WORCESTER high jumper Joel Clarke-Khan became national champion for a third time last weekend at the UK Athletics Championship in Manchester.

Clarke-Khan, 23, produced a season’s best of 2.18m in the final and was the only athlete to go clear at the height.

He was joined on the podium by silver medallist William Grimsey and bronze winner Luke Ball. Their marks were 2.15m and 2.09m respectively.

Worcester News: Joel Clarke-Khan in action at the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester last weekendJoel Clarke-Khan in action at the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester last weekend (Image: PA)

Speaking after, Clarke-Khan said: "It feels pretty good. I’ve had a bit of a rocky season so I’m very happy to be where I am today. 

"I’ve had a really bad season, the last three weeks I’ve pulled out of some competitions and I’ve managed to change a few things around. I knew I had the potential to jump really high today but I hadn’t competed, so it was just putting it all together."

Clarke-Khan is funded by the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund, and they took to Facebook to congratulate their recipient. 

Having won his first UK title back in 2020, Worcester-born Clarke-Khan went on to win last year's edition. He has now retained his title in style and now moves on to thinking of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

Clarke-Khan, who now represents Thames Valley Athletics Club, competed at his first Commonwealth Games in 2022 and finished fifth.

He is currently ranked 44th in the world for high jump but was as high as 25th not that long ago, but as he mentioned, injuries have been a problem for him of late.