Last updated 3
February 2003
Press Releases for
December & January 2003
28 January 2003
Dave Taylor led Blackheath Harriers, Bromley to bronze
medals in the South Of England Cross Country Championships at Bicton Park,
Exmouth. The 39 year old showed no signs of tiredness despite having only
returned from holiday in South Africa the Wednesday before the race and then
having the long journey down to the West Country.
Champion in 2000, he finished an excellent 4th place out
of over 600 finishers and now looks forward to the National Championships at
Parliament Hill in four weeks time.
Another former champion at both Senior and Junior level,
Spencer Newport placed 13th, moving through strongly after being in the mid 20s
on the second of the three lap course.
Rory Byrne also picked up places as the race progressed,
climbing to 32nd by the finish, while valiant Peter Tucker battled with a stitch
on the last lap to hold on to 52nd position. The remaining two scorers were both
veteran athletes. Roy Smith came in 67th in his only his second race back from
injury, while Nick Kinsey completed the scoring in 90th place.
Like the men, the women were the top Kent team placing an
excellent 13th despite having athletes injured and not fully fit. Siobhan Budd
was first home in 31st place, while Hannah Leach, who had flown in from France
for the race, closed in 65th. Clare Lodwig reaped the benefit of buying a new
pair of spikes as she had her best ever cross country race in 151st place,
closely followed by Kate Pratten in 153rd.
Will Bolton just held off Ray Perkins in the Junior Men's
race as they placed 30th and 32nd with ever reliable Peter Moreton in 57th.
Hazel Barker travelled down from University in Cardiff to finish 19th in the
Junior womens race. This was run in conjunction with the Under 17 Women's
competition where Caroline McQuillan and Jenny McCaffrey came 57th and 64th
respectively. In the under 15 boys competition the team of Daniel Casey (24th),
Danny Brewer (72nd), Tom Beech (75th) and Simon Martin (85th) came a promising
9th place with good back up coming from Stephen Leach (86th), Robert D'Angelo
(117th) and Richard Daniel (119th). For the girls Bryony Proctor was 72nd with
Sophie Williams 80th and Sarah Coombs 91st.
Star in the Under 13's age group was Rebecca Taylor who
was 5th in the girls race having been as high as second. Rachel Stokes placed
101st. The Boys team finished in 11th place with Michael Thorpe first scorer in
24th place followed by Edward Martin 50th, Robert Evans 74th and Tom Corbett
88th.
Meanwhile up in Birmingham there was more success for the
Club at the AAA's Indoor Championships with two bronze medals won and two Club
records broken. In the Under 20 age group Jamie Atkinson, who has recently
joined the Club from Sevenoaks, took third in the 1500 metres in 3.56.87 with
Terry Hawkey, the bronze winner from last year, fourth in 3.59.67.
In the field Sandra Alaneme broke the Club Junior triple
jump record with a leap of 12.16 to finish in 4th place just two centimetres
behind both the 2nd and 3rd placed athletes who jumped the same distance.
It was 4th also for Fabian Collymore in the 60 and 200
metres, the former in a best of 6.94. This slight disappointment at missing out
on medals in 2 Championship races was tempered by the news that he has now been
selected to represent Wales in an International Meeting in Cardiff on February
the 9th. Katy Benneworth was 5th in the long jump with 5.38 and also timed 8.05
in the heats of the 60 metres. Ian Allerton timed 51.67 in the heats of the 400.
Harriet Robinson, progressed from third in the Southern
Championship to take bronze again in the under 17 girls 70 metre hurdles with a
new best of 8.81. Clare Cooper timed 8.86 in the heats but was not as quick in
the final as she hit three hurdles. Vicky Thomas, in her first year in the age
group, broke the Club Record in the shot with a putt of 10.03 to finish a fine
5th place. Dominic Parsons had a busy weekend competing in the 60, 200 and 400
metres.
There was another 5th in under 15's girls shot putt for
Shaunagh Brown who also achieved a personal best with 9.58. Sophie Robinson
clocked 10.78 in the heats of the 60 metre hurdles.
