Last updated
29 September 2015
Press Releases for
July, August & September 2015
29/09/15
Overall achieves Olympic marathon qualifying time in
Berlin.
BBHAC athlete Scott Overall finished 10th in the
Berlin marathon held on the 27th September. The race was won in a time of
2.04.01 by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge while Overall was the third European
athlete to finish.
More importantly his finishing time of 2.11.24 was
well inside the qualifying time 2.17.00 and only 29 seconds off his personal
best. Let’s hope this is good enough for early selection so that he can
prepare himself for the event in Rio using the experiences he learned in
London 2012 to run his best and take Mark Steinle’s club marathon record.
Closer to home Kev May was second in the Bromley
Parkrun over 5km with a time of 17.12, while Joseph Georgiadis was third in
the Orpington event with a time of 18.59.
On a sad note the funeral for Blackheath Past
President Graham Botley took place last week in Birmingham. Nearly two
hundred people from the running fraternity and sports travel business were
in attendance to celebrate the life of this very popular and remarkable man
who did so much for so many people in the world of athletics.
Nick Brooks
21/09/15
Blackheath and Bromley 3rd in Europe
This past weekend in Istanbul at the European Junior Club Championships
BBHAC represented the UK in the womens competition and produced a series of
outstanding performances to finish in third only 11.5 points from winning.
In the end, Fenerbahce won with 113.5 points from
Sparta with 108 and Great Britain’s Blackheath & Bromley Harriers in third
with 101.5.
Blackheath’s sprinters came to the forefront as Vivien
Olatunji (12.61) won the 100m, Cheriece Hylton won both the 200m (24.72) and
400m (55.57) and the 4x100m relay team of Parris Johnson, Molly Scott, Magda
Cienciala and Olatunji (47.88) also won, while teammate Jessica Keene
(10:08.89) took the 3000m.
But along with those six victories and having a good
series of runner-up positions, Fenerbahce did enough to hold on for victory
in the team event.
Elesewhere the relay Championship season kicked off at
a sunny Rushmoor arena, Aldershot with the annual South of England road
relays at the weekend.
Blackheath and Bromley had a senior mens and a senior
ladies team plus over 40 BBHAC young athletes who all put in solid
performances to set some of the teams up nicely for the National road relays
in two weeks time in Birmingham.
The senior mens team finished a creditable 19th out of
69 finishing teams with Alex Bruce-Littlewood leading us off with a 19.03
leg, followed by Andy Rayner 19.45, Will Fuller 19.04, Danny Brewer 20.04,
Ross Braden 20.25 and Fintan Parkinson bringing the team home in 20.42.
The ladies race comprising of only 4 legs saw BBHAC
finish in the middle of the pack in 46th place from the 73 teams who
finished. Sophie Kelleher led us off with a leg of 15.20 and by far our
fastest runner on the day, followed by Jennifer Neal in 16.07, Sarah Bealon
in 16.02 and Jessica Jones to finish with a leg of 16.22.
The U13 girls couldn't have given us a better start as
they cruised home in first place, winning gold by a comfortable margin. Jess
Neal led the team off with Morgan Squibb battling out second leg before
first year U13 Ellie Dolby powered home in front, running the 3rd fastest
time of the day. The second U13 team of Niamh Milmo, Abigail Leeves and
Daniella Harper ran well finishing 32nd and Emily Davis completed the squad.
The U13 boys were up next and a mix of experienced,
new and first year in the age group boys, fielded two strong teams and
finished well in 18th and 26th place.
Sam Reardon , a year young, ran the 9th fastest leg of
the day (over 150 in the race). Justin Strover, Eddie Sellar and Charles
Winton all making their full debuts for the club, along with Brandon Back,
Jake Leng, Alex Sibley and Barnaby Corry completed the line up.
The U15 girls went two places better than last year
coming a high fourth place with great runs from Millie Smith, Stephanie
Taylor and Kelsi Cornish. The B team of Lily Tappenden, Imogen Meers and Zoe
Austridge were 44th and strong runs from Hanna O’Flynn and Claudia Pickup
made up the U15 squad.
The U15 boys had two complete teams running and the A
team in 19th were Angus Harrington, Michael Eagling, Callum Myatt and Robert
Suckling. The B team of George Pope, Cameron Swatton, Leo Braden and Ben
Gardiner were 42nd.
Kelsey Fuss, Amy Leach and Yasmin Austridge were the
line up for the U17 girls who made the top 10 coming 9th and Carlotta
Weitzel, Joanna Clowes and Mary Guy made up the B team finishing 25th.
Five U17 men were in attendance and the scoring four
in the A team were led off by Lewis Mills followed by James Crawly, Oscar
Hussey and Marco Arcuri. Once again Blackheath & Bromley were fully
supported by parents, grandparents and siblings (& dogs!) as always it’s
great to see and hear so many of them there.
We are all now looking forward to the National road
relays in Sutton Park Birmingham on Sunday 4th October where we hope to
continue this good form.
Nick Brooks
25/08/15
Pat Calnan has been providing these Press Reports
since the last century, well 1998 onwards and has now decided to call it a
day.
So we need some new blood... Are you up to it? Can you
string a few words together? If so please contact
Pat to discuss the position
further. He would be delighted to hear from you soonest.
I'm sure you would like to join me in thanking
Pat for all the time and effort he has put in over all these years.
18/08/15
Adam Gemili has withdrawn from the Great Britain team
for the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. The Blackheath & Bromley
athlete injured his hamstring at the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham in
June when he broke 10 seconds for the 100 metres for the first time. He has
not raced since and was only selected for the 4x100 metres in China.
However, on medical advice he has pulled out and will now prepare to win a
place in the GB Olympic team in 2016.
The Club will still have four other athletes competing
at the Worlds which start this weekend. Dina Asher Smith goes in the 200
metres and is also in the sprint relay. Lorraine Ugen is in the long jump
and second claim member Isobel Pooley contests the high jump.
The fourth athlete is the remarkable 50 year old Dave
Heath. He has been invited to Beijing to compete in an 800 metre race to
highlight the talent that is in the Masters age group. He warmed up for his
trip to the East by winning two World titles. As reported last week he won
the 800 metres at the World Masters Championships at Lyon in France. This
week he claimed the 1500 metre title as well winning in 4.01.54 crossing the
line as rest of the field were entering the home straight.
Helen Godsell also won two gold medals. She was not
able to compete in the individual events because of injury but was part of
the GB over 60s 4x100 and 4x400 metre winning teams. Their times were 59.52
and 4.49.58 both British records. There was a gold too for Tom Phillips as
he was in the GB over 60s quartet who won the 4x100 in 48.45. Again this was
a British record.
Roger Michell was 11th in the 20km race walk in
2.13.31.
Meanwhile up in Aberdeen Zara Asante claimed the
Scottish triple jump title as she won with a leap of 12.51
The Championship success continued at Ashford where
Club members won six gold medals at the South Of England Championships for
the under 17 and under 15 age groups. In addition five silvers were won,
three bronze and there were three Club Records.
