Last updated 29 June 2004
Press Releases for
April, May & June 2004
29 June 2004
AAA's Under 20 and Under 23 Championships,
Bedford
Blackheath & Bromley's Amir Williamson and Michael
Whitehouse have both been to selected to represent the Great Britain Junior team
after their performances at the AAA's Under 20 Championships and European Trials
at Bedford.
Whitehouse finished in 2nd place in the high jump with a
leap of 2.06 and was very close to a new best as he narrowly failed to clear
2.09. Williamson was third in the Hammer won by Hull's Alex Smith but with the
second placer coming from Southern Ireland he secured the 2nd International
spot. He was not that happy with his distance of 56.35 but it was probably only
the wet circle and an arm injury that prevented him setting a personal best.
There was also a medal for Robert Bain. He took the bronze
in the 10,000 walk in a time of 49.52.33 while in the triple jump Sandra Alaneme
could not have come much closer to a medal. She was in the bronze medal position
with 12.02 going into the last round but was then overtaken by a centimetre and
pushed down to 4th.
Christine Lawrence was just outside her Club Record in the
javelin as she finished 6th in the javelin with 40.63 and Harriet Robinson was
7th in the 100 hurdles in 14.41.
Fabian Collmore picked up two medals in the under 23
championship that was held at the same venue. He won bronze in the 100 metres
and then went one better in the 200 taking silver in 21.67 just a hundredth of a
second ahead of third with Neil Simpson 4th in 21.92.
Norwich Union British Grand Prix,
Gateshead and more
With just two weeks to go before the Olympic Trials
many of Britain's top athletes were putting the finishing touches to their
preparations at the Norwich Union British Grand prix at Gateshead and amongst
them were Blackheath & Bromley's Julian Golding and Dwayne Grant.
Golding lined up in a strong 200 metre field and finished
4th Briton and 6th overall in 21.01. Both he and Grant were in action in a
sprint relay race where the British B team actually beat the A team. Golding was
in the B team which won in 38.79 with Grant in the A team that finished 3rd.
Earlier in the week Grant had been in action at Rethymro
in Greece where he timed 10.49 in the 100 and 20.90 in the 200.
Russell Bentley travelled to Manchester for the latest
round of British Milers Club races and finished 3rd in the C race in 1.54.64.
Kent Young Athletes League, Canterbury
The Club's under 15 and under 13 athletes had a
successful day at the recent Kent Young Athletes League match at Canterbury.
Both girls teams won and so were clear overall winners while the under 13 boys
were runners up and the under 15s third to give 2nd overall just eight points
behind Tonbridge.
The two best performances of the day came in the under 13
boys age group where both Andrew Jordon and Daniel Duffin achieved national
grade one standards. Jordon won the 75 metre hurdles by a second and a half in a
time of 13.7 while out in the field Duffin launched the javelin out to 34.83 to
win by nearly 10 metres. His distance would have ranked him 5th in the country
in 2003.
The girls double win was based upon a consistently high
level of performance throughout the range of events. "A" string victories in the
under 15's age group came from Jessica Bain in the 2000 walk and Chloe Shaw in
the high jump. Winner of the B string walk was Rebecca Haywood who also timed an
excellent 12.9 to win the 75 hurdles B string by over two seconds with middle
distance runner Sarah McLellan 2nd in the "A" string in 13.0, also a national
grade three standard performance as was the 13.6 timed by both Sarah Elsom and
Sarah Harrison in the 100 metres.
For the under 13s the best performance came from Helen
Silvester as she won the javelin by over 10 metres with a throw of 24.61. In
fact thanks to the fine throwing and jumping of Jessica Matthews, Alix
Duffy-Penny, Rebecca Cook, Victoria Stack, Katherine Jones, Emma Brown Estelle
Patten and Phoebe Peach the Club only dropped one point all afternoon in the
field events.
It wasn't much different on the track as Katie Vistuer
(75m), Lucy Price (600) and Danielle Critchley (2000 walk) all had A string wins
and there was a near clean sweep of B string victories.
There was a good win in the under 15 boys from Sam Simpson
who was just outside 10 minutes in the 3000 and Heaven Lee-Roach clocked a
useful 12.6 for second place in the 80 metre hurdles.
In the field the pairing of Richard AlAmeen and Ben
Bateman achieved maximum points in the shot and discus.
For the under 13's Stephen Cavey won the 1500 with some
ease but also showed good sprint speed to win the 100 B string in 13.4. The
promising Izzy Ukoku Jr took the A string race by half a second.
The only other A string win came in the 4x100 but there
were a number of encouraging performances which included a grade 2 in the 800
for Oliver Robinson and grade 3s for Joe Harding (who won the B1500),Connor
Sumner ( first in the B 75 hurdles), Stephen Camacho (high jump and long jump),
Andrew Jordon (shot) and Daniel Duffin (discus).