There is still time for youngsters to enter the London
Borough Of Bromley Trials for the London Mini Marathon which takes place over
part of the London marathon course on Sunday 13th April. The Trials take place
on Sunday 9th February at Norman Park and entries close on Weds 5th of Feb.
Entry is free and forms can be obtained by sending a SAE to Dave Liston at 70
Serman Drive, Swanley, Kent BR8 7HT.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For further details contact Development Officer Dave Liston on 07946629441.
21 January 2003
Sandra Alaneme began her indoor track and field season as
she finished her 2002 outdoor one, in winning form. Competing at the Southern
Championships at Bedford, the Blackheath Harriers, Bromley athlete leapt 11.66
to win the under 20 women's triple jump title.
The distance was less than 30 centimetres below her
outdoor best from last Summer and will give her confidence as she prepares for
this weekends National Championships in Birmingham.
Also in the medals in the same age group was Katy
Benneworth. She won silver in the long jump for the second year running. Her
distance of 5.35 was an encouraging performance as she has not done much event
specific work. Tom Robinson took bronze in the pole vault, his clearance of 3.60
being the same as the silver medallist.
There were more medals in the under 17's competitions with
personal bests from all the Club's entrants. Victoria Thomas made a successful
move up from the under 15's age group as she placed 3rd in the shot with a putt
of 9.64. It was bronze also for Harriet Robinson in the 60 metre hurdles. Her
time of 8.94 in the semi final was the 2nd fastest of the day but her start was
not so good in the final and she had to settle for 3rd place in 9.07.
Training partner Clare Cooper missed out on a place in the
final by the narrowest of margins. Her 2nd place semi final clocking of 9.03 was
just one hundredth of a second outside one of the two fastest loser places in
the four lane final. Nevertheless, her time is still one of the fastest in the
country this year.
Surprise medallist of the weekend was Flo Clark. She was
rewarded for her hard training under coach Herbie Kuenstlinger with a silver
medal in the under 15 girls shot putt with 9.65. First year in the age group
Shaunagh Brown also achieved a personal best with 9.14 just 16 centimetres less
than the third placed athlete and another athlete in her first competition in
the age group, Sophie Robinson, came third in her heat of the 60 metre hurdles.
Outdoors Michael Skinner had one of his best ever races at
the Reebok Cross Challenge at Cardiff. He was 6th in 4km race in 13.20. Shavaun
Henry placed a useful 14th in the Junior Women's race which was won by European
Cross Country champion Charlotte Dale.
Rebecca Taylor continued her winning ways at the Kent
Schools Cross Country Championships at Hythe. She took the Junior Girls title
with Sarah Coombs in 7th place and Clare Sapsed and Bianca Gibbons also
featuring. Eve Bugler was 4th in the Senior race while Bryony Proctor was 13th
in the Intermediate Girls.
Ken Daniel was in action in the Vets A.C. Championships
over a 5.8 mile course at Wimbledon. He finished 7th overall and was 3rd in the
over 50's race behind former Great Britain Senior Internationals Bob Treadwell
and Grenville Tuck.
All these performances would no doubt have pleased one of
the Club's older members Len King, who unfortunately passed away last Friday. A
vice President since 1962, he would have celebrated his 90th birthday this
Friday.
The Club will be fielding three former Senior winners at
the South Of England Cross Country Champions down in Exmouth this weekend. Dave
Taylor, Spencer Newport and Tim Dickinson are all set to compete and with the
back up of athletes such as Rory Byrne, Ant Draper, Andrew Rayner, Peter Tucker,
Roy Smith, Kent veterans champion Nick Kinsey, and Nick Gasson, the team could
feature in the medals. The Harriers expect to have representatives in all of the
ten age group races.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For further details contact Development Officer Dave Liston on 07946629441.
14 January 2003
Blackheath Harriers, Bromley's Roy Smith returned to
racing after two months of injury problems and ran out comfortable winner of the
Club's Open 10km cross Country race at West Wickham. The Charles Darwin school
groundsman coped well with the icy conditions to record a time of 37.41, a
useful performance with the Southern Cross Country Championships just two weeks
away.
