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Macey to Return to Hexham

Decathlete Dean Macey, one of the unluckiest yet talented athletes Britain has produced in the last decade will make an eleventh hour attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics at Hexham on 12-13 July.

Macey, who was fourth at the last two Olympic Games, has a World Championship Silver medal from 1999 and a bronze from 2001, is the current Commonwealth Champion.

The Hexham Meeting which is part of the UK Combined Events Challenge will serve as the Olympic Trials for the British decathletes and heptathletes in search of a ticket to the Olympics.

Four years ago at Hexham, Macey returned from three years of injury to qualify with a score of 7842 points and went on to improve to 8414 points in Athens and just miss out on an Olympic medal. He will be joined by Chiel Warners of the Netherlands who was fifth in Athens – both athletes are coaches by GregRichard.

In the women’s heptathlon, Australian double Commonwealth silver medallist Kylie Wheeler is confirmed as are Julie Hollman (who is the UK no. 3 heptathlete, behind Kelly Sotherton and Jessica Ennis) and Lucy Boggis a leading junior heptathlete who is also known as Tempest in the new Gladiator series!

Meeting Director Richard Hunter not only hopes this years meeting will be a success for Dean Macey. “To date only 3 British decathletes have ever gone over 8000 points, I’m hoping to see three British decathletes go over 8000 points in one meeting!” said Hunter, who is organising the meeting for the twelfth consecutive year.