WILL Crisp is this week celebrating not only his first England title but also his first international vest after a superb weekend at the national indoor championships, writes KEVIN FAHEY.

The 18-year-old Swindon Harrier from Hinton Parva, near Wanborough, gave a real champion’s performance to triumph in the 800m at the England U20 Indoor Championships in Sheffield as he cruised through the heats and then delivered a masterclass in the final on Sunday.

After a rough, bumpy first two laps, Crisp took charge by accelerating away from his rivals with an impressive turn of speed to clinch his first England title in a time of 1 minute 54.4 seconds, over a second clear of the field.

“I have been in the sport for nine to 10 years now and had previously won three national silvers and a bronze,” said Crisp.

“On three occasions I finished less than a second away from winning my first England vest, so to get the win at last is a combination of relief and pleasure.

“I was aware I had really won nothing of significance so this is great and it feels like a real step up in level for me.

“I was over the moon when I finished – my first national and my first international vest. It has been a good couple of weeks.”

Crisp went into the event with the extra pressure of being the favourite for gold after making an impressive debut in the British Senior Indoor Championships the previous weekend.

On that occasion, Crisp ran a personal best of 1mins 50.42secs in the heats to shave 0.48secs off his outdoor best set last summer and go top of the UK Indoor rankings for U20 men, two seconds quicker than his nearest rival.

Moreover, Crisp’s performance in the heats was good enough to secure him a place in the final – as the youngest man in the line-up – where he ran bravely against a host of vastly more experienced rivals to finish fifth.

“It was weird going to Sheffield as the favourite as that put a totally different pressure on me and I felt my neck was really on the block,” added Crisp.

“I suspected the final would be tactical and after everyone flew out for the first 100m it slowed right down,” explained Crisp.

“I then got to the front at 400m and looked behind me to see four other guys lined up.

“When I got pushed and almost tripped up from behind, I decided to push on and kicked really hard.

“I just went for it and managed to finish a good second clear.”

Crisp returns to action again this weekend when he represents England U20s in the Cardiff Indoor International.