It was a strong field of 65 starters, (60 Blackheath plus
5 guests), and it is hoped that even more members will turn out for the Mob
Match against Ranelagh Harriers on the 8th of February, both Clubs having lost
their matches this Winter against South London and Orion. Nick Gasson, 25th at
last weeks Kent Championships, took advantage of Peter Tucker taking a wrong
turning to come through for 2nd, ahead of John Morland who was 15th last week.
Tucker eventually finished 6th and there was
disappointment also for youngster Terry Hawkey who turned an ankle and slipped
back through the field.
For the women new member Shavaun Henry, who recently
joined the Club from Cambridge Harriers, was never headed as she finished 22nd
overall. Having turned 18 last week she was able to accept a bottle of wine as a
prize and, on this form, she is set to become an important member of the senior
squad. Fast improving Kate Pratten took 2nd place with Anne Cilia 3rd. The race
was the 6th of the 9 that make up the Bennett Cup handicap series. The winner
here was Mike Gasson with Shavaun Henry 2nd and Dick Griffin 3rd. David Churchus
leads the overall standings ahead of Mike Cronin, Jim Mullett, Kate Pratten and
early leader Mike Wade.
The race also incorporated the Club's Veteran
Championships which meant that 40 year old Smith and Morland picked up the gold
and silver medals in the over 40's category with Mark Ellison, enjoying a rich
vein of form in third. Anne Cilia won the women's title with Alison Jelly 2nd.
Ken Daniel was the over 50's champion with Graham Coates
2nd and Jim Phelan 3rd. Former Irish International miler Barry O'Gorman took the
honours in the over 60's category from Joe Clare and Peter Lovell, while David
Churchus prevailed over Geoff Geere in the over 70's race.
Before the medals were awarded, a special presentation was
made to Geere in recognition of his achieving 50 years membership of the Club.
The 75 year old actually joined in December 1951 but, living in Abingdon, is not
able to regularly attend fixtures. In accepting his award he looked forward to
the next 50 years! There are currently 68 members who have belonged to the Club
for 50 years or more.
Indoors Fabian Collymore travelled down to Cardiff for the
Welsh Indoor Championships and was rewarded for his trouble with a win in the
Under 20 Men's 60 metres. He won his heat in 7.02 and then improved by a second
to win the final.
The National Veterans rankings for the 2002 track and
field season have recently been published with Blackheath athletes featuring
prominently in most age categories. In her first year of track competition
Hannah Leach placed 4th in the over 35 women's 10,000 lists with 36.36.2. In the
men's over 40 lists former British international marathoner Bill Foster is 2nd
in both the 1500 and 5,000 metres while multi eventer Malcolm Cannon, who made a
comeback to the sport last summer, is 3rd in the high jump.
Not surprisingly Allan Williams tops the over 45's pole
vault lists. He is the European champion and British record holder and his
clearance of 4.50 is over a metre ahead of the next best.
Peter Pan like Ken Daniel tops the over 50's 1500 metre
lists. He is also 5th in the 800 behind Bob Minting who is 2nd. Chris Ellis is
3rd in the over 55's discus as is Peter Hannell in the 3km walk.
Another British record holder, Gordon Hickey tops the over
65's shot lists, his putt of 12.82 being over 2 metres further than 2nd place.
He is also 3rd in the javelin but the 69 year old is philosophical about his
high ranking claiming that "when you get to my age it's not how good you
are , it's whether you are still alive".
Also very much alive is Jim Day who ranks number two in
both the pole vault and the 100 hurdles, and Colin Brand who is 2nd in both the
javelin and discus as well as being 3rd behind Hickey in the shot.
Full results and pictures from the Open 10km can be
obtained from the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk
together with pictures from the Club's Punch Bowl night, an evening which
celebrates the move to the Club's premises in Hayes in 1926. The Club welcomes
new members of all ages and abilities.
7 January 2003
Rebecca Taylor became the first athlete ever to win the
Kent Under 13 girls cross country title three years in a row when she strode to
victory in the County Championships at Wilderness School, Sevenoaks.
