Molly Palmer won the Women's Long Jump at LIA. Image provided by Neil Duggan.
Sport scholar Molly Palmer topped the Women’s Long Jump rankings at Loughborough International Athletics (LIA) in an event that saw Great Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers make a long-awaited comeback from injury.
Jazmin Sawyers made a welcome return to action following injury. Image provided by Neil Duggan.
Palmer, 21, jumped superbly to register 6.67m (wind assisted +2.4m) as Sawyers recorded 6.53m in her first competition since rupturing an achilles last year.
Wales international Abigail Pawlett finished third in a personal best 6.17m (wind assisted 1.7m).
“Getting back out competing feels so fun, it’s so great,” Sawyers told Loughborough Sport.
“It’s nice to feel like me still. The aim of today was to get back competing but also to hit the 6.5m marker. I felt like I had 6.6m in the tank but it wasn’t to be.
“If I were to ignore the fact I’ve been out for eighteen months, that was a solid performance. Hat’s off to Molly…that was unbelievable.”
Elsewhere, on another day of first-class athletics on campus, the capacity crowd were treated to yet more sporting drama that is now synonymous with LIA.
In the Women’s 100m Hurdles, Dani Hales pipped world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson to win in 13.51 seconds. Johnson-Thompson clocked 13.57 in her first outdoor competition since winning heptathlon silver in Paris last summer.
Later in the day, Loughborough alumna Bekah Walton dominated the Women’s Javelin to win with a distance of 59.38m.
Jamaica international and three-time World Indoor medallist Kimberly Williams also claimed top spot in the Women’s Triple Jump with a score of 13.32m.
Representing Wales, Olivia Breen showed fine form to win the Women’s Para Long Jump by recording 4.84m. The double Paralympic Games medallist surpassed GB Junior Maddie Down’s 4.62m and England’s Molly Kingsbury 3.98m.
Olivia Breen wins the Women's Para Long Jump. Image provided by Neil Duggan.
New Zealander Imogen Ayris, who won Commonwealth bronze in Birmingham, topped the Women’s Pole Vault with a height of 4.45m.
Back on the track, Thomas Young – another Loughborough sport scholar – romped home in the Men’s Para 100m in 11.19 seconds.
Tom Young storms to victory. Image provided by Still Sport Photography.
For the full breakdown of the day’s results, visit Roster:
https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/about?id=26459
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 25/80
About Loughborough University
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2025 QS World University Rankings – the ninth year running.
Loughborough is ranked 6th in The UK Complete University Guide 2025, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2025 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.
Loughborough was also named University of the Year for Sport in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 - the fourth time it has been awarded the prestigious title.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
