Erika Kelly of Northern AC finished third in the Müller British Athletics 20km Olympic Walk Trial at Kew Gardens on Friday.

The event, which doubled up as the British championships, saw a 6am start involving a combined field of 16 men and women.

Callum Wilkinson (Enfield & Haringey) stormed to an overwhelming victory in the men’s race with a finishing time of 1hr 22min 47sec.

This was 1m 47s short of the 81-minute Olympic qualifier in what were breezy and damp conditions, winning the British title in the process.

Runner-up Tom Bosworth already had the time and by finishing second he confirmed his place on the team for Tokyo.

Tom Partington of Manx Harriers pulled up shortly after half-distance with a hamstring strain.

The women’s race also saw a clear victory for Heather Lewis (Pembrokeshire) after Gemma Bridge (Oxford City), who led for a short while, was disqualified.

Lewis fell short of the 91-minute qualifying time with 1hr 34m 49s, as did runner-up Bethan Davies (Cardiff) in 1:37.04.

Manx athlete Kelly sealed the bronze medal in 1:46.31.

l Fuller report in this week’s Manx Independent, on sale now - get your digital copy at http://www.iomtoday.co.im/subscribe.cfm