British Masters Championships, Birmingham
There were medals galore for some of the Club's older
members at the British Masters Championships in Birmingham and performances that
many Seniors would find difficult to match
In the over 35s second claim member Angie Alstrachan won a
full set of medals with gold in the 200, silver in the 400 hurdles and bronze in
the 100.
There were three medals too for Beatrice Simpson in the
over 45s competition but they were all the same colour. She was runner up in the
discus, hammer and weight and it was silver too for former British Marathon
International Bill Foster who was out-kicked in the 1500 finishing in 4.18.60.
World champion Allan Williams had no problems in winning
the pole vault in the over 50's competition with a leap of 4 metres while on the
track Bob Minting claimed the runner up spot in the 800.
Past President Colin Brand won the over 65's javelin with
a throw of 38.87 and also took silver in the discus but the biggest medal haul
came in the over 70's age group with the evergreen Jim Day and Gordon Hickey
claiming four medals apiece. Spritely Day soared over 2.40 to claim the pole
vault title and also won the high jump with a leap of 1.21. He also added
silvers in the 80 hurdles and long jump.
Hickey is a former Southern Champion at the high jump as a
Senior but has graduated to the throws in later life. He launched the shot out
to 12.21 to claim victory and then picked up silvers in the discus, javelin and
the heavy weight.
Full results from these meetings are
here...
Forthcoming fixtures
Fri 2nd July. Kent Veterans League, Norman Park
Sat 3rd. British Men's League, Eton
Sat 3rd. Southern Women's League, Guildford
Sun 4th Kent Young Athletes League, Sutcliffe Park
Weds 7th Club Walks Championships, Norman Park
Fri 9th/Sat 10th English Schools, Gateshead
Sat 10th/Sun 11th AAA's and Olympic Trials, Manchester
Sat 10th Southern Men's League Divisions 1 and 3 Norman Park
Sat 10th Kent Under 13 Championships, Erith.
Fri 16th Kent Veterans League, Canterbury
Sun 18th Golden Jubilee Cup Semi Final, Eton
Sun 18th National Young Athletes League, Havering
22 June 2004
South Of England Championships and more
Fresh from a recent personal best at the distance,
Blackheath and Bromley's Michael Skinner reigned supreme in the 1500 metres at
the Senior South Of England Championships at Watford. He qualified comfortably
from his heat with a second place in 3.56.2 and then won the final with ease.
His time of 3.47.57 was over a second quicker than the runner up.
There was a medal too for Sam Bobb in the triple jump. He
finished in second place with a leap of 14.57 and it was silver also for Stuart
Harvey in the under 17's javelin, an event that was held here to relieve the
congestion at the Under 20 championships three weeks ago. His opening throw of
62.82 broke his own Club Record but eventually proved only good enough for
silver as he was beaten by a mere six centimetres.
Elsewhere Katy Benneworth leapt 5.52 for 6th place in the
Senior women's long jump; Russell Bentley set a season's best of 1.54.58 in the
semi final of the 800; new member Matthew Richards ran a useful 11.17 in the
heats of the 100 metres; and Neil Simpson clocked 49.71 in the 400.
Meanwhile out in Poland Julian Golding did not get to
compete for the Great Britain team at the European Cup at Bydgoszcz. He did
however run in a non scoring 4x100 team and together with Jason Gardener, Darren
Campbell and Mark Lewis Francis timed 38.89 just a couple of 10ths of a second
slower than the scoring British team.
Fabian Collymore took full advantage of Christian
Malcolm's absence in Poland to win both the 100 and 200 metre titles at the
Welsh Championships at Colwyn Bay. He timed 10.94 and 22.36.
Liz Hughes was in action in Boston Lincolnshire at the
opening of the new track at the Princess Royal Arena. She won the pole vault
with a leap of 3.80.
National Junior League
Both the Club's junior men's and women's teams have
virtually guaranteed places in this years National Final with a successful
showing at the Southern Premier Division match at Eton. The men were 2nd just 13
points behind winners Shaftesbury Barnet, while the women missed 2nd place by
two points. The top four teams from the division meet the top four teams from
the Northern Premier Division in the Final in September to determine who will be
the National champions and who will represent the United Kingdom in the European
Junior Champions Clubs Cup in 2005.
For the men Amir Williamson was made Athlete of the match
for his winning 55.79 throw in the hammer and there was more success for some of
the Club's other throwers. Bobby Lockwood was first in the discus with a throw
of 43.43 and was also 2nd in the shot with 13.95. In the B shot there was a new
best for Alex Pope with a putt of 12.98.
Good points were scored in the triple jump with leaps of
12.87 and 12.82 from Daniel Haque and Duayne Bovell.
On the track there was a new best for James Poole in the
800 timing 2.00.0 and the afternoon finished on a high with Haque and Bovell
teaming up with Tunde Balogun and Ian Allerton for victory in the 4x100.
The women's third place was achieved despite the absence
of a number of athletes but the squad responded well with a string of personal
bests and also a great commitment to ensure all events were covered and no vital
points dropped.
