Taylor Barker shows potential with two second places and two fourths

Birmingham was the venue for this weekend’s first race of the outdoor season for Wisbech Inline Speed, whose ten skaters brought home medals galore in dry conditions.

Competing in age category, Arthur Buckler (Pupil Boys) made a clean sweep in all four of his races with team-mate Taylor Barker hot on his heels.

Taylor showed great potential finishing with two second places and two fourths to narrowly miss out on a well deserved podium spot.

Kirby Barker (Mini Boys) skated impressively to take an overall second place in his category.

Flynn McGurk (Youth Boys) and Warren Eve (Junior Boys) skated tactical races together achieving first place in each of their age categories with fellow team-mate James Eve (youth) finishing in overall second place.

Female skaters Leah Barker (Mini Girls) and Lucy McInerney (Junior Girls) also finished in first place in their respective age categories, Leah showing great determination despite carrying an injury from training.

Mike McInerney took overall second place in the competitive Senior Men’s races. The team were joined by Karl Bates (Senior Men) skating for the first time at Birmingham.

The prestigious Ladies Venus Cup 5k was up for grabs with Lucy McInerney gaining a solid second place. Similarly, in the Men’s Keith Lee Boot 10k race, youngsters James, Flynn and Warren all competed for the first time with coach Mike McInerney for the title. As always, Mike gave an impressive performance and narrowly missed out on the win to Vincent Henry on his home track.

The team are in Gravesend next weekend for the annual Six Hour Endurance Race.

Report & photos : Jo Tidman

Team photo:

Back, from Left: Lucy McInerney, Warren Eve, Flynn McGurk, James Eve, Karl Bates, Mike McInerney. Front: Arthur Buckler, Taylor Barker, Kirby Barker and Leah Barker.