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Moulton-raised Callum Wilkinson on setting a world-leading time on his way to winning the men's 3,000m race walk at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships




Callum Wilkinson says it was a ‘special moment’ to set a world-leading time on his way to winning his first title in the UK Athletics Indoor Championships on Sunday.

The athlete raised in Moulton, near Newmarket, put in an impressive performance to win the men’s 3,000m race walk in a time of 11mins 0.98secs, the best time of anyone so far in 2023, and also a Birmingham Utilita Arena record.

The former Bury St Edmunds schoolboy finished almost a minute ahead of his nearest rival, Chris Snook (11:57:16), to claim the title which he dedicated to the late Ray Middleton, a former GB race walker and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, who died last month at the age of 86.

Moulton-raised Callum Wilkinson celebrates his British Indoor title win at the weekend Picture: British Athletics/Getty Images
Moulton-raised Callum Wilkinson celebrates his British Indoor title win at the weekend Picture: British Athletics/Getty Images

“It’s my first British indoor title and I think that’s a special moment,” the 25-year-old, who was a pupil at King Edward VI School, said. “In the grand scheme of things it’s another step on the way, but I’m definitely someone who doesn’t take that stuff for granted.

“It’s always on to the next goal and the next big thing to do, but when I do get a chance I do like to look back and reflect on the people who have helped me get there and be grateful for being injury free.

“I was really happy to be able to honour someone like Ray. He was a very strong supporter of me throughout my career so far from the very start alongside Ron Wallwork, who was a close friend of Ray’s, and Ray was second behind Ron when he won the Commonwealth Games.

“I was very lucky to be awarded a GB crest off one of Ray’s GB international vests in my first race at Moulton. He gave me a few words of wisdom and said ‘if you work really hard and make the sacrifices and believe in yourself then the Olympics is open for you.’

“There’s going to be some hard days and good days and a bit of luck along the way, but it made it seem really achievable to me.

“Having someone like Ray inspired me and opened my eyes to what the possibilities were in the race-walking world. I wanted to do something to kind of remember that, because for me he is one of the legends of the sport.

“I’ve always believed that the most impact I can have on other people and pushing my event forward is by my performances on the track.

“It’s not going to be posting on Instagram or whatever else. It’s going to be going out there, walking fast times and trying to win medals at major championships like the Olympics and the World Championships, which is my goal for the next couple of years.”

Now based in Cork in the Republic of Ireland, Wilkinson is set for a busy 2023 in the lead up to the World Athletics Championships, which take place in Hungary this August.

“My next race will be in Slovakia in March,” he said. “It’s my first 20k, the Olympic and World Championship distance, and another important marker. I’ve not finished an international 20k since the Olympic Games through injury, so it’s really important to get back to these sort of races.

“I’m very happy with how my training’s going. I feel like I’m in a really good place at the moment.

“After that I’ll be back away on an altitude camp before racing a 10k in Madrid, as a kind of a warm up then for the European Race Walking Cup in May.

“It will be another great opportunity to see where I rank against the top walkers in Europe and that should be a really competitive race.”