Another superlative performance from Southend AC's Adam Hickey highlighted the South of England Championships at Portsmouth.

Taking part in the under-17 3,000 metres, Hickey left a strong field trailing in his wake to win by more than ten seconds clear of his nearest rival in a strong field with a time of 8m.38.05s.

He said: "It was a quick start with Ben Harding and myself taking the lead from the gun.

"I thought I might have gone off too fast and that the others would soon catch me, but after a few laps I realised that I was beginning to pull away from the others.

"Still feeling good I started to pick up the pace with two laps to go and was delighted with the win."

Hickey's time was only eight seconds short of the record and was another bonus following the previous week's historic run under four minutes in the Essex Schools under-17 1,500m final -- the first person to achieve this feat in the 72-year history of the event.

But the 15-year-old set a new Southend AC record for the 3,000 metres at the 15 and 16 age group.

Published Friday, June 27, 2003

Brought to you by the Evening Echo