The race saw the Blackheath Harriers, Bromley athlete in a
re-match with Dartford's Megan Edwards who beat her in the Reebok International
Meeting at Margate in November. However, last Saturday the Newstead Woods
schoolgirl quickly took control of the race and after the opening half mile had
begun to open a commanding lead which she had increased to 22 seconds by the end
of the testing, wet 3km course.
Pleasingly the Club were able to close in a team in this
age group for the first time this winter with Claire McNamara in 14th, promising
newcomers Jenny Linker and Rebecca Cook in 22nd and 26th, Clare Sapsed 29th and
Rachel Stokes 33rd.
First year Senior Andrew Rayner led the Club's Senior men
home finishing in 7th place as the Club had to settle for 4th in the team race
with only one of last years silver medal winning six finishing. This was Rory
Byrne in 8th who achieved his highest ever position in these championships as
did veteran John Morland in 15th, Nick Gasson 25th, Mark Ellison 30th and Dave
Ellison 42nd.
Hannah Leech made her debut in the County Championships
finishing 11th in the Senior Women's race which was shorter than intended as
officials took the athletes into the finishing funnel a lap early. Encouragingly
with Anna Thornhill 19th, Anne Cilia 24th, Clare Lodwig 28th, Carolyna
Jones-Baldock 35th and Sarah Cummings 37th the Club were able to place 5th in
the three to score and 2nd in the 6 to score competitions.
Terry Hawkey picked up his first ever County cross country
medal when he finished 3rd in the under 20 men's race and then collected a team
bronze as well with the help of Ray Perkins in 10th and Daniel Snow 13th. Hannah
Williams was 12th in the women's race.
It was double bronze also for Eve Bugler in the under 17
girl's race. Third in the race behind training partner Ella Fisher, Caroline
McQuillan's 12th and Jenny McCaffrey's 18th places also ensured the third team
position. Michael Leal was 21st in the boys race.
A third double bronze came in the under 13 boy's race
where Michael Thorpe picked up an individual medal, and backed by an excellent
run from Sam Simpson in 5th, Edward Martin 15th and Robert Evans 23rd the Club
were 3rd again.
Best team position of the day, however, came from the
under 15 boys where after some brave early front running Daniel Casey had to
settle for 5th with regular sparring partner Danny Brewer in 7th. Backed by
Simon Martin in 18th and Tom Beech 24th they took silver medals in the team
competition with good back up from a one shoed Richard Daniel in 29th, Duncan
Proctor 30th, and Dale Willis 32nd. For the girls Bryony Proctor was 13th and
Sophie Williams 18th.
Further afield Tim Dickinson retained his Senior Men's
title at the Lancashire Championships winning by over half a minute to show that
he has fully recovered from the meningitis that struck him down in the Autumn.
Down at the Devon Championships on a muddy 7.5 mile course at Exeter, Chris
Woodcock finished 32nd out of over a hundred starters and was first in the over
60's age group in 49.10.
Missing from the Kents was Michael Skinner who raced
indoors at the Cardiff Arena. He placed third in the 1500 in 3.52.3 and will be
looking forward to the National Indoor Championships at the start of March.
Those wishing to counter the extra intake of calories over
the festive season should know that the Club welcomes new members of all ages
and abilities and caters for road, cross country and track and field as well as
providing a full social programme. For further information contact Development
Officer Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
24 December 2002
Blackheath Harriers, Bromleys Senior Men were runaway
winners of the Tom Joyce Memorial Road Relay at Rochester Airport leading from
the start to the finish of the four leg race to retain the title they have now
won for the last three years.
Andrew Rayner's opening leg of 12.11 over the 2.6 mile
course proved to be the third fastest of the day and with the following runners,
Anthony Draper (12.21) and Swanley Christmas Caper winner Peter Tucker (12.20)
only slightly slower the team held a comfortable lead after three stages.
The best was saved for last, however, as England
International Michael Skinner blasted round in 11.38 to clock the quickest time
of the day. The victory will give the squad a boost as they prepare for the
County Cross Country Championships which take place at Wilderness School in
Sevenoaks on the 4th of January.