Best performance on the track came from under 17 Rebecca
Syrocki. Not a first choice for the Young Athletes team last year, she showed
how much she has progressed in the last year under coach Ian Dibbens as she
strode to victory in the 400 in a new best and grade one time of 58.9. This was
against athletes up to three years older. The icing on the cake was a new best
of 12.7 in the B 100 and then a fastest ever relay split of 58.6 in the 4x400.
Harriet Robinson warmed up for this weekends National
Under 20 championships with new bests of 12.6 in the 100 A string and 14.5 in
finishing 2nd in the 100 hurdles. Other bests came from Leanne Critchley with
27.0 in the 200, Debbie Shearing with 11.39.0 in the 3000 and Katie Welch with
17.2 in the B 100 hurdles.
Outstanding field event for the Club was the hammer where
Rachel Blackie was just outside her Club Record with 44.64 for 3rd in the A
event and Vickie Thomas improved her best to 43.62 to win the B string.
Jade Castell Thomas burst through the 11 metre barrier in
the triple jump for the first time as she recorded a grade one performance for
an under 17 with a leap of 11.12 to finish in 2nd place. It was 2nd too for
Rachel King in the B event with 10.47.
The other personal best came from Flo Clark with a putt of
9.61 to finish 2nd in the B event while Anna Smith leapt a very useful 1.55 for
2nd place in the high jump.
County School Championships
In addition to the recently reported results at the
Kent Schools championships there were more good performances at the London
Championships at Battersea Park. Bobby Lockwood had a double victory in the
Senior Boys events with distances of 15.73 in the shot and 51.79 in the discus.
Alex AlAmeen scorched to victory in the Intermediate Boys 100 hurdles in 13.5
while in the field his brother Richard was 3rd in the shot with 11.24.For the
Intermediate girls Vanessa Nakangu was runner up in the 100 with 13.2. At the
Surrey Schools at Kingston Michael Whitehouse won the Senior Boys high jump with
2 metres while 2nd claim member Mark Covington took the hammer title with 50.32.
For the girls there were wins for Amy Godsell in the 300
with 40.6 and for Frances Athawes in the javelin with 28.84.
Club Championships
The first of B & B's Club Championships was a great
success with a number of high quality performances and a large number of
personal bests. High light of the day was a new Club record for Rebecca Taylor
in the under 15 girls 800 metres. She recorded 2.12.5 to take nearly a second
off Julie Stacey's 17 year old Club record and her time is not only the fastest
in the country this year but also quicker than anyone ran in 2003.
In the Senior age group there was a double win on the
track for Barry Stephenson. He led from start to finish to take the 3000 metre
title in 8.49.1 and then just pipped veteran Neil Ayrton in a tight finish to
the 800. Both athletes were given the same time of 2.02.7. Michael Champion won
the 200 with ease in 22.3 while Rob Brown retained his triple jump crown in the
field. Jennie Butler cruised to victory in the women's 3000 metres.
There was also a double victory in the under 20 age group
where the in form Max Richardson won the 200 in a fine 23.4 before taking the
800 by over 7 seconds. Training partner Ella Fisher timed 10.57.4 in the 3000
and it was good to see Vickie Cole back in action with a comprehensive win in
the 200. Best performance, however, came in the field where Amir Willliamson set
a new personal best of 57.98 in the hammer, one of the top performances in the
country this year.
His brother Alistair Tawanaee was also over 50 metres in
the Under 17's event winning with a throw of 54.98. As expected Daniel Haque
proved too strong for the opposition in the 200 winning in 22.6 but there was
one win that wasn't predicted. Richard Daniel surprised many with his confident
three second victory in his debut over the under 17 400 hurdles. There were also
middle distance wins Tim Ayres in the 800 and from James Poole in the 3000.
For the girls under 15 Sarah McLellan moved up an age
group making a notable debut in the 300 hurdles. She timed an excellent
48.3.There was also a personal best from Katy Murray in the 800 with 2.19.7
while Asha Lushington won the 200 in 28.8.
Southern Champion James Alaka had no difficulty in winning
the 200 metres in the under 15's age group. One of the countrys fastest ever
sprinters, his 23.8 was enough to win by nearly two seconds. Michael Thorpe and
Sam Simpson also had large winning margins in the 800 and 3000 while in the
field multi talented Aston Stockdale tried his hand at triple jumping and won in
10.75. Best competition was the hammer where Joe Stockton and Richard AlAmeen
recorded two of the longest throws in the country this year with distances of
54.82 and 51.50 respectively. Anna Louise Barrett won the girls event with a
throw of 22.74 while Serita Solomon won the standing triple jump with an
excellent leap of 7.15 to add to a comprehensive win in the 200. Amy Smith ran a
highly promising 11.02.3 in the 3000. The prodigious Stephen Cavey was a triple
medallist in the under 13's age group with wins in the 200, 800 and standing
triple jump. Daniel Duffin won a good hammer competition with a throw of 33.39.
