This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page An intense fire broke out in a derailed freight train near Hustopeče nad Bečvou in Czechia's Olomouc region on Friday after several tankers carrying benzene caught fire which had caused substantial concern due to the dangerous nature of the chemicals is now under control as firefighting teams continue to manage the situation The train derailed at approximately 11:30 a.m loaded with over a thousand kilograms of flammable benzene While the situation has been contained as of Saturday morning experts are still working to address any lingering risks particularly the toxic remnants in the damaged tankers Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the derailment which led to the fire The derailment occurred at a rail switch near the Hustopeče nad Bečvou station lost its connection and several of its tankers derailed This triggered a fire in at least 14 tankers carrying highly flammable benzene a chemical produced by the DEZA company in nearby Valašské Meziříčí Authorities have estimated the damage at approximately CZK 125 million Dnes jsme mÄ›li na místÄ› také dron, který monitoroval situaci. NáslednÄ› ho budeme využívat také k ohledání místa činu. pic.twitter.com/wU4rh1hg7h The fire was tackled from both the ground and air with helicopters used to help manage the large-scale operation As of the latest reports on Saturday morning fire units are still stationed at the site while efforts to pump the remaining hazardous substance from the tanks are underway Authorities have raised the alarm to the highest fire hazard level which is typically reserved for extraordinary situations The operation is expected to continue over the weekend with dozens of firefighters on site working to mitigate any further risks posed by the incident The train derailment has caused several significant disruptions to local rail services with train traffic indefinitely suspended on the route between Hustopeče nad Bečvou and Lhotka nad Bečvou Passengers can use replacement bus services The service disruptions may continue for several weeks as investigations and cleanup efforts progress NaÅ¡i letečtí záchranáři jsou na místÄ›. pic.twitter.com/WBqXotMhJg environmental concerns were initially raised regarding the possibility of toxic fumes affecting the air quality authorities have confirmed that air quality monitoring has not shown any breaches of permissible limits Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the derailment and the fire the police have stated that additional charges may be considered as new information comes to light News of the Czech train derailment and fire has reached international press, with reports in BBC News and other outlets Your morning coffee deserves a great companion. Why not enjoy it with our daily newsletter? News from Czechia, curated insights, and inspiring stories in English. Authorities in the Olomouc region of the Czech Republic declared a state of emergency due to environmental contamination from a benzene spill caused by a train derailment a month ago which is threatening local water sources and ecosystems the news agency of Poland's national broadcaster Polish Radio reported alarming news about benzene contamination in wells near a summer house area Environmental inspectors have determined that the hazardous substance is spreading toward the Bečva River with rising benzene levels in a nearby retention reservoir Authorities declared a state of emergency to speed up the removal of contaminated water and soil with up to 350 tons of chemicals potentially involved which led to the benzene leak and massive fire was caused by excessive speed as the train approached a switch Toxic benzene contaminates lake in Hustopeče nad Bečvou According to Události Ostrava a local news outlet covering the Ostrava region and surrounding areas toxic benzene has contaminated an entire lake following a tanker truck accident in Hustopeče nad Bečvou located about 100 km southwest of the Polish border there is an urgent need to accelerate the construction of protective barriers the head of the Hustopeče fishing organization Toxický benzen už podle rybářů zamořil celé jezero u havárie cisteren v Hustopečích nad Bečvou. Je proto třeba zrychlit stavbu ochranných bariér. Hromadný úhyn ryb zatím nebyl zaznamenán. Na webu o tom informoval předseda hustopečské rybářské organizace Stanislav Pernický. pic.twitter.com/VdTpp3iEtJ State of emergency considered near the Polish border in the Czech Republic Události Ostrava reported that according to the crisis staff of the Ministry of Environment the governor of the Olomouc region should declare a state of emergency due to the benzene tanker accident in Hustopeče nad Bečvou with the risk of contamination of the Bečva River still present Podle krizového štábu ministerstva životního prostředí by měl hejtman Olomouckého kraje vyhlásit stav nebezpečí, a to kvůli havárii cisteren převážející benzen v Hustopečích nad Bečvou. Situace i měsíc po havárii zůstává vážná a hrozí riziko kontaminace řeky Bečvy. pic.twitter.com/5Y9aaXRSoD Source: IAR/PR24/hzscr.gov.cz/X/@UdalostiOstrava A couple kiss on a warm day at a blooming almond grove in Hustopece Masses of white and pink blossoms in a rare almond grove in