MELISSA Courtney-Bryant hit the jackpot in Monte Carlo with a new British 2,000m record.

Running in the Monaco Diamond League meeting, the Poole Athletic Club star’s determined sprint to 5:26.08 prised second place from Kenya’s Edinah Jebitok by one hundredth of a second.

The pair set respective national records, yet trailed Australian Jessica Hull, who broke the world record with 5:19.70, just five days after posting the fifth fastest 1500m of all time. 

The five-lap race is not run often, but in taking almost one second off the British best 5:26.93 set by Yvonne Murray in front of her home Meadowbank crowd in 1994, Courtney-Bryant proved she is back to top form.

William Rabjohns gained a last-chance gold medal for Dorset Schools at the English Schools’ Track & Field Championships in Birmingham. The Queen Elizabeth School, Wimborne pupil had achieved second, third and fourth places in previous years over 1500m, but topped the podium after changing down to 800m.

Archie Coates (Leweston School) was third in the senior boys’ 3,000m (8:30.50), while Harry Ryan (Canford School) claimed junior boys’ 80m hurdles bronze with 11.44s.

Unlucky William Langridge (QE, Wimborne) boosted his personal best three times in the intermediate boys’ triple jump, but missed a medal by 4cm.

Aspen Stobart threw 30.07m to place fourth in the junior girls’ discus. William Blackmore (Ferndown Upper School) edged fourth place on countback from team-mate Marcel Roku-Ali as both cleared 1.75m in the junior boys’ high jump.