A blanket finish in the girls 150 metres saw gold go to
Katie Vistuer in 21.2 the same time as runner up Rebecca Cook. Amy De-Matos took
the 800 title with 2.30.7 and there were wins in the field from Jessica Matthews
in the standing triple jump and from Katherine Jones in a very competitive
hammer.
Organiser Mike Davies, who has revitalised these
championships over the last couple of years, was pleased with both the number of
competitors taking part and the quality of performances and looks forward to the
second big championship programme on the 28th of August.
Kent Veterans League
The Club's veteran men remain on course for a place in
the Southern Final with another first place in the latest Kent League fixture at
Ashford. They have won all four matches this year and lead the table by four
League points.
The team won because of its all round strength and this
included wins in the over 40s for Alan Hardy in the shot and Con Griffin in the
B 1500. Ken Daniel won the 1500 in the over 50s match as did Past Presidents
John Robinson and Colin Brand in the pole vault and discus in the over 60s age
group.
The women could join the men in the Southern Final in
September but this will depend on how they fare in the last two matches.
Currently they are in third place in the table but are only two points behind
League leaders Cambridge Harriers.
Maureen Miller was in good form in the over 35s 200 at
Ashford winning the B event in 28.1. There a runner up spot for Beatrice Simpson
in the javelin before the 4x400 team of Miller, Diane Ballard, Angie Alstrachen
and Helen Godsell romped to victory in 4.32.2.
Godsell had earlier won the over 50s 200 in 29.5.The
Club's other win of the day came from Nanette Cross in the over 60's high jump
with a leap of 0.95.
Forthcoming fixture
Sat 26th/Sun 27th AAA's Under 20 and Under 23 Championships, Bedford
Sat 26th/Sun 27th. British Masters Championships, Birmingham
Sat 26th Southern Men's League Divisions 1 and 3, Basingstoke and Tooting
Sun 27th National Young Athletes League, Copthall
Fri 2nd July. Kent Veterans League, Norman Park
Sat 3rd. British Men's League, Eton
Sat 3rd. Southern Women's League, Guildford
Sun 4th Kent Young Athletes League, Sutcliffe Park
Weds 7th Club Walks Championships, Norman Park
Fri 9th/Sat 10th English Schools, Gateshead
Sat 10th/Sun 11th AAA's and Olympic Trials, Manchester
Sat 10th Southern Men's Lague Divisions 1 and 3 Norman Park
Sat 10th Kent Under 13 Championships, Erith.
15 June 2004
Seniors
Julian Golding of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC has
been selected for the Great Britain squad for this weekends European Cup match
in Bydgoszcz in Poland. He has not been picked for an individual event but is in
the squad for the 4x100 metre relay.
He returned to winning ways in the 200 at the Grand Prix
meeting in Bratislava. He timed 20.87 for victory and was also 2nd in the 100
metres in 10.48. After defeats at Milan and Seville this was a welcome boost. He
was back in action on home soil as part of a Great Britain 4x100 team that
tasted victory at the Bedford International Games.
There was another good performance also from Liz Hughes
who cleared 4 metres in the pole vault but had to settle for second place on
countback. Also in action was Tawanda Chiwira who won his 400 metre race in
47.39 with Neil Simpson 4th in 49.01. Fabian Collymore was 2nd in his heat of
the 100 metres in 10.75 and 5th in his 200 in 21.63.
Dave Taylor continued his impressive start in the over 40
age group at the British Milers Club races at Watford. Included in the programme
was the AAA's championship and Olympic Trial for the 10,000 metres. Taylor
finished 11th in the race and was 6th Briton which was an excellent run but also
a sad comment on the state of British distance running if a 40 year old can come
6th in a National Championship. His time of 29.44.95 took half a minute off Bill
Foster's Club Over 40 record.
Michael Skinner ran a new best of 3.42.35 in the 1500 to
finish 6th in the race and Bella Clayton was fractionally outside her best in
her heat of the 800 with 2.10.84. Martin Airey timed 1.55.35 for 800.
County Schools Championships
There was plenty of success for athletes from
Blackheath & Bromley at the Kent County Schools Championships in Ashford with
the highlight being the Intermediate Girls Hammer event where the Club Under 17
record was broken yet again as well as that of the Under 20 age group.
The under 17 record has been changing hands all season
between Rachel Blackie and Vickie Thomas. At the start of the season it stood at
40.71 a distance recorded by Vickie. Both broke the previous record on Saturday
with Rachel the furthest with a mighty 44.92 to win the competition. Vickie was
second with 43.10. Their distances would have placed them 3rd and 5th in the
country last year and places Rachel 13th on the all time list. Rachel's throw
also added well over a metre to the Club Under 20 record. There seems little
doubt that both records will be improved again.