the Czech Republic appeared earlier than usual after one of the hottest winters on record People enjoy a warm day at a blooming almond grove in Hustopece A young child enjoys a warm day at a blooming almond grove in Hustopece A woman takes a photograph on a warm day at a blooming almond grove in Hustopece Children enjoy a warm day at a blooming almond grove in Hustopece A couple hug on a warm day at a blooming almond grove in Hustopece Czech Republic (AP) — Masses of white and pink blossoms in a rare almond grove in the Czech Republic appeared earlier than usual after one of the warmest winters on record The almond trees are usually among the first to bloom at the beginning of spring in this southeastern corner of the Central European country It was more than two weeks earlier this year when crowds of people came to admire the rows of flowering trees in a most unexpected place the countries around the Mediterranean Sea Mild winters are not harmful for the blossoms here “It really is nothing out of the ordinary,” Katerina Kopova said on Tuesday about the early blossoms Kopova is the owner of a local family firm that makes various products from almonds including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages “We had a similar situation five years ago we’re a little nervous because the forecast is expecting temperatures below zero and a couple of freezing mornings would be enough to end up with no harvest.” The orchard on a hill near the vineyards above the town of Hustopece was established during the Cold War soon after the communists took power in Czechoslovakia in 1948 there was a significant shortage of goods from the West Communist states’ currencies were not convertible and the struggling command economies failed to produce enough decent goods to sell in exchange for hard currency The goal was to grow enough almonds for the entire Czechoslovakia to be self-sufficient Czechoslovakia imported some 300 train carriages of almonds a year Experts identified a hill location with a slope facing south near Hustopece with one of the warmest climates in the country as the ideal place while various cultivars were tested to ensure the best possible harvest the grove had some 50,000 trees covering an area of some 185 hectares The almonds were used by a chocolate factory and elsewhere but the size of the grove was significantly reduced in the 1970s due to low production The 1989 Velvet Revolution toppled the Communist regime and meant the final blow for the grove as the market was flooded with almonds from other parts of the world students from local schools discovered that the town had something extraordinary and encouraged the town hall to acquire the neglected property the nearly 2,000 almond trees blooming in the former grove have become a popular spot for locals — and a tourist attraction “There have never been so many people here,” said Lukas Vitovsky The grove is open all year long with many also visiting in the fall to collect the almonds that fall from the trees The place is not just “a reminder of history and a place for people to enjoy themselves,” said Kopova but also to learn something because “many people don’t know what an almond in a shell looks like.” your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt Czech officials declared a state of emergency in the vicinity of Hustopeče nad Bečvou in the Přerov region due to the spread of toxic benzene following a train crash on 28 February Olomouc Governor Ladislav Okleštěk declared the emergency after the toxic substance had already completely contaminated the nearby lake He says the order was needed to enable faster remediation of the contaminated soil and water "We have unanimously agreed to declare a state of emergency as of 12:00 today in the Olomouc Region," said Okleštěk A state of emergency grants special powers to the implementing county’s administration Local officials are given the right of imposing a work obligation make decisions on work assistance or enable the provision of material resources to deal with the crisis The local county can also immediately carry out construction work and landscaping stay and movement of people in a defined place or area until the crisis is mitigated Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladik said the situation was rapidly deteriorating at the accident site and action urgently needed to be taken within hours He added that the first benzene-affected water well appeared in the area within hours stressing the need to immediately tackle the emergency to protect drinking water sources Work to extract benzene from water sources is already underway Professionals have been tasked with digging dozens of remediation pits between railroad tracks and the affected lake at depths of seven metres to prevent further spread of benzene “180 metres of the Larsen Wall is now complete I don't want to speak for the company that is doing it now but I have information that 25 - 30 metres are being built by these guys every day so they are doing an excellent job,” said Radek Buryánek Spokesperson of the Olomouc Regional Fire Brigade “The Larsen walls certainly help in terms of reducing the concentration of benzene that is pushed through the bedrock into that lake,” he added there will certainly