Eloise Locke won two golds and both performances were
Club Records. She took the under 15 girls shot title with a throw of 13.37
and the javelin with a distance of 43.44. The other golds came in the under
17 womens age group where Divine Oladipo was first in the shot with 13.71;
as was Charmont Webster Tape in the 100 in 11.88; Shaye Emmett in the pole
vault with a clearance of 3.50; and Holly Mills in the long jump with 6.29.
Holly also won silver in the 80 metre hurdles in 11.33
as did Divine in the discus with 41.04. Karina Harris set a new Club record
of 11.30 to finish runner up in the under 15 girls triple jump and James
Lancaster set a new personal best of 56.47 to place second in the under 15
boys hammer. Eve Keith took silver in the under 15 girls discus with a throw
of 34.92.
More discus success came in the under 17 mens event as
Dele Aladese won bronze with 44.49. Meanwhile Ben Sutton was third in the
under 15 boys 300 in 38.06 and Robert Suckling picked up bronze in the 800
in 2.10.84.
Some came very close to medals for example Antonia
Alapafuja had to settle for fourth in the high jump on countback with a
clearance of 1.50, the same height as the joint second placers. It was
fourth also for George Pope in the pole vault with a clearance of 2.90 with
Lewis Stickings 6th in 2.70.
Joss Barber took 5th in the under 17s 1500 while Amy
Leach was 7th in the womens event. Will Pope was 6th in the 400 and there
were 7th places for Adeyinka Adeniran in the 100 metre hurdles; Kate Purser
(300 hurdles) and Victoria Wiltshire (hammer). So too for Katie Woolcott and
Kelsi Cornish in the under 15s 100 and 800.
Amazingly Shaun Lightman won the Senior 5km race walk
title despite being and over 70. The 1968 Mexico Olympian timed 31.16.5.
The club won the final Southern Athletics League
Division One match of the season at Norman Park winning by two points from
Crawley. However, despite this victory , they were relegated by the
narrowest of margins. Four teams go down from the sixteen team division each
year and the Club finished in 13th with the same number of League points as
the clubs who placed 9th to 12th.
The placings went down to match points and when these
were totalled up from the five matches just 27.5 points separated the five
teams. B&B were the lowest of these just four behind the City Of Norwich, so
if they had scored an extra point in each of the five fixtures they would
have stayed up.
If they had fielded teams similar to the one at Norman
Park they would still be in the top division as there were some very
impressive performances, particularly in the sprints where the Club’s
athletes scored maximum points in the 100 and 200 metres.
Cheriece Hylton set a personal best of 12.02 to win
the 100 metres and then won the 200 in 23.94, a performance that gave her
the female Athlete Of The Match award. Toby Olubi did the same double in the
mens event with times of 10.80 and 22.06. Rachel Dickens won both the womens
B strings and Duayne Bovell and Ishmael Smith John took the honours in the
mens events.
Double victories were the order of the day with Lewis
Ely and Mark Cryer first in the high jump; and Louis Mascarenhas and Alex
Pope (discus); Isabella Hilditch and Becky McLinden (400 hurdles); Christina
Moore and Jackie Montgomery (pole vault); and Anastasia Davies and Toyin
Orelaja (triple jump) all achieving maximum points. Further A string wins
came from Mark Cryer in the long jump and Carys Marsden in the discus.
Of the above Jackie Montgomery’s height of 2.70 in the
vault was a new over 50s Club record. Anastasia’s leap of 11.57 was a new
personal best but her performance in finishing in second place in the 100
metre hurdles was even better. Again her 14.55 was a personal best and she
was just six hundredths of a second off winning the race.
There were plenty of personal bests at the Club’s last
Open Graded Meeting of the season at Norman Park headed by a new club record
in the under 13 girls 1500 for Ellie Dolby. She broke her own record with
time of 4.51.46. Nearly 50 other new bests were recorded.
Up North, Phil Sesemann set a personal best of 3.46.46
for 1500 metres at the Trafford Open Meeting.
11/08/15
Dina Asher Smith completed her preparations for the
World Championships in Beijing by setting a new UK Womens League Record for
the 200 metres at the final Premier League match of the season at Eton. The
British record holder for the 100 metres was there to help Blackheath &
Bromley stay in the top division of the League but despite her efforts and
those of her team mates the Club did not quite do enough and were relegated.
Dina dominated the 200 race winning in 22.72 and was
the only athlete under 23.5 seconds. She was then part of the winning 4x100
metre team with Serita Solomon, Vivien Olatunji and Cheriece Hylton. Their
time of 45.15 was a new Club Record.
Serita was also a class apart in the 100 metre
hurdles. She has twice run inside the World Championship qualifying time
this year and won by over half a second in 13.27. Earlier she had secured
victory in the B string 100 metres with Vivien fifth in the A string.
Cheriece was runner up in the 400 metres in 53.79 and
was also part of the 4x400 team with Krystal Galley, Natalie Jones and Kelly
Grant.
Kelly had a busy afternoon finishing second in the
1500 metres in 4.33.85 as well as taking fifth in the 800 and Niamh Bridson
Hubbard gained good third and fourth placings in the B strings.
Carole Penlington set a personal best of 10.25.5 in
the 3000 metres and there was a seasons best of 12.01.6 for Jenny Neal in
the B string.
Seasons bests were also set by Natalie Jones in the
400 metres, Krystal Galley (200), Sarah Abrams (high jump and triple jump)
and Emily Martin (javelin); while Isobel Reeves made her debut for the team
and was rewarded with a personal best of 1.55 in the high jump.
Many competed in more than their normal event. Zara
Asante leapt a very useful 12.67 in the triple jump as well as helping out
in the long jump while Christina Moore cleared 3.20 in the pole vault and
threw the discus.
Biggest points scorer for the Club on the day and for
the season was Shaunagh Brown. She was second in the discus with a throw of
45.54 and third in both the hammer and shot with distances of 54.22 and
13.38. These distances were a little down on her best but she is preparing
for her debut in the boxing ring on the 29th of August.
Ultimately it was all not enough to avoid being
relegated to division one. The poor result in the second match gave the team
too much to do as there are only three matches in a season. Yet had they
managed to gain another 14 points on the day they would have avoided the
drop.
Next year in Division One they will be competing
against Woodford Green &Essex Ladies, Cardiff, Bristol & West, Wigan,
Trafford, Harrow and Crawley.
The Senior mens team will also be in Division One of
the British Athletics League next season. They went into their last match in
Liverpool knowing that they could not gain promotion to the Premier Division
and that barring a disaster they would not be relegated.
This was probably just as well since they were
desperately short of sprinters for this fixture. They finished in 7th place
on the day and were 6th overall for the season despite having more match
points than 4th place Basingstoke & Mid Hants. At the second match of the
season the Club scored the most track points on the day and the least field
but on Merseyside it was a different story as they were last on track points
and fourth in the field.
