500m in 4m 16.08s.

The 20-year-old had made the step up from the 800m this season and now has an outside shot of going to the World Championships in Beijing if she can run the qualifying time of 4m 6s in the next few weeks.

Judd said: “I need to get the time for Beijing so I hope to run at the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games next week to chase that and hope for the best there, but I can’t see any reason why not. I’ve run 4m 9.5s so I’m confident I can knock those three seconds off.”

Judd’s fellow Canvey athlete Clutterbuck was the next to win himself a medal, also in the 1,500m.

Clutterbuck, 23, who is in the form of his life, looked to be run out of the top three places with 150m to go, but dug deep to produce a storming finish and come home to win his first senior national medal in 3m 51.24s.

Moments later, McLean stepped on to the track for the 400m hurdles final and ran her fastest time of the year (58.60s) to win a bronze medal behind Great Britain internationals Elidh Child and Meghan Beesley.

A day earlier, Southend AC’s Adam Hickey finished seventh in the men’s 5,000m final – his best ever senior finish on the track – in 14m 05.49s.

>For a full reaction from the British Championships, see the Echo later this week.

>Sainsbury’s is a proud partner of British Athletics. The partnership reflects Sainsbury's wider commitment to inspiring healthy lifestyles for all, and complements grassroots campaigns such as Active Kids and the Sainsbury’s School Games. www.sainsburys.co.uk Sainsbury’s is a proud partner of British Athletics.

The partnership reflects Sainsbury’s wider commitment to inspiring healthy lifestyles for all, and complements grassroots campaigns such as Active Kids and the Sainsbury’s School Games. www.sainsburys.co.uk