Last updated 29 December 2003
IPP Pat Calnan has produced this
"Review Of The Year 2003"
January
Rebecca Taylor is the first person to win the Kent Under 13 girls cross country
title for three years in a row. Ella Fisher takes the under 17 girls title at
the County Championships in Sevenoaks.
Further afield Tim Dickinson regains the Senior Men’s
title at the Lancashire Championships.
Club members win a host of medals at the Southern Under
20’s Indoor Championships at Bedford. Highlights are wins for Montell Douglas in
under 20 women’s 60 metres; Sandra Alaneme in the under 20 women’s triple jump;
and Amy Gibbs in the under 15 girl’s 60 metres.
Len King, a Vice President since 1962 dies a week before
his 90th birthday.
The Senior Men win team bronze medals at the Southern
Cross Country Championships in Exeter. Dave Taylor is 4th in the Senior Men’s
race with Rebecca Taylor 5th in the Under 13 girls race.
There are more medals at the AAA’s Under 20 Indoor
Championships in Birmingham. Montell Douglas strikes gold in the under 20
women’s 60 metres and there are bronze medals for Jamie Atkinson (Under 20 men’s
1500), Harriet Robinson (under 17 girls 60 metre hurdles) and Amy Gibbs (under
15 girl’s 60 metres).
February
Julian Golding wins the 200 metres at the Lansing
Linde Severnside International Trophy Meeting in Cardiff. Fabian Collymore for
Wales and Jamie Atkinson for England both make their International debuts in the
Under 20s match in the 60 metres and 1500 metres and Montell Douglas represents
England Seniors in the 60 metres.
Julian Golding is part of the Great Britain team that set
a British best in the medley relay at the inaugural European Indoor Cup.
Allan Williams wins the men’s over 45s pole vault at the
British Masters Indoor Championship in Glasgow.
Vice President Dr Jim Scott-Wilson dies. He had been a
Club member for 59 years.
Rebecca Taylor is 5th in the Inter Counties Cross Country
Championships in Nottingham. Dave Taylor finishes 5th and leads the Senior Men
to 7th in the National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill.
March
Julian Golding’s hopes of winning a place in the British team for the
World Indoor Championships are dashed when he has to pull out of the Trials
after the first round of the 200 with a hamstring injury. Blackheath Harriers,
Bromley and Bromley AC merge to form Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC.
On the roads Spencer Newport and Rory Byrne time 66.32 and
66.42 at the Wilmslow Half Marathon and Dave Taylor wins the Hillingdon 20 in
1.51.04.
Allan Williams finishes 3rd in the over 45’s pole vault at
the European Masters Indoor Championships in San Sebastian, Spain.
John Robinson is the new Club President.
April
The newly merged Club are promoted from the Beta Division to the Alpha
Division of the Alpha/Beta Trophy Meeting.
Rebecca Taylor runs the 2nd fastest time of the day at the
Nike AAA’s Of England Young Athletes Road Relays at Sutton Coldfield.
Spencer Newport runs the fastest long leg of the day at
the Nike Southern 12 Stage Road Relay at Milton Keynes.
With Mark Steinle missing Nick Kinsey is the Club Marathon
champion. Andy Tucker is the only other member to run inside 3 hours. Francoise
Rulens is first woman home for the Club. The Club’s nominated charity is the
Bromley Autistic Trust and £7,368 is eventually raised. Mike Peel and Pete
Shepheard continue their record of having competed in every London Marathon.
Ella Fisher is 2nd in the 15-17 year olds age group in the Mini Marathon.
Dave Taylor wins all four races at the Guernsey Easter
Running Festival.
The Club win both the opening Divisions One and Two
matches in the Kent Women’s League.
Julian Golding, Jonathan Barbour and Dwayne Grant
represent Great Britain in the 4x100 in a relays meeting in Philadelphia.
A small piece of History is made at the first Kent
Veterans League fixture of the season as the women win their first ever match.
The Senior Women achieve their highest ever placing of
13th in the National 6 Stage Road Relay at Sutton Coldfield.
There are also wins in the Southern Women’s League and for
the Women in the Medway Division of the National Junior Athletics League.
A Sporting Dinner held at Chapter One (restaurant of the
year) raises over £2000 to go towards Athletics in Bromley. Mary Peters is the
guest speaker.
May
The Young Athletes League starts in the best possible way as the Club win
the first ever joint boys and girls scoring match at Norman Park. They win the
second match at Newham too.
Both teams in the Southern Men’s League have a good month.
The B team are 5th in Division One and the C team top Division 4 East after
three matches.
Mark Steinle is selected, subject to fitness, for the
marathon at the World Championships in Paris in August.
Over 30 gold medals are won at the Kent County track and
field Championships at Ashford. These include Internationals like Lash Lashore
and Mensah Elliott but perhaps the most noteworthy feat is Jim Day making his
50th consecutive appearance in these Championships. This is marked by a special
presentation from the County.
