Brunel University’s David Hall insisted the pain was worth it after he broke a 10-year-old BUCS Nationals record on the way to 400m gold in Sheffield.
Hall, a decathlete by trade, opted for just the two events in the Steel City, competing in both the long jump and the 400m.
He recorded a mark of 6.71m in the long jump for ninth in the final, but saved his best for the track as he triumphed in a lifetime best of 46.91 seconds.
That performance was five hundredths of a second quicker than the previous BUCS Nationals record set by Gareth Warburton back in 2005 and saw him comfortably take gold ahead of Liverpool’s Alex Boyce and Joe Reid of Cardiff Met.
While the main aim for the season is to represent Great Britain in the decathlon at the World Under-23 Championships in Estonia this July, 19-year-old Hall admits he may have to consider picking up the relay baton after his weekend sprint performance.
“I knew I was in good shape and I felt really good throughout the heats, but to come into the final and break the Championship record, I’m ecstatic,” he said.
“I felt pretty tired going into it and I knew the other guys were good so I had to get out hard, but I felt like I was dying towards the end. When I crossed the line I just thought wow, I couldn’t believe it.
“I’m a decathlete, so my next aim is to compete in the World Under-23 Championships but maybe after that I’ll try the 4x400m relay.”
British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for Higher Education sport in the UK, representing 170 institutions and facilitating 52 sport programmes.
BUCS has been shortlisted for governing body of the year at the BT Sports Industry Awards 2015 and is supported by Deloitte
Go to www.bucs.org.uk for more information.