The Club also fielded B and C teams and these performed
well with the quartet of Nick Gasson (12.46), Matt Hill (13.14), Loughborough
student Joe Godsell (13.42) and David Griffin (14.44) finishing in 6th place and
the team of Richard Hall (14.36), Jack Appleton (14.19), Neil Ayrton (13.49) and
Mark Ellison (14.57) closing in 9th.
Both Ayrton and Ellison had earlier been part of the over
40's team that finished runners up in the Masters race to Medway And Maidstone.
Ayrton was the quickest of the Heathens with 13.12 on the opening stage with
Ellison timing 14.08, Trevor Simmons 14.39 and Con Griffin 13.43.
The over 50's team went one better still. Jim Phelan
opened with 14.26 before Ken Daniel waltzed round in 13.22, the fastest time of
the day and bettered by only two athletes in the over 40's race. Graham Coates
followed with 14.24 with Peter Hamilton completing proceedings with 14.18.
The Club held its annual Christmas Yacht cross country
handicap at Hayes the previous day with 42 runners taking part. Handicapper Mike
Peel produced one of his best ever handicaps with just 45 seconds separating the
first 15 finishers. Winner was Jim Mullett with Brendan McShane just pipping
Kate Pratten for second place.
Mark Watling's 31.50 proved the fastest time of the day on
the course of just over 5 miles with Dave Ellison second in 33.12 and McShane
third with 33.33.
Fastest woman was Pratten with 40.45 with Anne Cilia
second in 42.23 and Clare Lodwig third with 44.38.
This was the fifth of the nine races that make up the
Bennett Cup handicap series and current leader is now 71 year old David Churchus
with Mike Cronin second and Mike Wade, the leader before Saturdays race, in
third.
Those wishing to counter the extra intake of calories over
the festive season should know that the Club welcomes new members of all ages
and abilities and caters for road, cross country and track and field as well as
providing a full social programme. For further information contact Development
Officer Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
17 December 2002
Peter Tucker celebrated Christmas a week early by
retaining his title at the Swanley Christmas Caper 4.2 mile road race. His time
of 22.25 was three seconds slower than last year but, with the wet and cold
conditions, the 21 year old Blackheath Harriers, Bromley runner considered this
years a superior performance, particularly as he had completed a tough session
of mile repetitions the day before.
His rewards for his efforts was a 25 pound turkey. Others
to complete the course included Nick Bunclark and Terry Brightwell plus, in a
rare excursion on the roads, coaches Simon Tolson and Tony Jacobs.
Tucker had been in action the previous weekend at the
South of England Inter Counties cross country races in Banbury. Representing
Kent in the under 23's race he finished an excellent 7th place with clubmate
Andrew Rayner 10th. Together they helped Kent to take the silver medals.
In the Senior Women's race Siobhan Budd was the leading
Kent runner as she also took 7th place despite having missed a lot of training
because of injury.
Eve Bugler finished a useful 23rd in the under 17 women's
race while in the under 15's boys race Danny Brewer closed in 30th with Daniel
Casey four seconds and one place behind.
These positions were reversed at the Parkwood League at
Canterbury last weekend where Casey finished 2nd and Brewer 3rd in an under 15's
field which included 9 Heathens. Tom Beech took 9th, Simon Martin 10th, Robert
D'Angelo 12th, Duncan Proctor 14th and Stephen Leach 15th with promising debuts
coming from Carlos Pereira in 17th and Paulo Gomez in 18th.
There were two individual winners with Rebecca Taylor,
returning to racing after a cold, taking the under 13 girls race with Clare
Sapsed 18th and Terry Hawkey winning the under 20 men's. Ray Perkins was second
in the latter as was Hannah Williams in the women's race.