The Senior Men only finish 7th in the opening British
League match at Edinburgh. Back at Norman Park the women maintain their unbeaten
record in the Southern League comfortably defeating Belgrave’s women (who go on
to win the UK Women’s League qualifying match in September) Liz Hughes wins the
pole vault at the Inter Counties Championships at Bedford.
More medals are won by athletes from the Club than from
any other at the South of England Under 20 Championships at Watford. These are 3
golds, 9 silvers and 5 bronze. Golds come from Flo Clark (under 15 girls
discus), Karim Chester (under 20’s Hammer) and Alex AlAmeen (under 15 boys 80
hurdles).
June
Karim Chester makes his GB Junior International debut in the match at
Loughborough and throws a new best of 53.40.
At the British Masters Championships at Derby there are
golds for Colin Brand (over 65’s javelin and discus), Gordon Hickey (over 65’s
shot), Chris Woodcock (over 60’s 5,000) and Jim Day (over 70’s pole vault).
Woodcock also gets silver in the 10,000 as does Ken Daniel in the over 50’s
1500. The Women lose their 100% record in both the Southern League and Kent
League.
Dave Taylor wins the South Of England 10km road race title
at Poole.
Barbara Ganley, former Bromley Secretary dies at the age
of 74.
It’s three wins out of three for the Young Athletes team
as they triumph again at Deangate.
Liz Hughes wins the pole vault at the Southern
Championships at Portsmouth with 4 metres, the same height as coach Allan
Williams achieved in finishing 9th in the Senior Men’s contest.
It’s gold also for Amir Williamson in the under 17’s
Hammer. There are silvers for Michael Skinner (1500), Spencer Newport (5000) and
Mohammed Sillah Freckleton (110 hurdles) Fabian Collymore takes gold in both the
100 and 200 in the under 20 age group at the Welsh Championships . Simon
Williams is 3rd in the Senior Javelin.
Colin Poole and Dave Lewis complete the famous Comrades
Marathon in South Africa.
Julian Golding anchors the Great Britain 4x100 team home
to 3rd place in the European Cup in Florence.
Karim Chester wins the Hammer at the Under 23
Championships at Bedford. Mark Awanah takes 2nd in the long jump and Pieter
Koekemoer is 3rd in the 400 hurdles. Sandra Alaneme sets a new Club Record of
12.25 in the under 20 women’s triple jump.
The young athletes lose their joint scoring unbeaten run
at Croydon but the girls win their match again making a place in the National
Final a strong likelihood.
July
The British League team finish 4th in their 2nd League match at Watford.
Karim Chester represents the GB Junior team in an
International match in Italy.
There’s another win in the Southern Women’s League, this
time at Guildford.
The young athletes lose their joint scoring unbeaten run
at Croydon but the girls win their match again making a place in the National
Final a strong likelihood.
Allan Williams wins the over 50’s pole vault at the World
Masters Championships in Puerto Rico clearing 4.25. It’s gold too for Helen
Godsell as she moves down an age group to help the over 40’s 4x100 team to
victory with a new National Record of 50.94.
Dwayne Grant is part of the GB Under 23 4x100 team that
wins gold at the European Championships in Bydgoszcz in Poland.
O2 and Talk2Me Corporate combine to sponsor the Club
Championships which help to provide some vital competition the week before the
English Schools.
The Club’s athletes are in the medals at the English
Schools Championships in Sheffield. Karim Chester wins the Senior Boys Hammer.
There is silver for Amir Williamson (Inter Boys Hammer) and Katy Benneworth
(Senior Girls Long Jump) and bronze medals for Stuart Harvey (Inter Boys
javelin), Harriet Robinson (Inter girls 80 hurdles), Sandra Alaneme (Senior
Girls triple jump), Alex AlAmeen (Junior Boys 80 metre hurdles) and Flo Clark
(Junior Girls discus). Sandra Alaneme’s 12.55 leap in the triple jump is a new
UK age 17 best.
Amir Williamson wins the Hammer at the Schools Home
Countries International in Cardiff. Robert Bain is 4th in the 3km walk.
The Girls qualify for the National Final as the Club win
the Final Young Athletes League match of the season at Norwich.
The Combined Senior Men’s and Women’s team miss out on
place in the Golden Jubilee Cup Final. They finish 2nd to Windsor in the semi
final at Eton.
The Club win both Divisions One and Two of the Kent
Women’s League.
Mark Steinle withdraws from the World Championships
Marathon as he has not been able to train sufficiently.
Julian Golding wins the AAA’s 200 metre and World
Championship trial race in Birmingham a contest that features 4 of the top 6 200
metre runners of all time. He gains automatic selection for Paris.
Dwayne Grant finishes 6th. Mohammed Sillah Freckleton
takes the Bronze medal in the 110 hurdles. Liz Hughes is 5th in the pole vault.