be at least 210 metres of Larsen walls built in that first phase and there is the possibility that more Larsen walls will be built and that basically the whole area of the accident should be bypassed by those Larsen walls." The state of emergency comes a month after a freight train derailed at the entrance of the Hustopeče station in what authorities suspected was due to high speed Most of the 17 carriages immediately caught fire after the accident Some 350 tonnes of benzene leaked from the tankers carrying 1,020 tonnes The damage expected by the benzene tanker fire is expected to be around CZK 1 billion (€40.1 million) The state of emergency order is valid for one month 20 June 2015 – After a spectacular pursuit in the new ŠKODA Fabia R5 works driver Jan Kopecký (CZ) celebrated his third win in the third event of the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) The old hand made up the large deficit to his arch-rival Václav Pech (CZ) at the Rally Hustopeče and won seven special stages in a row This sees Kopecký and his co-driver Pavel Dresler (CZ) well on their way to winning the title at the halfway stage of the national championship “Jan delivered a fantastic battle and proved the potential of our new Fabia R5 Naturally we are delighted with the reliability and the perfect results of our new rally car in the first half of the season of the Czech Rally Championship But we still have a lot of work to do,” said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek Jan Kopecký finished in third at the Rally Italy on demanding gravel tracks last weekend but quickly got used to the asphalt tracks in his home country the 33-year-old lost a lot of time on the second stage of the Rally Hustopeče when he suffered tyre damage and at one point trailed his fiercest rival Pech by 49 seconds in which the ŠKODA works driver overtook Pech on the final special stage He won all of the special stages in the wine-growing region of Southern Moravia with a big lead on Saturday This saw him take the lead in the overall standings at midday and then get his commanding fourth win at the Rally Hustopeče After 150.02 kilometres of special stages and wins on seven of the ten stages Kopecký finished with a lead of 45.1 seconds over Pech and remains unbeaten at home in the ŠKODA Fabia R5 “The first day didn’t go according to plan But we chose the perfect tyres on Saturday This allowed us to show just how fast our new ŠKODA Fabia R5 is even in the most difficult of conditions,” said Kopecký the ŠKODA Fabia R5 also has three podium finishes in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2) to its name The next challenge in store for Kopecký is the Rally Bohemia from 10 to 12 July ŠKODA’s home race just outside the headquarters in Mladá Boleslav is the highlight of the season of the Czech Rally Championship The Rally Hustopeče is good ground for Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler After a hat-trick of wins from 2011 to 2013 they won the event on Saturday for the fourth time This makes the ŠKODA duo record winners of the rally which was held for the eleventh time this year 150620 Third win – Jan Kopecký victorious after pursuit in the ŠKODA Fabia R5 Italian high jumpers Marco Fassinotti and Alessia Trost set world-leading marks of 2.34m and 1.96m respectively in the Czech town of Hustopece as the now traditional Moravia High Jump Tour got underway on Saturday (24) Fassinotti equalled his own absolute Italian record going over 2.34m on his second attempt after having also jumped 2.34m indoors last winter before he brought the bar down three times at 2.36m Fassinotti looks to have higher heights in his legs in the near future There was plenty of daylight between his torso and the bar on several of his attempts “I jumped 2.32 a couple of weeks ago so I knew I was in good shape It is my first time in Hustopece so I just came here to see what I can do My target for the season is to do well at the European Indoor Championships (in March),” said the 25-year-old from Turin Fassinotti has never won a medal at a major global and continental championship and finished a disappointing seventh at the European Championships last summer but in Hustopece he collected the scalp of one of the men who made the high jump one of the most attention-grabbing events in the sport last summer the European silver medallist and world indoor bronze medallist who jumped 2.40m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne last summer had to settle for second place after a first-time clearance at 2.30m 2.34m and finally 2.36m in a deserate bid to wrest the initiative back from the inspired Italian the Ukrainian could justifiably claim to be feeling tired after his plane from Odessa was fog-bound on Friday and he only arrived in Hustopece on the morning of the meeting Former Italian record-holder Silvano Chesani produced his best performance in almost two years and went over 2.30m succeeding with his second attempt to place third former world youth and junior champion Trost turned in her best performance for more than a year when she went over 1.96m on her first attempt to complete the first half of an Italian double in Hustopece Spain’s European champion Ruth Beitia had gone over 1.94m on her third