The key to their success has been their dedicated training
under coach Mike Davies and the support of training partners such as Alistair
Tawanaee who won the Intermediate Boys event by over 10 metres with a throw of
52.88 to succeed his brother Amir as champion.
All three should gain automatic selection for the Kent
team for the English Schools Championships at Gateshead next month and all
should be in the chance of a medal. The same is true of Stuart Harvey who had a
comprehensive victory in the javelin launching the spear out to 57.59 to win the
competition by nearly 13 metres.
Elsewhere in the field in this age group Scott Huggins
continued his excellent season by taking the pole vault title with a clearance
of 3.40, with Adam Berry 3rd with 2.80 and there was yet another personal best
for Flo Clark as she span the discus out to 36.29 for the silver medal. It was
silver too for Rachel King in the triple jump with 10.64.
On the track there was a good win for Rebecca Syrocki in
the 300 metres with 41.5 and Nina Akif took the 80 hurdles gold after Clare
Cooper pulled up with a hamstring injury.
Others to impress included David Torku who was 2nd in the
100 with 11.5 and Daniel Haque, 2nd in the 200 with 22.8. Leanne Critchley was
2nd in the 300 hurdles with 47.20 with Jo Wood 3rd and there were other 3rds for
Carly Vineall in the 300 and James Poole in the 1500.
In the Junior Boys and Girls events double Southern
Champion James Alaka was in superlative form in the 100 coasting to victory in
11.5. Fellow Southern champion Serita Solomon had a closer race in the Girls 75
Hurdles but prevailed in the end winning in 11.6 the same as the runner up. In
the field another Southern gold medallist Lauren Blackie was in winning form as
she took the long jump title with a leap of 5.06. Other wins came from Rebecca
Taylor in the 800 in 2.21.1, with Sarah McLellan 3rd; and from Holly Williams in
the walk in 11.33 closely followed by Julia Stacey in 11.44.4. Top three places
were also achieved by Helen Jordan, 2nd in the 100; Emily Godley 2nd in the 200;
Helen Silvester 2nd in the javelin; Sam Simpson 3rd in the 1500; and Amy Smith
with silver in the 1500.
There was only one senior contest at these championships,
the walk which was won with some ease by Robert Bain. He timed 9.09.9 to win by
nearly two minutes to add to the success he has enjoyed recently. He finished
first in the LPR 9km at Blackheath in 47.14, three and a half minutes ahead of
2nd claim member Shaun Lightman, and was then 2nd in the 5km at the Mickey Brown
Races at Steyning in 24.12.
It was second too for Chelsea O'Rawe Hobbs in the under
15's 3km with 17.51 closely followed by Holly Williams in third with 17.54.
At the London Schools there was a one-two in the discus
from Shaunagh Brown and Amarah Taitt while Jade Castell Thomas set two new
personal bests with 10.83 in the triple jump and 5.23 in the long jump..
Stats
The recent Southern Of England Under 20s, Under 17s
and Under 15s championships were hugely successful for Club and this has been
confirmed by a recent statistical analysis of the results which has been
published on the South Of England website. The top 8 athletes in each event were
awarded points with 8 going to the winner down to one for 8th.
Totalling up the points showed Blackheath & Bromley to be
easily the most successful in the South Of England a region that covers 19
Counties stretching from Norfolk to Cornwall.
Blackheath & Bromley scored 184 points a staggering 67.5
ahead of Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow who scored 116.5 and Milton Keynes on
103. Only three Club scored over 100 points out of the 73 who scored points at
all. This is testimony to both the talent and dedication of the individual
athletes and also the quality of the coaching they receive. Newcomers of all
ages and abilities are always welcome. The main training nights for ages 11 and
over at Norman Park, Bromley are on Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm. Under 11s
train on Wednesdays with sessions from 6pm to 7 and 6.30 to 7.30.
8 June 2004
Blackheath and Bromley face a tough fight to stay in
Division Two of the British Athletics League after finishing last in the second
match at Liverpool's Wavertree Stadium. Two last places in the first two of the
four matches means that, with the bottom two relegated from the eight team
division, the Club is now four League points behind sixth placed Liverpool and
must field substantially stronger teams in the remaining matches to avoid the
drop.
They have the athletes to do this. Last Saturday they were
missing over a dozen Internationals because of fixture clashes, injuries and
other commitments and were also without their top six javelin throwers. One
International who was there was Mohammed Sillah Freckleton. He set a personal
best of 10.9 in the 100 metres and clocked 22.6 in the 200 but was unable to
compete in his number one event the 110 hurdles as he was representing Great
Britain in that event at the Loughborough International the following day.
His 100 was one of nine personal bets set by the Club's
athletes on the day reflecting what was a spirited team effort by the athletes
who were there. Of these the most notable were those of Sam Bobb and Tom
Robinson. Bobb, a former under 23 International, moved from fifth to second in
the last round of the long jump, setting a new best of 6.89, an improvement of
over 20 centimetres on his previous best. He set a best for the triple jump at
last weekends Inter Counties and he won that event at Liverpool with a leap of
14.42.