The lack of sprinters was the main reason for these
statistics as there were some good performances, not least in the 800 metres
where both Phil Sesemann and Dan Kennedy set personal bests of 1.52.85 and
1.58.84, the first time Dan had broken two minutes. Phil also claimed third
place in the 1500 in 3.57.16 while Dan helped the sprint section by running
the 400 and 4x400 relay.
More good middle distance points came from youngsters
Richard Webb and Will Fuller who were both fourth in the A string 3000
steeplechase and 3000 metres respectively. Alex Gibbins was second in the B
chase while Alex Bruce Littlewood doubled up in the 1500 and 3000 despite
there being less than half an hour between the two.
Youngster Jack Messenger has been one of the finds of
the season and he was just outside his best in the 400 hurdles as he placed
fifth in 54.90. He also set bests of 16.17 in the 110 hurdles and 12.58 in
the triple jump. Richard Davies had his competitions of the year running the
400 and 4x400 despite injury.
Captain Ed Harrison made a welcome return to
competition and although he hadn’t stepped on a track for a year he still
ran 60.66 for the 400 hurdles. Duayne Bovell was under 11 seconds again in
the 100 metres with Mark Cryer filling in the B string before contesting the
110 hurdles.
Mark achieved the Club’s highest individual placing of
the day when he finished in second place in the long jump with his last
round leap of 6.82 and he was also fourth in the B string high jump and part
of the 4x100 metres team.
“A” string in the high was Lewis Ely who set two
seasons bests on the day finishing with 1.85, welcome progress following his
major heart surgery in 2014. He had hoped for more but relieved some of his
frustration with a run in the 200 metres.
Robert Sutherland set a seasons bests of 13.80 in the
triple jump to finish in third place in the A string and he equalled his
personal best of 6.21 in the long jump. Alex Pope was the Club’s lone pole
vaulter as he popped over a height for the points.
His main contribution, however, came in the throws
where he contested the shot, discus and javelin with Steve Timmins. They set
seasons bests in the discus and with Steve also third in the B string
hammer, the duo contributed 53 of the Club’s 229 points. Tom Parker was
fourth in the A hammer despite sustaining an injury in the second round.
Steve was the biggest points scorer of the day with 29
but Alex was the top scorer for the season amassing 98 with James Alaka, who
missed Liverpool because of work, second on 90.5 and Phil Sesemann third on
76.
The squad now prepare for another competitive season
in 2016 when they will face the City of Glasgow and Enfield & Haringey who
were relegated from the Premier Division; Southampton, Basingstoke & Mid
Hants and Herne Hill; plus Thames Valley and Harrow who have been promoted
from Division Two.
Former British League athlete Dave Heath is now a
World Champion. He won the over 50s 800 metres at the World Masters
Championships at Lyon in France. Running in temperatures of 40 degrees he
progressed through his heat and semi with times of 2.10.37 and 2.04.43. He
was quicker in the final winning in 2.01.93 nearly three seconds clear of
the field.
Jackie Montgomery set a seasons best of 2.60 to win
silver in the pole vault and she also ran 30.90 in the heats of the 200
metres.
Tom Phillips was 4th in the semi final of the over 60s
100 metres in 12.93 having run 12.82 in qualifying and he also timed 26.96
in his heat of the 200.
Roger Michell was 9th in the M65s 5000 walk in
29.50.12 and 19th in the 10,000 in 1.01.46.00. Peter Hamilton took third
place in the M65s 5000 B race in 21.12.20.
The Championships continue with more news next week.
Matt Blandford travelled to Portugal for an
International Throws meeting at Leiria and set a personal best. On Saturday
he achieved 53.08 but on Sunday he improved to a mighty 55.10.
Montell Douglas travelled to Guernsey for the
Intertrust Anniversary Games at St Peters Port. Here she timed 11.55 and
11.60.
Highlight of the Active Newham Open was the
performance of James Alaka who ran 10.45 for the 100 and 20.97 for the 200.
Cheriece Hylton timed 23.58 for the 200.
4/08/15
Serita Solomon bounced back from the disappointment of
not being selected by Great Britain for the 100 metre hurdles at the World
Championships in Beijing by breaking the qualifying standard again.
The Blackheath & Bromley athlete, who took bronze in
the 60 metre hurdles at the European Indoor Championships earlier this year,
won the sprint hurdles at the CAU Inter Counties and England Athletics
Championships at Bedford in 13.01, having gone even quicker in her heat with
12.98. This is two hundredths inside the qualifying time for China.
This smashed the previous Inter Counties record of
Olympian Diane Allahgreen which had stood at 13.16.
More track success came from Montell Douglas took
second place in the 100 metres in 11.75.
Medals in the field went to two triple jumpers.
Jonathan Ilori was third in the mens contest with a leap of 15.49 with
bronze also going to Zara Asante in the womens event with 12.30.
Phil Sesemann had to settle for fourth place in a
competitive mile race. He did, however set a personal best of 4.09.56. It
was fourth too for Luke Smallwood in the 200 as he finished in a time of
22.28 despite battling into the teeth of a minus 2 metre per second wind.
Matt Blandford took 5th place in the discus with a
throw of 51.14 and also reached 50.98 in his heat.
Others in action included Duayne Bovell and Vivien Olatunji (100),Katy Ann
McDonald (800), Kelly Grant (1500), Becky McLinden (400 hurdles), and
Christina Moore (pole vault).
While Serita will not being going to the World
Championships, Dave Heath will be attending to compete in the an exhibition
Masters 800 race which has been added to the timetable. He warmed up for
Beijing by timing 1.58.72 for the 800 metres at the Meeting Elite de Castres
in France.
Some of the Club’s younger athletes gained some
valuable experience and enjoyed great success at the Welsh Athletics
International. Representing England South Louis Mascarenhas won both the
shot and discus competitions with throws of 15.33 and 54.85. Stefan
Amokwandoh was first in the triple jump with a leap of 14.23; and there were
third places for Jazz Crawford in the 200 in 24.97 and Jack Messenger in the
400 hurdles with a personal best of 54.30. Cameron Starr was 7th in the 100
in 11.02.
The previous weekend some of the Club’s youngest
members were selected to compete in the Derek Crookes Southern Under 13
Inter County Match at Kingston. Tareq Bannour tiemd 12.6 for the 100 metres
and 26.20 for the 200. Michael Burfoot was third in the A string discus with
22.14 and also won the B string shot recording 9.29.
Ellie Dolby took second place in the 1500 with another
impressive time running 4.53.97 and Jessica Neal won the B string in
5.05.15. Morgan Squibb ran 2.33.32 for the 800.
At the Watford Open Meeting Phil Sesemann ran a
personal best of 8.07.17while in the 1500 under 17 Joss Barber ran a new
best of 4.03.09 and Under 20 Will Ruiz 4.10.93.