Jack Sunde led the under 17 men home in 3rd position with
Max Richardson 7th and Michael Leal 8th while Michelle Delahoy was 12th for the
women. Sarah Coombs performed well in the under 15 girls to finish 8th with
Bryony Proctor 11th and the under 13 boys again packed well with Michael Thorpe
5th, Edward Martin 7th and new boy Stephen Capey an encouraging 14th. At the
other end of the age scale the Club enjoyed more success in the South Of England
Masters Cross Country Championships at Bournemouth. Chris Woodcock won the over
60's race over 10km in 37.59 and with Barry O Gorman 5th (39.08), Alan Davis
15th (41.18) and Joe Clare 17th (41.35) the Club took silver medals in the team
competition.
It was silver again in the over 70's were Bill Clapham was
2nd in 49.49. The National under 13 boy's rankings for the 2002 track and field
season have recently been published with James Alaka featuring in three events.
The County 100 metre champion is placed 9th in the 400, 13th in the 100 and 14th
in the 200. James Mercer is the 5th fastest in the 75 metre hurdles with a 12.8
clocking.
Those wishing to counter the extra calories intake of the
festive season should know that the Club welcomes new members of all ages and
abilities and caters for road, cross country and track and field as well as
providing a full social programme. For further information contact Development
Officer Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
10 December 2002
Nick Kinsey retained his Over 40's title at the Kent
Veterans Cross Country Championships at Sparrows Den and led the Blackheath
Harriers, Bromley team to a comprehensive victory. Kinsey, the former Great
Britain record holder for the triathlon, and Ashford's Kevin Williams quickly
broke away from the field and matched each other stride for stride over the
first half of the race.
However, Kinsey strength and fitness told in the later
stages and he moved away to secure victory by 22 seconds over the testing 10km
course. With Tim Soutar on 4th, Neil Ayrton 7th and Mark Watling 9th the team
secured gold medals by 49 points.
The over 50's took silver medals in their race with Ken
Daniel leading the Heathens home in third place with Peter Hamilton 8th and
Graham Coates 12th. For the women Anne Cilia was 6th in the over 35's race with
Janet Long 9th in the over 45's.
Michael Skinner showed fine form in the Portsmouth Victory
5 mile road race. In a high quality race he finishes in 8th position in a time
of 24.49. Andrew Rayner, who had run the Kent Cross Country League the previous
day, was 15th in a useful 25.39.
Also on the roads three Heathens were in action in the
Luton Marathon. In wet and windy conditions the first home for the Club was Dave
King in 3.39.20 followed by Brian Smith in 3.49.49 and Colin Poole in 4.05.04.
Remarkably all three had run the Leicester Marathon the week before with again
King first home in 3.42.17 followed by Smith in 3.50.25, Poole 3.53.19 and Dick
Griffin in 4.16.09.
The under 13 girls track and field rankings for 2002 have
recently been published with Rebecca Taylor topping the 1,000 metres. Her time
of 3.07.5 is the 4th fastest ever by a UK Athlete. She is also 2nd in the 800
with 2.22.3, 3rd in the 1200 in 3.56.0 and 7th in the 1500 with 5.02.9.
Also featuring is Shaunagh Brown with her Club record
breaking performances in the throws. She is ranked 6th in the shot putt with
9.57 and 7th in the discus with 24.20.
Another Club Record Holder Emily Godley is 9th in the long
jump with her leap of 4.72 while Serita Solomon time of 11.9 places her 20th in
the 75metre hurdles.
For further details about how to join the Club contact
Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
3 December 2002
Blackheath Harriers, Bromley athletes Rebecca Taylor and
Terry Hawkey both had runaway victories in the latest Kent League races at
Danson Park. Taylor took the lead after the first 400 metres of the under 13
girls race and was never troubled after this point. She strode confidently clear
of the field to win by over three quarters of a minute. Unfortunately the Club
had no other athletes in the race and so did not feature in the team positions.
It was different in the under 20 men's race where as well as Hawkey's front
running victory the Club also won the team competition. Steadily improving Ray
Perkins finished in third place and Peter Moreton was rewarded for some gutsy
running with a sixth place that secured the team honours.
The Senior men achieved a useful second place in the four
to score competition with Peter Tucker first home in 6th place. He was backed by
Alex Gibbins in 12th, Jonathan Murray 13th and Andrew Rayner 21st. They went one
better in the twelve to score recording their first win of the season.