Junior Captain Robinson improved on the 4.10 he cleared to
win last weekends Southern Championship as he went over 4.20 at the first
attempt. However, this was only good enough to claim 6th in the A string event.
Bobb's was in fact the only A string victory but two came
close. Tawanda Chiwira looked to have the 400 metres sewn up but he tied up in
the home straight and finished second in 47.7. Likewise Michael Skinner led the
800 for the first 700 before finishing second in 1.51.9.
Other good performances came from Neil Simpson, who timed
49.2 in the 400 B string for 3rd place; Russell Bentley who was 4th in the 1500
in 3.56.2 and Barry Stephenson who was again under 15 minutes in the 5000
metres. Former Captain Nigel Keogh returned to British League action after a
long break and timed 58.2 in the 400 hurdles and it was pleasing to see Max
Richardson running a good leg of the 4X400 on his National League debut.
Others appearing for the first time at this level were new
member Bobby Lockwood who scored important points in the throws and Richard Hall
and Jonathan Green who stepped in at short notice to cover the steeplechase.
Green was there primarily to throw the javelin.
Amir Williamson was also in good form in the throws. Still
a Junior he launched the Senior Hammer out to 47.54 and also set a new best of
36.17 in the discus.
Athlete of the match, however, was Bomene Barikor who
showed all the qualities that will be needed if the Club is to avoid relegation.
He won the B string triple jump in an equal best of 13.39, cleared 1.90 in the
high jump and, as well as being action in the long jump, javelin, 200 and 4x100,
was still keen to run in the 4x400.
Full details of the match can be found
here...
Southern Women's League, Norman Park
Blackheath & Bromley's Women made it three wins out of
three with victory in the latest Southern League match at Norman Park.
Significantly they beat Herts Phoenix, one of the other two previously unbeaten
teams and this means that they now lie second in the 25 strong Division at the
half way stage with every prospect of earning an invitation to the UK Women's
League qualifying match in September.
The team was boosted by the very welcome return to
competition of Myrtle Augee, the 1990 Commonwealth Games shot putt champion.
Despite not having trained for two years, she won her specialist event by nearly
two metres with a putt of 13.10, as well as finishing 2nd in the discus and
placing 3rd in the B Hammer with 16 year Rachel Blackie just outside the Club
Under 17 Record with 42.26 in a highly competitive A string.
No doubt Rachel would have gained valuable experience
competing with such an experienced international as would Flo Clark who won the
B discus with 30.44. Promisingly the young partnership of Frances Athawes and
Rosanna Carter scored near maximum points in the javelin with throws of 29.46
and 26.75. Equally pleasing were the performances of Jade Castell Thomas and
Rachel King who were 3rd and 2nd in the triple jump with 10.71 and 10.50. On the
track the best performance came from Bella Clayton who won the 400 metres in
55.7 and then produced a 54.8 last leg split to help win the 4x400 in 3.59.6.
The standard overall was high and there were no further A
string wins. However, Clare Cooper ran a very good 200 in 25.8 and Rebecca
Syrocki continues to impress with a 26.2 victory in the B string. Likewise
Harriet Robinson's swift 14.8 in the 100 hurdles was only good enough for
second. Clare Cooper also won the under 17's 80 metre hurdles and Jo Wood was a
class apart in the 300 hurdles winning by over two and a half seconds.
The Under 15's again played a key role in the victory with
Shaunagh Brown winning all three throws and Serita Solomon taking the 100 and
75metre hurdle track events. Sarah McLellan, Claire McNamara and Jessica Findlay
all had middle distance wins and equally pleasing were the performances of first
year under 15's Lily Rose, Chloe Shaw, Sarah Harrison and Jessica Harding who
all scored good points in the sprints and jumps, many with personal best
performances.
Amara Taitt gained a first and second in the B shot and
discus.
National Young Athletes League, Norman
Park
The Club took a step closer towards a place in the
National Young Athletes League Final with an important victory in the Southern
Premier Division match at Norman Park. Significantly they defeated Windsor,
Slough, Eton and Hounslow, one of their biggest rivals for one of the two Final
places, and have now moved to top of the table ahead of Enfield and Haringey on
match points.
There were a number of outstanding performances with
Shaunagh Brown picking up the female field athlete of the match award for her
32.57 winning throw in the discus, over 12 metres further than second place.
Stuart Harvey was unlucky not to pick up the men's award
after throwing a massive 61.21 to win the under 17's javelin. He was not the
only one to impress in this age group in the throws. Alistair Tawanaee launched
the hammer out to 56.15 for a personal best, one of the furthest throws in the
country this year, and Flo Clark was again over 35 metres to win the discus. In
the jumps the pairing of Scott Huggins and Adam Berry set bests of 3.50 and 3.20
to win both strings of the pole vault and Daniel Haque won the triple jump on
count back to add to his double sprint victory.