Up at the London Inter Club Challenge at Allianz Park
Hendon, James Lancaster continued his successful season with a throw of
52.50in the under 15s hammer. National over 40s 400 hurdles champion Richard
Holt timed 61.80 and Kate Purser clocked 49.44 for the 300 hurdles. In the
5000 metres walk Peter Hannell was 15th in 33.03.2 and David Hoben 22nd in
34.45.2.
28/07/15
Dina Asher Smith created Athletics History last
Saturday when she became the first British woman to run under 11 seconds for
the 100 metres. Competing at the Sainsburys Anniversary Games at the 2012
Olympic Stadium the Blackheath & Bromley athlete ran 10.99 in her heat of
the 100 metres.
Three years ago she was a kit carrier, on Saturday she
took centre stage as the crowd raised the new stadium roof to acclaim her
performance.
To put this in perspective in World terms, however,
she is the 17th fastest on the planet so there is some way to go before she
will be contesting for a medal at a major championship, but still only 19
she has time on her side.
As if to reinforce this, Dina was fourth in the final
in 11.06, with victory going to the Netherlands Dafne Schippers who broke
her country’s National record with a time of 10.92.
Nevertheless Dina’s time is a milestone in British
Athletics History and will hopefully see her as a pathfinder for other
athletes seeking to break the 11 second barrier.
Her performance so impressed the BBC pundits, she was
acclaimed the Sainsbury’s Athlete of the day for Saturday.
It may not be long before she breaks the 100 metre
record again but she must now also have Kathy Cook’s British 200 metre
record in her sights. It stands at 22.10 and from perhaps she could be the
first British woman to break 22 seconds. At the moment anything seems
possible.
Dina had also been in action the previous evening as
part of the GB 4x100 metres quartet. She ran a storming opening leg but the
quartet had to settle for third place in 42.80.
She was not the only club member competing at the Games. Lorraine Ugen
finished in 5th place in the long jump with a leap of 6.48, an event which
was also won in a National Record as Shara Proctor went out to 6.98 to
improve her British record by three centimetres. The race is still on to be
the first British woman to break 7 metres.. With a best of 6.93 it could be
Lorraine.
Serita Solomon had the most frustrating experience in
the 100 metre hurdles. She was delighted to be invited to compete is such a
prestigious meeting against some of the best athletes in the world. However,
after a good start disaster struck as America’s Lolo Jones, who was in the
lane inside, clipped Serita’s hurdle. The hurdle then bounced back and
caught Serita’s lead leg and forcing her to pull up, her rhythm completely
gone. She was philosophical about the experience “These are the kind of
things that can happen in the hurdles, fortunately I'm not injured and I'll
live to fight another day.”
Dina’s 100 metre time was obviously a Club Record but
the 19 year old did actually lose a National record and Club Record on
Friday as supporting the main event the organisers promoted a series of age
group 4x100 metre races for London Clubs. In the under 20 womens race the
Blackheath & Bromley quartet of Jazz Crawford, Parris Johnson, Vivien
Olatunji and Cheriece Hylton broke the previous record of 46.28 which was
set in 2013 with Dina in the team. The new record now stands at 46.10.
Best placed of the other age group teams were the
under 17 women who were third with the mens team 4th. Both boys and girls
under 15s teams and the under 13 girls teams were 6th.
After the dust had settled on a busy weekend it has been announced that Dina
is selected for the 200 metres at the World Championships which start in
Beijing on the 22nd of August. She is also in the 4x100 metres squad.
Joining her in China is Adam Gemili, who is only in the 4x100 squad after
his hamstring injury earlier in the Summer; Lorraine Ugen in the long jump
and second claim member Isobel Pooley, the British outdoor record holder In
the high jump. Sadly Serita misses out although she has run inside the
qualifying standard.
Dina was down at Norman Park on Sunday to cheer on her Clubmates in the
final Youth Development League, Upper Age Group Premier Division One match
of the season and it proved to be another successful day for the Club as the
under 20s and under 17s won the match and have qualified for the National
Final which takes place in September.
The team needed a good result on Sunday to secure
their place in the final and with a number of people away on holiday and
some awful weather it was a testing day. All the pole vault contests were
cancelled because of the wind and rain.
However the athletes rose to the occasion with plenty
of winners and a number prepared to compete in alternative events to score
points for the team, for example triple jumper Stefan Amokwandoh. He is
injured so instead of jumping he threw the hammer and shot.
In the under 20s age group Will Fuller (1500 and 3000)
and Louis Mascarenhas (shot and discus) both enjoyed double victories.
Further wins came from Cheriece Hylton (200), Kate Curran (3000), Anastasia
Davies (100 hurdles), Divine Oladipo (discus) and Zoe Fitch (javelin with
Alexandra Higgins first in the B string). Relay success came too in the
4x100 from a quartet of Jamilya Robinson Pascal, Charmont Webster Tape,
Isabella Hilditch and Vivien Olatunji.
Isabella was also a double victor in the under 17s age
group with wins in the 80 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Holly Mills was actually
quicker in winning the B string 80 hurdles and she also won the long jump.
Parris Johnson reigned supreme in both the 100 and 200 metres.
In the middle distance, Jessica Keene took first place
in the 1500 and 3000 and Katy Ann McDonald enjoyed a gun to tape victory in
the 800.
After her win in the under 20s Anastasia Davies also
prevailed in the triple jump. Likewise Divine Oladipo added to her under 20
success with victory in the shot, and Carys Marsden was first in the discus.
James Whiteaker was an emphatic winner of the javelin
with a mighty throw of 67.54 and Adeyinka Adeniran won the 100 hurdles.
Adeyinka was also in the winning mens 4x100 team with
Matthew Knight, William Pope, and Korede Osinibi while the women enjoyed
victory in the 4x300 courtesy of Roisin Atkins Dykes, Kate Purser, Elizabeth
Ibidunni and Isabella Hilditch.
Despite victory on the day the Club did not win the
Southern title, they were beaten by Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow. But
like the Clubs under 15s and under 13s they have qualified for the Final
Meanwhile up at Alexander Stadium where the youngsters will contest the
National Final, the Club Masters were enjoying great success in the British
Championships.
In the pole vault Allan Williams and Jackie Montgomery
won the mens over 60s and womens over 50s contests with clearances of 3.30
and 2.30. Jackie was also third in the 200 metres. Richard Holt won the over
40s 400 hurdles in a seasons best of 61.43.
Dina Asher Smith was not the only athlete to break a
Club 100 metre record this weekend as Tom Phillips timed 12.75, albeit wind
assisted, to finish second in the over 60s 100 metres behind the remarkable
Steven Peters. Tom was also third in the 200 metres.
Clem Leon had three top three places in the over 55s
with second place in the 400 and triple jump and third in the high jump. He
is looking forward to moving up to the over 60s next season.
There was a runners up spot too for Christine Rogers
in the over 60s high jump and Roger Michell was third in both the over 65s
3000 and 5000 walk.