attempt a height Trost negotiated at the second time of asking Ukhov and Trost take the honours at Hustopece.. An England Athletics Team of of eight high jumpers will be travelling to Hustopeče in the Czech republic from the 4 to 6 February hosts two days of dedicated high jump competitions from under elevens to world class seniors This event has been selected to offer up-and-coming athletes the opportunity to experience foreign competition and travel with the excitement of a dedicated high jump competition is converted into a high jump arena for the weekend The combination of each competitor jumping to their own choice of music accompanied by the rhythmical clapping and foot stamping of supportive spectators within touching distance of the athletes creates an electric atmosphere certain to bring out the best in the athletes The Hustopeče meeting has produced numerous personal bests for English athletes none moreso than in 2016 when Chris Baker set an all time PB of 2m36 (4th UK all time) almost beating the current Olympic Champion Giamarco Tamberi In the last meeting held just before the start of the Covid pandemic 2021 Olympic Finalist Tom Gale went one better taking the honours winning the Senior elite event with 2m33 Over the years Hustopeče has also been instrumental in giving our top female jumpers including Morgan Lake and Emily Borthwick (B competition winner in 2017) invaluable experience as they developed Olympian Emily (Wigan and District) who competed in her first Games in Tokyo in 2021 has been invited by the organisers to compete in the women’s elite competition this year highlighting the value of England Athletics' earlier support This year England Athletics have selected a strong development team of four seniors and four juniors headed by Commonwealth Games hopefuls Joel Khan (Worcester AC) and Laura Zialor (Marshall Milton Keynes) and 2021 England Senior Champion Adam Brooks (Yate) A group of England and independent athletes travelled to Hustopeče this weekend to compete in one of the best Indoor High Jump competitions in Europe The long day began at 10am with the U18 and Junior Men’s competition where England were represented by 3 athletes club: Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers) won our first gold of the meet with a winning jump of 2.00m The Junior event saw Sam Brereton (Fuzz Caan Newquay & Par) and Kelechie Agoucha (Fuzz Caan Blackheath & Bromley) left to battle it out for first place and what a competition it was bringing the whole indoor arena to its feet Both boys cleared the World Junior qualifying mark of 2.16m and then Kelechi went on to clear 2.20m and then an incredible 2.22m a height which would have ranked him 4th in the World at U20 level in 2019 and ranks him 3rd on the UK Senior rankings as well as increasing his PB by 7cm The Women’s B competition swiftly followed In the U20 section Hannah Moat  (David Walker Notts AC) winning with a Season's best of 1.75m just ahead of second place Carmen Neat (Fuzz Caan Loughborough Students) with the same height England took second spot after a very close battle with Emily Borthwick (Fuzz Caan Wigan & District) clearing 1.78m; Natasha Smith (Kerry Eddie Birchfield Harriers) cleared 1.65m for 5th place In the Men’s B competition it was a very close fight between training partners Nico de Luca (Italy Fuzz Caan) and Will Grimsey (Fuzz Caan/ Carol Jackson Woodford Green Essex Ladies/Loughborough Students) with Nico just taking the win with both athletes clearing 2.20m Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers) was 5th with 2.14m Birchfield Harriers) had to withdraw after clearing 1.90m with an ankle injury As the day progressed and the atmosphere became louder and more electric The Women’s A competition was next - with invited elite athletes from all over the world Birchfield Harriers) followed on her earlier two PBs with a very creditable 1.87m for 6th place WSEH/Loughborough Students) jumped 1.90m for 3rd place but the competition winner And then almost 12 hours after the event had started the roof was lifted as Tom Gale (Denis Doyle Olympic Qualifying mark and World Leading jump of 2.33m in the Men’s A competition Such was the standard that Chris Baker (Graham Ravenscroft Sale Harriers Manchester) jumped a season’s best of 2.20m to only finish in 10th place This will be a weekend athletes and coaches will all remember for a long time to come with 12 podium places an Olympic qualifying mark and a World leading jump But to top everything off we were all privileged to meet the greatest High Jumper the world has ever seen World Record Holder Javier Sotomayor (Cuba 2.45m) who was there to watch all the competitions England's athletes were ably supported by coaches Graham Ravenscroft Carol Jackson and Physiotherapist Lucy Eggleton Click here for official event photographs Click here for full results England Athletics is delighted to announce the two England teams to take part in the Tallinn Combined Event Championships (Saturday 4 and 5 February) and the Hustopece International Meeting (Saturday 4 February) which will be the first that England Athletics has sent to the event has been selected based on performances at England Athletics Combined Event Championships The event is renowned for