Amy Godsell was also a double victor, with grade one wins
in the 100 and 300 in 12.5 and 40.6, as was Clare Cooper who added the 200
metres to her victory in the 80 metre hurdles. There was a big improvement for
Leanne Critchley as, not only did she win the B 200, but, more significantly,
she won the 300 hurdles in some style with a best of 45.7 a grade one
performance. Another hurdler in fine form was Alex AlAmeen who won the men's 100
metre event in 13.5. The success in the hurdles with Graham Rollerson and James
Summersby producing with a double win over 400 metres. Middle distance wise Katy
Murray in the 800 and Danny Brewer in the 3000 metres both had useful A string
wins
In the under 15's Joe Stockton's 53.50 in the hammer was
most impressive with Richard AlAmeen also setting a grade one of 45.42 in the B
string. They also won both strings of the shot.
Southern champion Lauren Blackie was over 5 metres again
to win the long jump to add to a victory in the high jump while Robert Evans,
better known as a middle distance runner, soared over two metres to win the pole
vault. On the track another Southern champion Serita Solomon was a good winner
of the 75 hurdles but had to settle for second in a competitive 200 metres.
Similarly double Southern champion James Alaka won the 100 but was beaten over
200.
Elsewhere on the track there was an impressive double wins
in the 800 from Rebecca Taylor and Ruby Samuels and in the 1500 from Amy Smith
and Sarah McLellan. There was also a win for Heaven- Lee Roach in the under 15
boys sprint hurdles.
More middle distance success came in the under 13's from
Amy De Matos who timed an excellent 3.59.6 for 1200 with Grace Power winning the
B string. Rebecca Smith, Lucy Price, Stephen Cavey and Julian Ayisi scoring
maximum points in the 800s. Cavey also won the 200 by a large margin. In the
field Emma Brown and Katherine Jones scored maximum points in the shot. Full
results will appear here...
Internationals
A number of the Club's athletes have been competing
Internationally in the last week. Mohammed Sillah Freckleton travelled to
Loughborough on Sunday to represent an International Select team against Wales,
Scotland, Ireland, Loughborough and the Great Britain Under 20 team. He was
again under 14 seconds for the 110 hurdles as he timed 13.80 for second place.
Inter Counties Champion Liz Hughes cleared 4.05 in the pole vault for a season's
best and defeated Shaftesbury's Zoe Brown who has been picked to represent Great
Britain in the European Cup in two weeks time.
Fabian Collymore was representing Wales and timed 10.74 in
the 100 metres. Julian Golding has been in action in Italy and Spain. He
finished in 8th in the 200 metres in Milan in a slightly disappointing 21.19 but
then rallied in Seville to time 20.83 and finish in 5th place. Training partner
Dwayne Grant was in action at Bydgoszcz in Poland where he finished 8th in the
100 metres in 10.51.
Club Championships
The first Club Championships of the Summer take place
on Monday 14th of June. Entry forms can be printed off the website and need to
be with Mike Davies by Saturday
1 June 2004
Senior Inter County Championships, Bedford
and abroad
A number of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC athletes
were prominent at the CAU Inter Counties Championships at Bedford the highest
standard meeting to be held in the country so far this year.
Michael Skinner won the men's mile race with a devastating
53 second last lap to time 4.12.43.
Mohammed Silah Freckleton returned from injury to win the
110 hurdles in an excellent 13.64 coping well with the strong following wind
which was blowing him earlier into the hurdles than he would have liked.
Liz Hughes won the pole vault with a leap of 3.90, her 2nd
win of the weekend as two days earlier she cleared 4 metres for victory in the
street pole vault in Ashford town centre.
Runner up spots went to Tawanda Chiwira in the 400 in
47.80 and Barry Stephenson who timed 31.51.77 for the 10,000 metres. There was
also a personal best for Sam Bobb in the triple jump who broke the 15 metre
barrier for the first time with 15.13 revising his previous best set in 1997.
There was also a personal best for Jonathan Murray in the
5,000 metres as he finished in 11th place in 15.09.4.
Bella Clayton was just outside her best with 2.10.83 in
the heats of the 800 and followed with 5th place in the final in 2.11.47.
Patrick Boundy was 13th in the javelin with 59.59 and Peter Hannell 15th in the
3,000 walk in 16.29.38. Other athletes were competing in more exotic locations.
Dwayne Grant travelled to Greece to compete as Kalamata to open his season with
some impressive times. He ran the 100 in 10.49 and then followed with 21.30 for
the 200.
In Hungary Fabian Collymore was at Szombathely competing
for Wales in an International match against four other countries. He timed 21.81
for the 200 and also 10.83 for the 100. Neil Simpson was in action in Ireland
where he clocked a season's best of 49.52 for the 400 metres.
Closer to home Nange Ursell, who is better known as a 400
hurdler, ran 1.59.6 for 800 metres in the second of the London Inter Club
Challenge races at Copthall.