The Club continued with its popular series of Open Meetings at Norman Park
and the evening produced five new Club Records. Eloise Locke broke her own
under 15 and under 17 javelin record with a throw of 40.58. The javelin also
saw a seasons best of 69.06 for James Whiteaker in the under 17 mens contest
with a personal best of 45.63 for Femi Sofolarin; and a pb for Tom Mills in
the under 15s of 42.71.
Karina Harris was another to improve her existing
record as she leapt 11.03 in the triple jump. Ethan Kitteridge is the Clubs
first under 13 boys pole vault record holder having cleared 2.00 metres.
Ellie Dolby broke the under 13 girls 1500 metre record
which has been held by Gemma Viney since 1995. She timed 4.51.83.
Gemma is now of course Mrs Steinle and husband Mark
also had a long standing Club record broken this year as Will Fuller has
twice revised the under 20 mens 3000 metres best. Will was back setting
personal bests at the BMC races at Sutcliffe Park where he timed 3.51.77 for
1500.
Other new bests came from Jess Keene in the 800
(2.12.44), Dan Kennedy 1500 (4.07.48) and Joss Barber 800 (1.59.20)
21/07/15
Cheriece and Shannon Hylton, the Blackheath & Bromley
twins, have both come away from the European Junior Championships at
Eskilstuna in Sweden with an individual silver medal and a relay gold. Not
only that, both set personal bests.
Cheriece was the first in action in the 400 metres
winning her heat in 53.99. She then improved to 53.16 in the final finishing
in second place behind fellow Briton Laviai Nelson.
Shannon also had a smooth passage through to the final
of the 200 metres winning her heat in 23.16 and her semi in 22.79 her
fastest ever time, albeit wind assisted. She went even quicker in the final
timing 22.73, again wind assisted to win the silver medal.
She did not have time to celebrate Saturday night as
she was back in action the following day in the 4x100. The Great Britain
quartet recorded 45.32 in their heat and were the third fastest of the
qualifying teams. It was a different story in the final with Shannon running
a fine second leg down the back straight and Sutton’s Imani Lansiquot, whose
father Richard is a former B&B member, anchoring the team home for gold in a
time of 44.17.
Next it was the turn of Cheriece and having won gold
and silver in the individual 400 the GB quartet were strongly favoured for
victory. They not disappoint winning by three seconds in 3.34.36.
To go to a major Championship and set a personal best
is a great achievement, to do so and win a medal even better. Finishing with
relay gold made it extra special.
The 18 year olds from Mottingham started their careers
with the Bees Academy and have been competing for the Club since they were
11. Like British 100 metre record Dina Asher Smith they are coached by John
Blackie at Norman Park track.
Dina herself was in Monaco for the latest IAAF Diamond
League meeting. Competing in the 200 metres she ran her second fastest ever
time of 22.41 to finish in 4th place. She will be back in action this
weekend in the London Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium and such has
been her improvement over the last year she is featured on posters all over
the London Underground advertising the event.
Lorraine Ugen went one better than Dina as she
finished in third place in the long jump with a leap of 6.73 while Isobel
Pooley was 9th equal in the high jump with a clearance of 1.86.
The three will no doubt will have been delighted to
hear of the achievements of the six Club members who were selected to
compete in the Schools Home Countries International at Grangemouth in
Scotland.
Of the six, five won their events.
After smashing her best last weekend at the English
Schools Championships, Yasmin Austridge was again in winning form taking the
1500 metres steeplechase in 4.56.72. Only she has run faster than this in
the country this year and there to watch was her father Paul, himself an
England International of the 400 hurdles in 1981.
Jessica Keene has already won a schools International
at cross country and she showed she is top quality over the track as well as
she won the 3000 metres in 9.57.13 nearly five seconds clear of the field.
Holly Mills had to settle for second at the English
schools but she bounced back to win the International to set a wind assisted
best of 6.26 for the long jump and a legal 6.23. No one else in the UK has
had a legal jump over six metres this year in the under 17s and she still
has another year in the age group.
Divine Oladipo enjoyed a similarly emphatic victory in
the shot winning by 73 centimetres with a distance of 14.20.
Back on the track Molly Scott showed she is in peak
form as she set a personal best of 11.11 to win the 80 metres hurdles. She
also set a best of 11.88 to finish third in the 100 metres just two
hundredths of a second ahead of Charmont Webster Tape whose time was just
six hundredths off her personal best.
Still on the International scene Serita Solomon was in
Switzerland competing in Spitzen Leichathletik meeting in Lucerne. She ran
13.17 in the 100 metre hurdles and was back in action at the LEAP meeting at
Loughborough on Saturday. Here she ran 13.11.
Also competing was Montell Douglas who ran a seasons
best of 11.64 for the 100 metres at the venue where she broke the British
record in 2008. Samantha Milner celebrated her graduation and a return from
injury by throwing 42.96 in the discus and under 20 Scott Barker timed 49.53
in the 400 metres.
Further South at Oxford Phil Sesemann set a new best
of 14.11.09 for the 5000 metres at the British Milers Club races. James
Poole made a rare appearance timing 15.57.91. In the 800 metres Carolyn
Plateau ran 2.09.74 and Kelly Grant a personal best of 2.10.39.
Will Fuller celebrated his win in the English Schools
3000 by setting a new best of 3.53.11 for the 1500 metres at the BMC meeting
at Watford last Wednesday.
There were two more important representative matches last weekend. Helen
Godsell was in dominant form at the EAMA Inter Area Match at Solihull
winning the over 60s 400 metres by over five seconds in 72.89. She also won
the 200 in 30.54 but this was a little closer as the runner up was just
three hundredths of a second behind.
Jackie Montgomery moved down in age group to finish
second in the over 35s pole vault with a height of 2.50. It was runners up
spot too for Tom Phillips who was second in the over 60s 100 in 13.01 as
well as placing third in the 200 in 27.12. Walkers Peter Hannell and Shaun
Lightman were competing well below their correct age groups with Peter third
in the over 35s 2000 walk and Shaun third also in the over 50s.
Numerous Club members were selected in the Southern
Counties Inter Area Under 17 match at Little Marlow and they enjoyed plenty
of success.
Isabella Hilditch won both the 80 metre and 300
hurdles races, the latter in a seasons best of 44.19. She ran 12.02 in the
shorter event but B string Anastasia Davies was even quicker in winning in
11.98 and she also won the triple jump with a personal best leap of 11.26.
Training partner Jamilya Robinson Pascal won the long jump with 5.35.
Biggest improvement of the day came from Amy Leach who
won the 3000 metres in 10.40.0, 18 seconds better than her previous best.
The middle distance success continued with a win in the 1500 metres
steeplechase for Joss Barber in 4.37.58.
Dele Aladese was third in the discus with 44.37 as was
Naomi Kingston in the 1500 steeplechase (5.29.58); Carys Marsden, discus,
(32.53), and Victoria Wiltshire, hammer (49.46) while others in action
included Will Pope, Femi Sofalarin, Parris Johnson, Olivia Richer, Joanna
Clowes, Kate Purser, Toyin Orelaja, and Anna Barnett.
