A talented Southend athlete reached the national finals of the British Indoor Championships on Sunday.

Joseph Agbodza, who is already the reigning Essex Champion in the 60m hurdles, finished in 6th place in Birmingham, where he went head-to-head against Olympic athletes Andrew Pozzi and David King.

Representing Southend Athletics Club, Agbodza was running at his first British Championships, where athletes can only compete following an invitation from UK Athletics.

The 20-year-old ran 8.02sec – 0.01sec off the personal best he set when he took the silver medal at the southern county championships in London in February.

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The result represents a major step forward for Agbodza, who only started running competitively in 2019 when he competed at the East Anglian League.

But after running under 11 seconds for the 100m last year, as well as taking a silver medal at the Essex County Championships in Chelmsford, Agbodza has pushed on at senior level.

He has also represented his university, Nottingham Trent, at the British University Championships.