Anna Thornhill made a promising debut in the Senior
Women's race. This was her first ever cross country race and, borrowing a pair
of spikes from Ken Daniel, she celebrated by being the Club's leading finisher
in 19th place. Anne Cilia put in a devastating sprint finish to take 25th with
another Kent League debutant, Clare Lodwig closing in 27th and Sarah Cummings
30th. Caroline McQuillan led the under 17 girls home in 9th place while Bryony
Proctor was first home for the under 15s in 10th place. She was closely followed
by Sophie Williams who achieved an excellent 11th place with Sarah Coombs
completing the team in 19th.
The Under 15 boys scored a good second place spearheaded
by Daniel Casey in 5th and Danny Brewer in 6th with Tom Beach also in the top 10
in 9th position.
Michael Thorne continued his successful winter in the
Under 13's race as he took third place and helped the team achieve third place
overall. He received strong support from Edward Martin in 7th and Sam Simpson in
12th. Further afield Spencer Newport was in action in the high quality Leeds
Abbey Dash 10km. He came 9th in a field of 2,344 finishers in a time of 30.47.
The National rankings for the Under 15 boys age group for the 2002 track and
field season have recently been published with some Blackheath athletes figuring
prominently. Southern champion Stuart Harvey is 2nd in the javelin with a throw
of 54.27. AAA's bronze medallist Alistair Tawanaee is ranked 5th in the hammer
with his throw of 47.97 while Dominic Parsons' 52.3 puts him 7th in the 400
metres. He is also 13th in the 200 metres with 23.42. Four members finished the
Leicester marathon with Dave King first home in 3.42.17 in 93rd place. He was
backed by Brian Smith (103rd 3.50.25), Colin Poole (106th. 3.53.19) and Dick
Griffin (146th. 4.16.09).
Runners should know by now if they have been accepted for
the London Marathon on Sunday April 13th but youngsters who live or receive full
time education in the London Borough Of Bromley still have the opportunity to be
part of the big day. The Borough will be sending a team to compete in the Adidas
Mini London Marathon which takes place over the last 5km of the full marathon
course. Sponsored by Blackheath Harriers, Bromley it will be holding its Trial
races on Sunday February the 9th at Norman Park Athletics track from 10.15.
The races are open to girls and boys aged 11 to 17. Entry
forms will be available from schools in the Borough from January as well as
Norman Park and libraries. Alternatively send a stamped addressed envelope to
David Liston at 70 Sermon Drive, Swanley, Kent. BR8 7HT.
Three of the Clubs athletes have
received grants at the London Borough Of Bromley Excellence Awards 2002 which
were held at the Pavilion Leisure Centre. Only 15 athletes from all sports in
the Borough received awards so for athletes from one Club to pick up 20% of the
awards was a notable achievement.
Clare Cooper received hers for finishing first in the 75
metre hurdles at the AAA's Under 15's Championships at Birmingham and for
winning the South Of England Inter Counties. Her time of 11.17 in taking the
National title means she is ranked in the top 20 on the all time list. Stuart
Harvey's award comes after he broke the Championship record to win the South Of
England under 15's javelin title. He is ranked 2nd in the UK for 2002.
Rebecca Taylor received her grant after a highly
successful year at track, road and cross country. She won the London Mini
Marathon and was 4th in the Inter Counties cross country championships and 2nd
in the Southern Inter County Championships. In addition her time of 3.07.5 for
1,000 metres is the 4th fastest ever by a UK athlete.
The awards were presented by current British Judo champion
Danny Sargent who also Commonwealth Games silver medallist and a former three
times Commonwealth Champion. After all 15 had received their grants it came to
the moment to announce which of them would receive the prestigious Sports
Scholarships Award. Danny Sargent opened the sealed envelope to reveal it was
Rebecca Taylor and cap a proud evening for the Club. Further details of the
Excellence Awards Evening can be found on the London Borough Of Bromley website
at www.bromley.gov.uk/excellence
For further details about how to join the Club contact David Liston on 01322
663504.