The only Club teams in action over the weekend were the under 15s and under
13s but they had a special day on Saturday as they became Southern Premier
One champions of the Youth Development League, Lower Age group by finishing
second in the final match of the season at Croydon.
This means they travel to the National Final in
Birmingham in September where they will bid to be crowned the top team in
the country. They were fought all the way for the Southern title by a strong
Southampton squad with both teams winning two matches and finishing second
in the other two fixtures. So both had 22 League points but B&B won because
that had superior match points 2151.5 to 2109.
With the start of the school holidays no team was at
full strength but there was still plenty of quality throughout the events.
In the under 15s age group Angus Harrington continues to impress. He won the
800 metres in 2.03.12 and he continues to progress in the javelin finishing
second with a throw of 40.75. James Lancaster was an emphatic winner of the
hammer, his throw of 51.47 being over 18 metres further than the runner up .
Angus was back in action in the 4x300 with Robert Suckling, Ben Bennett and
George Pope winning in 2.45.03.
Eloise Locke was a double winner in the girls age
group with victory in the javelin with 39.78 and the shot with 12.43.
Although she did not win her event Mhairi Brooks ran a National grade one of
26.11 in the 200 metres. Like the boys they won the 4x300 with Lauren
Goddard, Antonia Alapafuga, Karina Harris and Grace Scopes timing 3.01.28.
Impressive sprinting from Tareq Bannour and Kyron
Morgan saw the Club score maximum points in the under 13 boys 100 and 200
races. Tareq won both A strings in 12.78 and 25.90 with Kyron running 12.74
and 26.40 in the B races. Kyron also threw a Grade One distance of 9.70 in
the shot but had to settle for third while Michael Burfoot won the B string
in 9.52, again a Grade One.
Ellie Dolby was a runaway winner of the 1200 metres
finishing in 3.54.21,over 17 seconds clear of runners from other clubs, but
not so far clear of Morgan Squibb who was the second over the line in
4.07.72 to win the B string. Some more quick sprints saw Holly Mpassy set a
grade one of 20.25 in the 150 metres although such was the standard she was
third.
To win the Southern Premiership is a fine achievement
for all the athletes, coaches, team managers, parents and supporters of the
Club. They all look forward to the National final.
Shaun Lightman finished in third place in the fourth Veterans AC 5 mile race
walk at Battersea Park. He timed 50.05 with Peter Hannell 7th in 55.42 and
David Hoben 10th in 56.24.
14/07/15
It has been another busy weekend for the athletes,
coaches and officials of Blackheath & Bromley with National League
competitions for the Senior teams; the mini Olympics that is the English
Schools Championships for the youngsters; the final round of the Kent
Masters League; plus much more.
The recent block of National and Area Championships has taken its toll on
some of the Club’s athletes and this, combined with subsequent International
selections and the clash with the English Schools contributed to the Club
fielding a weaker than normal squad for the latest UK Womens League Premier
Division match at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium.
Fielding just twelve athletes made it difficult to
cover all the A and B strings given there is a maximum of three individual
events permitted. This meant that the team scored 20 points in B string
events out of a possible 135, the same amount as the Club was awarded for
providing the requisite number of officials.
It was no surprise, therefore, the team finished in
last place on the day in a division that contains the top eight teams in the
country. They are now bottom of the table with one match remaining and need
a good result at Eton on the 8th of August to avoid being one of the two
teams that are relegated.
That they can achieve this is beyond doubt if they
field athletes such as Shaunagh Brown. She had her usual busy day in the
throws finishing second in the discus with a distance of 47.71; third in the
shot (13.53) and fourth in the hammer (55.36), thus contributing 20% of the
points scored by the athletes on the day.
There were plenty of other spirited efforts which led
to five personal best and eight seasons bests by the end of the afternoon.
Montell Douglas improved on last weeks British Trials as she finished second
in the 100 metres in 11.77 before timing 24.55 in the 200. Grace Sheppard
also ran a seasons best in the B string 200 to add to her fifth place in the
A 100 and the two joined Rachel Dickens and Sonia Woolhouse to finish fifth
in the 4x100 metres.
Rachel had earlier come fifth in the 400 metres and
she and Sonia were also in action again in the 4x400 with Kelly Grant and
Carole Penlington. This was Kelly’s debut for the team and she scored good
points in the A string 800 and 1500 metre races placing fifth in close
finishes. B string in these was Charlotte Rhule who set seasons bests in
both as well as a personal best as she helped out in the long jump.
Carole also set a seasons best of 10.34.53 in the 3000
metres and, despite her efforts in the Masters League just two days before,
was also in action in the javelin. Bethany Frost ran a seasons best in the
2000 metres steeplechase to finish fourth.
In the field Helena Coleman was fifth in a good
standard pole vault contest with an outdoor best of 3.40 and she also threw
a best in the javelin producing the longest distance by a first claim Senior
or Junior this season. Sonia Woolhouse was in action again in the B string
vault clearing 2.50 and she also ran in the short and long hurdles races.
Robyn Pettit was another who had a busy afternoon
competing in the high, long and triple jumps and setting a personal best in
the latter. So too did Abigail Kingston in the 400 metres following her run
in the 400 hurdles.
It was not enough to save them on the day but the
individual points scored in Birmingham could prove vital should teams be
level on League points after the last fixture and placings are decided on
match points.
Fresh from his victory over 10km in the United States last week, Scott
Overall continued his winning form by claiming victory in the 5000 metres at
the British Athletics League Division One match at Norman Park. Always in
control of the race the 2012 Olympian in the marathon timed 15.01.74.
The Club’s other A string winner on the day was James
Alaka, who is steadily returning to his best after taking a break from the
Sport. He won both the 100 and the 200 metres in times of 10.70 and 21.26,
the latter a seasons best.
This was a high quality match and despite four
personal bests and eight seasons bests the Club finished in 5th place on the
day out of the eight competing clubs. The result moves them up a place to
4th in the overall League table.
Having been studying in the States for four years,
Jonathan Ilori has had little opportunity to compete for the team. He
finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 14.28.This was some
way off his best but this was because he was changing his technique and
taking off on his other leg.
He was also part of the 4x100 metre team with Duayne
Bovell, Great Britain bobsleigher Toby Olubi and Ishmael Smith John who
finished in second place; and ran the anchor leg of the 4x400 team that
included Luke Smallwood, Jack Messenger and Matthew Jones.
Luke was providing the electronic timing for the
meeting as well as competing in the 400 hurdles and 400 metres on the back
of working a number of 100 hour weeks. Jack set two personal bests. Having
won the Southern Under 20 400 metre hurdles title last month he improved to
55.07 and produced a leap of 12.27 in his first proper triple jump contest.
