Defending champion Glen Penlington delivered a five-star performance to win his fifth British Pro Championship on Saturday at the Three Counties Show in Malvern.
But it wasn’t just Saturday’s action that made the headlines; the whole weekend was packed with excitement, with six new National Records set, alongside dozens of personal best times.
The Pro Qualifier took place on Friday with twelve athletes aiming to qualify for the main Pro Championship on Saturday. In a closely-fought competition, Dave Thomas, took first place, after a 7-year break from TIMBERSPORTS®. The remaining qualifiers were Harri Hogg, Ben Chapman, Seamus Ryan, Jack Morris and Ryan Tonkin, in his debut competition.
On Saturday, all eyes turned to the Pro Championship, which delivered 21 personal best times and three new National records!
Penlington made history with a dominant display across all disciplines, breaking a 10-year National record for the Standing Block and his own Springboard National record with a time of 57.38 seconds.
There was also success for other competitors during the competition too. George Spencer recorded the fastest time in the Hot Saw and took second place overall, whilst Joe Groom’s consistent performance in the chopping disciplines meant he took the third place on the podium.
On Sunday, it was the turn of the women and the rookies to take to the stage. The competitors in the British Women’s Championship were in similar record-breaking form to the Pro athletes and three new British records were set over the course of the competition. Georgia Lewis set a new record in the Standing Block, Catherine Eccles in the Underhand Chop and Justine Ellis in the Single Buck, who was returning to the sport just weeks after giving birth.
However, it was Lewis’s consistency that took her to the top spot on the podium for a double celebration with her partner and Pro Champion Penlington. Libby Arrowsmith, the youngest competitor in the competition, took second place, whilst Catherine Eccles completed the podium in third.
The final competition of the weekend was the Rookie Championship, where Rowan Luxton was hoping to defend his title. 17-year-old Billy Gore took the early lead though after winning both the Springboard and Stock Saw disciplines to take maximum points after two rounds. Luxton kept his cool to stay in the competition and managed to record the fastest times on the Standing Block and Single Buck events.
In the final discipline of the day, the Underhand Chop, Gore was still in the top spot, but Luxton picked the right time to hit his peak recording a time more than eight seconds quicker than the rest of the athletes, to win the overall Championship by just one point! Gore had to be content with second place, whilst the third spot on the podium was taken by Max Wright, who achieved four personal best times during the competition.