The youngsters secure the under 15’s and under 13’s titles
in the Kent Boys And Colts League. The Veterans secure the Kent Division title
of the Vets League and the women gain promotion from Division Two.
The junior men continue their progress to a National Final
place with a 3rd place in the Southern Premier match at Harrow while the women
have another runaway victory in the Medway Division.
August
After his win at the World Trials Julian Golding is in action in the BAL
at Sheffield where the team finish 4th again.
Despite finishing last in their final match at Bournemouth
the Men’s B team achieve 3rd place overall in Division One of the Southern
League, the Club’s highest ever B team position. The C team win their final
match at Ware and secure promotion from Division Four East as champions.
The Women are victorious again in the Southern League at
Reading.
Bob Minting sets an age 53 best in the 800 as he times
2.05.1.
Julian Golding finishes 2nd to Christian Malcolm in the
200 metres at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace.
Mohammed Sillah Freckleton wins the 110 hurdles at the UK
Athletics Domestic Grand Prix Series at Cardiff. Michael Skinner wins the 1500
metres.
A number of youngsters enjoy success at the AAA’s Under
17’s and Under 15’s Championships in Sheffield. First year under 17 Stuart
Harvey wins the javelin. Clare Cooper wins bronze in the 80 hurdles as does
Robert Bain in the 5km walk and Scott Blackwell in the under 15’s 400.
The Junior Men secure a place in the National Final at
Derby while the women win the Medway Division to claim a place in the Southern
Premier Division qualifying match.
Julian Golding is knocked out in the 2nd round of the 200
metres at the World Athletics Championships in Paris. A knee injury means that
he is rested from the sprint relay with Dwayne Grant receiving a very late call
up to the squad.
The Senior Men end the season 4th in the British League
Division 2.
The month ends on a triumphant note as the Girls win the
UKA Young Athletes Final in Birmingham after a titanic 7 hour battle with
reigning champions Liverpool Harriers with the lead changing constantly. This is
the first time ever the Girls Final has been won by a Southern Club.
The Club win the men’s Southern Counties Veterans Final at
Battersea with a squad that includes former GB marathon International Bill
Foster and one time 2.20 high jumper Trevor Llewelyn.
September
The Senior Women finish 4th in Division One of the
Southern League and are invited to take part in the qualifying match for the UK
Women’s League. A weakened team finish in 4th place just missing out on one of
the two qualifying places.
The Junior Men’s team finish 8th in the National Final at
Derby with a severely reduced squad.
The Junior Women win the Southern Premier Division
qualifying match of the National Junior League. Michael Skinner runs the 3rd
fastest time of the day at the Southern 6 Stage Road Relay at Aldershot. Robert
Bain gains the silver medal at the English Schools Walks Championships in
Sheffield.
Richard Daniels qualifies to represent Great Britain at
the World Triathlon Championships in New Zealand in December.
Mark Steinle finishes 7th out of 47,001 runners in the
Great North Run. His time of 62.55 proves to be the fastest by a Briton all
year.
At the Kent Relays there are 7 golds, 8 silvers and 5 sets
of bronze medals won by the various age group teams.
The Club’s athletes win 17 gold medals at the Kent Veteran
championships including 8 for Jim Day.
October
At the British Masters Throws Pentathlon at Burton On
Trent Gordon Hickey (over 70 men) and Beatrice Simpson (over 45 women) both
break British Records in winning their age groups and Colin Brand is just shy of
his own British record in winning the over 65’s.
Four of the Club’s athletes, Robert Bain, Holly Williams,
Julia Stacey and Jessica Bain represent the South Of England in the Inter Area
walks match in Derby. Robert wins the under 17’s 5km race.
Michael Skinner finishes 2nd in the first of the Reebok
Cross Challenge races in Falkirk.
Sarah Olney retains her javelin title at the National
Championships for athletes with a moderate learning difficulty. She also wins
the shot.
Mark Steinle finishes 16th in the Chicago Marathon. His
time of 2.15.41 proves to be the fastest time for the distance by a British male
in 2003 but is still slower than Paula Radcliffe’s winning London Marathon time.
Olympian John “Kipper” Herring dies at the age of 68. He
represented Great Britain in the 5,000 metres at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and
worked for the London Marathon Organisation for many years.
November The Club report the deaths of three of its more
Senior members, John Furniss who joined in 1933, Leslie Cornish (1931) and
Dennis Bentley (1952).
Michael Skinner runs the 3rd fastest time of the day at
the National Cross Country Relays at Mansfield. He is just seconds outside the
previous course record which is broken by two other athletes.
Club Vice President Mike Winch is elected Vice President
of UK Athletics.
Both the under 13 and under 15 girls remain unbeaten after
three rounds of the Kent Women’s Cross Country League.
December
Brenda Brent is named Volunteer Of The Year in the
Bromley Sports Awards. John Baldwin is recognised for his Contributuion to Sport
in the Borough. At least five of the Club’s athletes are to receive Excellence
Awards at the Presentation which takes place in January 2004.