Kertis Beswick also achieved a best in the hurdles
timing 15.0 to finish second in the B 110s, faster than Mark Cryer in the A
string who aggravated a hamstring injury but not before he had finished
third in the long jump with 6.80 as well as claiming 6th in the high jump.
In the B string, one of the most pleasing aspects of
the day was to see the return to competition of Lewis Ely. After missing the
whole of 2014 following major heart surgery he had been looking forward to
competing this year but sprained his ankle in April and had to have his foot
in a cast. His training took a further set back with a heavy cold so this
marks the start of his season.
Phil Sesemann is another who missed all last season
but he continued to show what a valuable member of the team he has become by
scoring well in the 800 and 1500. Georges Vacharopoulos had a fine run in
the B 800 setting a seasons best of 1.55.70 to finish third. Ever reliable
Alex Bruce Littlewood took the runner up spot in the B 1500 before competing
in the 5000 just half an hour later.
Alex Gibbins and Dan Kennedy completed the middle
distance success, Alex setting a seasons best and Dan a personal best of
10.36.05.
In the field Matt Blandford made his debut for the
senior team finishing in the 5th in a high class discus contest as well as
gaining important points in the shot. His efforts in the A string allowed
Alex Pope to pick up two third places in the B strings to add to his haul of
points in the hammer and javelin with Steve Timmins as his A string. Javari
Cameron was 5th in the B long jump.
The pole vault demonstrated the Club is one for all
ages with A string Allan Williams being four times the age of B string
Edward Adams. Allan is the top over 60 in the country just missing out on
clearing 3.40 while talented multi eventer Edward, an under 17, was 4th
equal in the B string.
Many of Edward’s fellow young athletes were competing at the English Schools
Championships at Gateshead . It proved a highly successful weekend for the
Club’s athletes with six individual golds, four silver, two bronze, a
Championship best and three Club records. On the back of their performances
in the North East five Intermediate athletes have been selected
International representation.
In the Senior age group Kerri Davidson retained her
triple jump title with a wind assisted personal best of 12.77, a new Club
Record. Having broken the Club’s under 20 3000 metre record last week Will
Fuller was in confident mood going into the Championships and he ran a
mature race to claim his first English Schools title in 8.28.05.
Middle distance gold medal success continued in the
Intermediate age group where a stunning performance from Yasmin Austridge
saw her smash the Championship Best for the 1500 metres steeplechase winning
in a time of 4.54.82. It also took over six seconds off the Club under 17
record and is the fastest in the country this year, a nice early birthday
present for her coach Mick Jones.
It was a Club record also for Jessica Keene as she
took gold in the 3000 metres in 9.41.35. This is the second fastest time in
country this year by an under 17.
Divine Oladipo was a class apart in the shot retaining
her title with a distance of 14.52 over metre clear of the runner up.
Second claim member Charmont Webster-Tape was involved
in one of the closest races of the weekend as she won the 100 metres in
11.84 just one hundredth of a second ahead of the runner up with third place
timing 11.88.
The reward for Yasmin, Jessica, Divine, Charmont and
long jump second placer Holly Mills is selection to compete this weekend at
Grangemouth in Scotland. Here they will represent England in the Home
Countries Schools International.
This event is for the Intermediate age group only so
athletes such as Jazz Crawford who was second in the 200 metres in the
Senior age group do not qualify. She was just three hundredths of a second
off gold with 24.29 a personal best. However she and Vivien Olatunji did win
gold in the 4x100, Vivien having had to settle for fourth in the 100 metres
timing a new best of 12.03 the same as the third placed athlete.
Magda Cienciala and Parris Johnson won team silvers in
the 4x100 after reaching the semi finals of the 200 metres.
James Lancaster set a new personal best of 54.95 to
take silver in the Junior Boys Hammer while for the girls Eloise Locke was
second in the shot with a throw of 13.02.
Katy Ann McDonald took bronze in the Intermediate
Girls 800 in 2.08.26 and it was third too for Eve Keith in the Junior Girls
discus with a distance of 34.13.
In the Senior age group Scott Barker set a best of
48.39 as he finished in 5th place in the 400 with Shaun Cooke timing 48.81
in the heat. Richard Webb took 7th in the 2000 metres steeplechase and Leah
Everson timed 67.56 in the heats of the 400 hurdles.
Isabella Hilditch was another to just miss out on a
medal. She was just one hundredth of a second off third place in the
Intermediate Girls 300 hurdles timing 44.38 despite clipping the last
hurdle. More hurdles success came with Joss Barber 5th in the 1500
steeplechase in 4.29.77 and Anastasia Davies 6th in the 80 metre hurdles
with 11.62 having set a new best of 11.42 in the heat.
Elsewhere Dele Aladese was 12th in the discus and
Jamilya Robinson Pascal (long jump), Toyin Orelaja (triple jump) and
Victoria Wiltshire (hammer) all finished in 15th place. Adeyinka Adeniran
made the semi finals of the 100 metre hurdles.
The Club were well represented in the Junior middle
distance events with Henry James Cowie, Angus Harrington and Coleman Corry
all featuring in the heats of the 800 and Yasmin Marghini in the 1500.
Just to be selected for this event is an achievement
and there can be few clubs in the country who had this number of athletes in
action.
It was an evening of mixed emotions at the final Kent Masters League match
of the season at Gillingham. The women finished in equal second place on the
night and qualify for the Area Final as runners up but the men were fourth
which means they finish third and have not qualified for the Final for the
second year in a row.
There were no individual wins for the women but a
magnificent seven of Charlotte Stickings, Carole Penlington, Jennie Butler,
Jackie Montgomery, Barbara Terry, Anne Cilia and Maz Turner all played their
part in ensuring all events were contested.
For the men Bob Minting made a welcome appearance and
won the 800 metres.
A number of Club members were selected to compete in the Southern Inter
Counties meeting at Crawley. Dean Hylton won the 100 in 10.74 and Cameron
Starr the B string in 10.93. After his exertions at Norman Park the previous
day Duayne Bovell timed 11.07 for 5th in the A string and ran 22.85 in the
200.
Becky McLinden set a personal best of 63.50 to win the
400 hurdles and Krystal Galley was 4th in the 400 in 60.76.
In the field Christina Moore won the B pole vault with
a clearance of 3.20 and Javari Cameron was runner up in the B long jump with
6.12.
7/07/15
Three members of Blackheath & Bromley secured
selection for the World Championships at Beijing in August with their
performances at the Sainsburys British Championships at Birmingham’s
Alexander Stadium.
Dina Asher Smith was a class apart in the 100 metres.
The 19 year old British record holder won the final in 11.08 just six
hundredths of a second off her best and this was a new Championship record.
Only Club mate Montell Douglas has ever run quicker when she ran 11.05 to
set the previous British record. Will Dina be the first British female to
run under 11 seconds?
Joining her in Beijing will be second claim member
Isobel Pooley, who not only won the high jump but did so with a new National
Outdoor Record of 1.97. Full of confidence, she is looking to go higher
still. Will she be the first British female to clear two metres?
