24
Feb
Harrogate athletes win British titles
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Two Harrogate Olympians were among the winners at the British Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham yesterday (February 23).
Middle distance runner George Mills broke the 3,000m championship record in a time of 7:40.16, beating runner-up James West by 0.17 seconds.
The former pupil of Harrogate's St Aidan's Church of England High School was watched by dad Danny, the former Leeds United and England footballer.
Danny's success means he has booked his tickets to the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands.
Mills told BBC Sport:
I came here to do a job - that was to first of all qualify for the European Indoor Championships and put my name in the hat again for worlds and obviously, to win.
I really give everything to this sport and I just want to be the best athlete I can.
The Stray Ferret reported this month that Mills smashed the British record by three seconds at the Meeting de l’Eure in Val-de-Reuil.
Mills currently sits ninth on the global indoor 3,000m rankings. He is above British running legend Mo Farah.
Joining him in the Netherlands will be long jumper Jacob Fincham-Dukes, 28, a former pupil of St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate.
Fincham-Dukes, who finished fifth at last year's Paris Olympics,took first place in his event at the championships in Birmingham.
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