excellent performances with Aston Eaton setting a new Heptathlon world record at the event in 2011 “The silver-level World Tour Combined Events competition in Tallinn represents a great opportunity for our heptathletes and decathletes to build on their excellent performances produced at the English Championships in Sheffield at the beginning of January All of our eight team members produced fantastic performances and personal bests to make the team but I am excited to see them all add to those scores The same weekend will see some of England's best young high jumpers will also compete at the prestigious Hustopeče International Meeting in the Czech Republic which was formerly part of the Moravia High Jump Tour is now acknowledged by the IAAF as one of the world’s premier indoor meets The day consists of a full 13 hour programme culminating in elite competitions for both women and men Previous elite winners have included Gianmarco Tamberi and Yaroslava Mahuchikh “For our team of developing athletes this event is a perfect opportunity to gain important experience from foreign international competition Some of the previous athletes who first competed as youngsters in Hustopece before jumping high enough to be invited to participate in the world class competitions include Tokyo Olympians Tom Gale (winner in 2020) Morgan Lake and Emily Borthwick "A number of personal coaches will also be making the trip and they will also be able to gain experience from the guidance offered by our team coaches "As an added bonus the post event reception offers an opportunity for everyone to socialise and mix with the best high jumpers in the world.” who went into the competition with an overall PB of 2.28m cleared not only 2.30m on his first attempt but also 2.34m on his first go before clearing 2.36m on his second attempt That mark puts him fourth on the overall British all-time list and is the third best clearance by a Briton indoors Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi cleared 2.38m for victory Lavern Spencer of St Lucia was the star of the women's competition as she equalled her national indoor record with her first attempt clearance of 1.95m World 200m champion Dafne Schippers broke the world lead for 60m twice at the ISTAF Indoor meeting in Berlin She ran 7.04 in the heats before improving to 7.00 in the final Schippers ran the fastest time by a European since 1999 and matched the 30-year-old Dutch record set by indoor specialist Nelli Cooman Marie Josee Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast set another PB of 7.06 in second (7.11 PB in the heats) with Asha Philip third in 7.16 (7.18 heat) Alexandra Wester continued her breakthrough by winning the long jump with a world lead of 6.95m (her pre-2016 PB stood at 6.59m) ahead of Shara Proctor with a 6.91m indoor PB which is just 2cm off the British indoor record held by Katarina Johnson-Thompson Dimitri Bascou moved to equal second on the European all-time rankings with 7.41 (the fastest time by a European since 2002) to break Ladji Doucoure’s French record by 0.01 Cindy Roleder was a clear winner of the women's event on home soil in a season’s best of 7.96 while Kim Collins won the 60m flat in an equal season’s best of 6.53 James Dasaolu was the fastest in the heats at 6.58 but was disqualified in the final for a false start along with home favourite Julian Reus There was another South American record in the pole vault with Thiago Braz vaulting an outright record of 5.93m to beat Renaud Lavillenie (5.85m) and Raphael Holzdeppe (5.77m) Competing for the first time since September 2014 Robert Harting made a winning return with his final round effort of 64.81m in the discus to beat younger brother Christoph (64.34m) There were national indoor records for Belgium (Philip Milanov 64.16m) and Jamaica (Fedrick Dacres 63.40m) in third and fourth The order from last year’s race was switched with world cross-country champion Geoffrey Kamworor beating Bedan Karoki for the men’s senior 10km title at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships in Nairobi Kamworor won in 28:19 ahead of Karoki in 28:24 but both of them will be bypassing the African Cross Country Championships in Yaounde in order to focus on the World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff on March 26 Leonard Barsoton completed the top three in 28:26 The women’s senior race was dominated by in-form Alice Aprot who won the 10km in 31:13 with Beatrice Mutai (32:28) and Sheila Chepkirui (32:34) a distant second and third World 3000m steeplechase champion Hyvin Kiyeng was sixth in 32:51 while pre-race favourite Faith Kipyegon dropped out on the second lap Nixon Kiplagat and Sandra Chebet won the men’s and women’s junior races respectively The first day of the Tyson Invitational saw a world lead in the long jump by Marquis Dendy with 8.38m an indoor PB (he missed his overall PB by 1 cm) Brittney Reese achieved 6.81m in the women's event Christian Coleman clocked 6.55 in the 60m ahead of Ronnie Baker with 6.58 In the women's event Shayla Sanders ran 7.22 (but clocked 7.19 in the semis) The hurdles had Dondre Echols winning in 7.69 PB but Jamaican Omar McLeod clocked 7.59 in the semis Jamaican Samantha Scarlett improved to 8.14 in the women's hurdles » Check out Athletics Weekly’s online news section and online event reports for more of the latest from the world of the sport » Athletics Weekly’s global update is provided by EME NEWS. Readers interested in subscribing to receive full daily EME NEWS reports directly should contact Alfonz Juck at [email protected] Galen Rupp eyes Olympic double after US marathon trials win A freight train carrying toxic and flammable benzene has derailed in the Czech Republic The locomotive and at least five tank wagons caught fire Images showed flames and a high column of black smoke The rail accident near the town of Hustopece nad Becvou in the east of the country triggered a special fire department alert The inhabitants of the village were asked to keep their windows closed Several Eurocity trains to Slovakia were canceled Passengers had to continue their journey by bus Benzene is a volatile organic compound that can have a carcinogenic effect on humans Benzene is an important raw material in the chemical industry and is used in the production of dyes Hustopece nad Becvou is located around 250 kilometers east of Prague and has a population of just under 1800 euros It is not the first accident of its kind in the Czech Republic benzene leaked from a damaged tank wagon of a freight train in Studenka One day after the derailment of a freight train carrying carcinogenic benzene in the Czech Republic the fire department has the blaze under control we guarded the site of the fire and eliminated small outbreaks," the fire department spokesman told the Noviny.cz portal The police are now investigating on suspicion of reckless endangerment The freight train reportedly passed the town of Hustopece nad Becvou in the east of the country at around 11.30 a.m "When passing a signal and a switch near the station building (...) the locomotive was uncoupled from the rest of the train for reasons that are still unknown," the police spokeswoman said Several tank wagons then derailed and some of the chemicals being transported caught fire for reasons that are still unknown "At least 14 wagons of the train were affected by the fire," said the police spokeswoman The fire department had previously spoken of 15 wagons the fire also affected the operating facilities of the railroad line and the adjacent area The locomotive did not catch fire and was able to drive to the station in Hustopece nad Becvou under its own power the damage caused was estimated at around 4.5 million francs while the fire department estimated a slightly higher figure of 4.7 million francs This website uses 'cookies' to give you the best Using this website means you are Ok with this You can change which cookies are set at any time - and find out more about them - by following this link<\/a> motors and property from the Maidenhead Advertiser WSEH AC's Morgan Lake claimed the outright women's British high jump record on Saturday night after bettering Katarina Johnson-Thompson's 1.98m mark by a centimetre at the World Indoor Tour Silver in Hustopece who admitted last year she'd been left ‘broken mentally and physically' by her attempts to break into the world's elite in the Heptathlon is once again raising the bar in the high jump Buoyed by the electric atmosphere in Hustopece she leapt to a new British record height of 1.99m and afterwards thanked everyone who has ‘kept believing in her’ Last year wasn't one of her best as she finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games and missed the World Championships in Oregon with a bout of COVID she did still take the British title and finish seventh at the European Championships With this new mark set so early in the season she can now look ahead with renewed optimism for what is to come in 2023 with one eye also on the Paris Olympics in 2024 She bettered the previous British record set by 2019 World Heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson who cleared 1.98m at the Rio Olympics back in 2016 It's also Lake's first personal best for five years and surpasses her previous best of 1.97m - a height she coincidentally achieved at the same Hustopece meeting in 2019 and also when winning the British Championships in 2018 Eton and Hounslow athete - coached by former Olympic silver medal winner Robbie Grabarz - tweeted: “1.99m personal best and a British Record Grateful for my team and everyone who's kept believing in me Not only was it an outright national record but it's also well over the qualification standard needed for next month's European Indoor Championships She's also the latest British athlete to better a British record in the first few weeks of 2023 with Dina Asher-Smith (60m) Keely Hodgkinson (600m) and Sam Atkin (3000m) doing likewise long thought of as a prodigious talent in both high jump and heptathlon - having won the world junior heptathlon and high jump titles in 2014 - has struggled consistent form at a senior level in recent years She opted to focus on the high jump having been left exhausted both physically and mentally by her attempts to cover all bases in the heptathlon finished sixth in the 2017 World Championships fourth in the 2018 World Indoor Championships and was second at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 there's a sense now that she has