The trio is completed by Lorraine Ugen. In a contest
part of which took place during an electrical storm, she finished second in
the long jump with a distance of 6.69. With a best of 6.92 already this
year, will she be the first British female to leap over 7 metres?
Others just missed out on medals. Serita Solomon, who
has run inside the World qualifying standard, was 4th in the 100 metre
hurdles in 13.14 as was Chioma Matthews in the triple with a leap of 12.94
with Zara Asante 6th in 12.82.
Shaunagh Brown was 5th in the hammer with 60.34;
Jermaine Olasan and Oliver Newport 7th and 9th in the long jump with 7.27
and 7.15; Jonathan Ilori 8th in the triple jump (15.19); Matt Blandford 10th
in the discus (48.48); and Graham Rush 19th in the 5000 (14.38.08).
Rachel Dickens and James Alaka (200s); Vivien Olatunji,
Montell Douglas, Toby Olubi, Duayne Bovell and Cameron Starr (100s); and
Carolyn Plateau (1500) were all in action in the heats.
Dina, Isobel, and Lorraine will be joined in China by
Dave Heath who has been invited to compete in a Masters 800 metres which
will be part of the World Championships programme. He continued his
preparations for the Far East by competing at the Diamond League meeting in
Paris and smashing the Club over 50s 800 record with a time of 1.58.90, just
0.25 of a second off the World Record and over two seconds inside the
British Record.
Time will tell if Adam Gemili will be at the World
Championships. He is making steady progress in his recovery from the injury
sustained at the Diamond League meeting at Birmingham last month. He hopes
to be running later in the season but whether this will include Beijing
remains to be seen. The World Championships take place every two years but
the Olympics are every four.
Fellow 2012 Olympian Scott Overall has already decided
to pass on racing in China preferring to concentrate on racing a fast
marathon in the Autumn. He was competing in the United States last weekend
at the AJC Peachtree Road Race at Atlanta, Georgia on Independence Day.
The finish was closer than any of those in Birmingham
as while American athlete Ben Payne punched the air to celebrate victory
just before the line, Scott nipped past to claim first place. Both athletes
were given the same time of 29.30. Scott was able to offer some advice to
his rival “Always run through the line!”
This is something that is taught to all the Clubs
youngsters by its dedicated coaches at Norman Park and the latest fruit of
their labour was to see the Club secure the Kent Young Athletes League title
at Erith Stadium last Sunday. Not only this, the B team achieved second
place in the Division Two match, a promotion position.
Some impressive field event performances were the
backbone of success in the under 15s age group. For the girls Eve Keith won
both the shot and discus competitions with grade one distances of 10.85 and
30.70 while Daisy Dowling was first in the javelin with a distance of 27.77.
On the track the 4x300 metres quartet of Zoe Martial, Zoe Austridge, Kamilya
Robinson-Pascal and Lauren Goddard won in 3.09.97.
James Lancaster was over 50 metres again the hammer in
the boys match. He threw 51.62 for victory with Nor Mohamed Kasem (41.28)
and Pedro Gleadall (30.15) winning both strings of the javelin. Pedro also
won the high jump with a clearance of 1.65 with Ben Sutton wining the long
jump in 5.56.
Again the afternoon ended with a 4x300 victory as Ben,
Lewis Stickings, Benjamin Bennett and Robert Abbott won in 2.44.44.
Tareq Bannour won both the 100 and 200 metre races in
the under 13s age group in grade one times of 12.75 and 26.06. Debutant
Kyron Morgan went even quicker in the B string 100 with a time of 12.68 on
his Club debut and he also won the B string shot in a grade one 9.52. First
in the A string was Michael Burfoot who set a personal best of 9.68 and he
also won the discus with 24.25 while Harry Jack Cowie took the B string in
22.82.
Back on the track Sam Reardon won the boys 800 in
2.24.70and Ellie Dolby produced another grade one performance in winning the
girls race in 2.25.29. More relay success followed with a victory for the
4x100 team of Shakanya Osahon, Eva Stephanou, Akeiyla Robinson-Pasccal and
Holly Mpassy in a time of 56.59.
All their efforts and those of their team mates, many
of whom set personal bests, meant victory for the under 15 boys and runners
up places for the other three age groups, which gave them overall first
place on the day and for the season.
The youngsters success at Erith was even more
impressive given the plethora of events taking place this weekend. Many were
selected to represent Bromley in the London Youth Games at Crystal Palace
while others were competing in the English Schools Cup Final at Bedford.
Highlight from the latter was a new personal best and Under 13s Club Record
for Rowan Fuss in the 1500 metres. He timed 4.28.4 which is the furthest in
the country this year by over five seconds.
This was the third middle distance Club Record in a
week as last Wednesday at the Watford Open Meeting Under 20 Will Fuller
finished second in the 3000 metres in 8.21.26 improving his own Club Record
by over half a second. Dean Hylton timed 10.58 in the 100 metres.
It has not, however, been a wholly successful weekend
as the Club finished in 4th place in the latest Southern Athletics League
fixture of the season at West London Stadium which means that unless they
have a good result in the final match of the season at Norman Park on the
15th of August they will be relegated from Division One. Four teams go down
and the Club are currently 15th in the 16 team division although points are
very close.
Best event of the day for the Club was the 1500 metres
where there was a clean sweep of victories. Georges Vacharopoulos and Dan
Kennedy won the mens races in 4.10.9 and 4.20.4 with Jessica Keene and Kate
Curran doing the double for the women with times of 4.46.5 and 4.52.8.
Grace Sheppard did a double of her own as she won the
100 and 200 in 12.7 and 26.0 and Leah Everson and Abi Kingston won both
strings of the 400 hurdles.
Other individual wins came from Robyn Pettit and Toyin
Orelaja in the womens high and long jumps, and Alex Pope in the mens shot.
Despite the disappointing team result the efforts of
under 17s such as Edward Adams and Frankie Scrivener who achieved personal
bests of 3.00 and 2.80 in the pole vault were encouraging. Both are coached
by John Wakeman who also manages the womens team.
Being based at Kingston track, Richard Holt does not
have the chance to coach the Clubs youngsters but two Kingston & Polytechnic
athletes in his care have been selected to represent Great Britain at the
European Junior Championships later this month. Phoebe Law runs in the 5000
metres and Nicole Kendall is in the 4x400 metres squad.
People leaving the pubs late on Saturday evening in
Dartford will have been surprised to see a marathon taking place. Once
acquainted of the fact that it was the evening of the Dartford Midnight
Marathon, they may not have found it so unusual to see John Turner and Peter
Rogers. Veterans of countless long distance events, they finished in 74th
and 75th places in 4.29.14 and 4.29.15.
The timing for this event was provided by Luke
Smallwood and he will be doing the same this Saturday at Norman Park where
the Club host the third British Athletics League Division One match of the
season. With a BBQ and beer tent there should be a good atmosphere. The
women travel to Birmingham for their second UK Womens League fixture.
