Page 17 - Summer2016Gazette

Athletics Report 17
Back in Brno:
Déjà vu All Over Again

conditions. Triple Jump came Isolated in lane 8, she never-
The Blackheath & Bromley next and Annie Davies, who theless ran a measured race to
Junior Women returned to has struggled with a nagging secure 3rd.
Brno in the Czech Republic foot injury all season, produced So, no wins yet, but a series
in mid-September intent on a SB in round one, just shy of of fine performances saw us
improving upon their 3rd place 12m, to take the lead, which she leading the other teams after
result the last time the Europe- held until the end of round 3. 9 events. That lead improved
an Champion Clubs Cup was Annoyingly, two more athletes further with Euro Junior 200m
held there in 2013. squeezed past her in the final Champion, Maya Bruney, secur-
round of 4 (European field ing our first win, in the 400m.
rules applying) and she ended
The trip out to Vienna was up just outside the medals. As But then we stumbled. Our pre-
largely uneventful - only one light rain continued to fall, mier long jumper, Holly Mills,
passport was misplaced between attention moved to the High hoping to defend her title from
immigration and the plane at Jump. Rebecca Hawkins, 2016, had picked up a suspected
Gatwick (always good to get wrapped in a blanket when not calf tear in the YDL Finals and
the team manager’s adrenalin actually jumping, literally took had been, in her own words,
flowing early) – as was the it all in her stride and gained ‘gutted’ not to be able to make
coach journey on to Brno, apart a fine 2nd place behind a very the trip. With Funminiyi Olajide
from the increasingly poor accomplished Danish jumper. just too young to be eligible,
weather the nearer we got to Meanwhile, Hannah Macaulay, Jamiyla Robinson-Pascal stepped
our destination. The evening’s a first year U17 and youngest in in at late notice. But, having
entertainment consisted of a trip the field, commenced battle in thought her season had finished
to Lidl: sadly, the catering at our the discus. She threw well, but, 2 weeks earlier, she wasn’t quite
student accommodation hadn’t in a tightly packed field ended able to produce the kind of jump
changed much in the interven- on the wrong end of the results she’d been reeling out earlier
ing four years. in 7th. in the summer and ended up
The day of the competition in 8th, less than 20cm behind
dawned grey and wet, again, Leading The Field 3rd. At the same time, Hannah
and hardly conducive to athletic That finally brought us to the Macaulay was producing a PB
performance, but not too dif- track programme with the with the 4kg shot, but it was only
ferent from too many evenings 400H. Steph Fisher had missed good enough for another 7th
at Norman Park, so, although a chunk of training during the place. Her time will come.
not entirely in our element, we late summer while she partici-
weren’t exactly in unchartered pated in a world challenge event Feeling The Strain of Com-
territory. in Asia, followed by illness. petition
Recent training suggested she Back on the track, Yasmin
Early Encounters in the Rain had recovered sufficiently to Austridge was negotiating the
The first two events were those take this on and she was in the extra distance of the 3000m
possibly most affected by wet mix for 300m only to run out of s/c and ground out a gutsy 6th
weather: nevertheless, in the legs, resulting in an altercation place. (Having never understood
hammer, Victoria Wiltshire with the last hurdle and another why European Athletics always
threw further than in Spain last 7th place. Moving to the 800m, insisted on Junior Women, who
year only to finish one place Katy-Ann McDonald controlled could be as young as 16, taking
further down the field in a solid the race from the front for 700m on an event that can reduce
3rd place, a position replicated only to miss out on 1st place in grown men to tears, it is hoped
by Sophie Dowson in the pole the run-in, but still securing our that the survey of teams carried
vault by keeping her head and best result so far in 2nd. More out during the competition,
beating more fancied vaulters, good points then followed from suggesting a move to 2000m
who couldn’t cope with the Modupe Shokunbi in the 100m. from next year, will meet with