some real momentum behind her heading into the next couple of years Athletics Voters have had their say in local council elections across Buckinghamshire Construction workers did make a mistake when building a new £1.3million roundabout the RBWM cabinet member for highways has said The Conservatives lost a long-held majority at Buckinghamshire Council and fell one seat short of the 49 needed - but how did the votes fall in the county's south A murder investigation has been launched in Slough after a 46-year-old man was killed in an attack © Copyright 2024 Baylis Community Media CIC All right reserved Home   Sport   Article STRATFORD Athletic Club high jumper Rory Dwyer continued his recent momentum at the prestigious High Jump Meeting in the Czech town of Hustopece Dwyer finished fifth in the B section with a season’s best of 2.10m his best jump since the 2016 British Championships It is also comfortably the highest jump by anyone in the West Midlands so far this year “I had a great time at the competition,” said Dwyer “While I’m pleased with jumping another season’s best which is already higher than I jumped last season Once I tweak my run up to get my high point in the right place Dwyer represented Great Britain at the 2014 and 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships but missed the entire 2017 season through injury After moving to Loughborough University in September that year he rehabbed his way back to form and made a return to competition in 2018 He has since gone from strength to strength and is now just five centimetres away from matching his indoor PB “This year I made the decision to stop trying to chase the athlete I was before the injury and try to create something new,” he added 18 June 2016 – Cheered on by thousands of fans the ŠKODA works duo Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ) completed a hat-trick of victories in this year’s Czech Rally Championship (MČR) The experienced pair won the Rally Hustopeče on Saturday after a dramatic battle with fellow ŠKODA drivers Pavel Valoušek/Veronika Havelková (CZ/CZ) The ŠKODA FABIA R5 was the best rally car in the field throughout the 150 special stage kilometres among the vineyards of South Moravia “That was the perfect end to the first half of the season in the Czech Rally Championship we got second place in the WRC 2 at the world championship race in Italy last Sunday and now we have won at the Rally Hustopeče” ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek was full of praise for Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler who “produced outstanding results after a challenging few days The atmosphere in the ŠKODA Park and at the circuit was fantastic once again at the Rally Hustopeče All ŠKODA Teams put on a great show for the numerous fans in South Moravia.” The drivers did indeed deliver top-quality rally entertainment on the tight bumpy and dusty asphalt of the twelve special stages ŠKODA works driver Jan Kopecký took the lead right from the start and was able to reclaim this position after dropping to second place behind Pavel Valoušek after a minor error in the Bořetice 2 stage A fascinating duel developed between the two ŠKODA FABIA R5 drivers during the three stages after dark on Friday evening This was his third win of the season in the national championship having already tasted victory at the Rally Šumava Klatovy and the Rally Český Krumlov The reigning Czech champion has now won each of the eight national championship races in which he has competed in 2015 and 2016 “The Rally Hustopeče is always a special rally for us I was lucky that my error at the start of the rally did not lose me more time which makes this win even more valuable,” commented Kopecký This was the fifth time that the 34-year-old has celebrated victory at the Rally Hustopeče and he holds the record number of wins for this event Kopecký extended his lead in the overall MČR standings and is the clear leader at the halfway point Vojtěch Štajf (CZ) also produced a strong performance The ŠKODA customer from the Klokočka ŠKODA Czech National Team finished in fourth place at the Rally Hustopeče We can still have a lot of fun this season,” commented Štajf It is only two weeks until the next race in the Czech Rally Championship Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler will start with home advantage around the ŠKODA brand headquarters in Mladá Boleslav The Rally Poland will take place in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2) on the same weekend featuring the works duos Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) and Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (S/S) for the ŠKODA Motorsport team The ŠKODA FABIA R5 was the fastest car at the Rally Hustopeče recording best times on nine out of twelve special stages Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler claimed eight stage best times while Pavel Valoušek/Veronika Havelková also finished first once in the high-tech four-wheel drive ŠKODA car Rally Hustopeče – Final Overall Classification 160618 Kopecky completes hat-trick of victories for SKODA in Czech championship To stay up-to-date with all the latest press information and events The Company's principal business activities are the development