South Of England Under 20, Under 17 and
Under 15 Championships, Watford
Athletes from the Club were in outstanding form at the
South Of England Under 20 Championships at Watford with a medal haul that
included 9 golds, 7 silvers and 8 bronze. This was a marked improvement on last
year when they won more medals than any other Club with 3 gold, 9 silver and 5
bronze.
James Alaka took two titles in the under 15 boys age group
with an 11.28 win in the 100 and then following this with victory in the 200 in
22.66, faster than anyone in the country last year and making him the 11th
fastest Briton of all time.
It was a triple celebration for his coach Michelle Bovell
whose daughter Serita Solomon was a class apart in winning the under 15 girls 75
metre hurdles in 11.33, nearly half a second clear of the runner up.
Another coach, Mike Davies, was also celebrating three
golds for his athletes, plus two silvers. Amir Williamson launched the under
20's hammer out to 55.51for victory and was then informed that he had qualified
for the Junior Commonwealth Games in Australia at the end of the year.
His brother Alistair Tawanaee won the under 17 event in
54.70, to add to a bronze in the discus, and Rachel Blackie took the girls event
in 42.70 just outside the Club record of Vickie Thomas who was 2nd just 37
centimetres behind.
The other silver medal for the Davies group came from
Richard AlAmeen with 47.17 in the under 15 boys competition and there was silver
too for 2nd claim member Mark Covington with a 52.49 distance in the under 20
men's competition behind Williamson.
It was a double celebration in the Blackie household too
as Rachel's younger sister Lauren soared out to 5.22 to win the long jump which
not only guarantees her a place at the English Schools Championships but is also
just one centimetre off the Club Record. She was also joint 3rd in the pole
vault with Rachel Arnheim.
Tom Robinson again cleared 4.10 in the Under 20 men's pole
vault to take gold and Sandra Alaneme won the Under 20's triple jump with 12.04.
There could so nearly have been a couple more golds. Flo
Clark was leading into the last round of the Under 17's discus with 35.40 but
was pushed down to a runners up spot. Michael Whitehouse was involved in a jump
off in the high jump after he and Enfield and Haringey's Adam Scarr both cleared
2 metres but failed at 2.05. The bar came down to 2.01 which Scarr cleared. On
the track there was a fine silver in the under 17 women's 300 metres from Amy
Godsell who timed 40.6 and Clare Cooper was also a runner up in the 80 hurdles
despite being disappointed with her race and time.
The weekend would not have been complete without a Club
Record and Christine Lawrence duly obliged as she sent the Under 20 women's
javelin out to 40.69 to improve her Junior and Senior record and gain a bronze
in the Championship event.
Fast improving Scott Huggins was rewarded for his
dedicated training as he cleared 3.40 for bronze in the under 17's pole vault
and there were 3rds also for Alex AlAmeen, who ran 13.4 in the under 17's 100
hurdles; Daniel Haque, 22.24 in the under 17's 200, after a slight injury; and
Shaunagh Brown who threw 27.55 in the under 15's discus.
It was not all about medals, however, as athletes such as
Max Richardson, 50.31 for 400, and Rebecca Syrocki, 41.96 for 300, both
impressed and first year under 15s Sarah Harrison, Georgia Crosbie, Katrina
Cosby, Amarah Taitt and Chloe Shaw gained invaluable Championship experience
that will hold them in good stead for the future.
B & B Schools Meeting
The second of the Club's schools meetings took place
at Norman Park with not one but two of the Club's top Internationals there to
present medals and certificates. Myrtle Augee, the 1990 Commonwealth Games shot
putt gold medallist who has been a National Champion on nine occasions was
joined by 1998 Commonwealth 200 metre champion Julian Golding, the current
National 200 metre champion and the fastest man in Europe so far in 2004.
The meetings are designed for school years 6, 7, and 8 and
entry is via the school. Further details can be obtained from Schools Liason
Officer Paul Patten on 020 8777 8754. The third of the meetings takes place on
Monday 21st June from 4 to 6 pm.
Kent Veterans League
The Club's veterans mens team remain unbeaten in the
Kent League after the latest match at Erith. Neil Ayrton looked impressive in
wining the over 40s 800 metres by 11 seconds with Mark Ellison moving down in
distance to win the B string. Likewise it was maximum points for Ken Daniel on
his way back from injury.
For the women Angie Alstrachen took the 100 metres by the
thickness of her vest and she added another win in the B 800 with Maureen Miller
making it maximum points in the A race.
Team captain Anne Cilia led by example by attempting the
pole vault. She cleared 1.60, enjoyed the experience and will be looking to do
it again. Beatrice Simpson had another good throws win in the discus.
25 May 2004
Southern Women's League, Norman Park
Blackheath & Bromley maintained their 100 per cent
record in Division One of the Southern Women's League with a hard fought victory
in their second round match at Norman Park which included strong teams from the
Channel Islands and Havering. The win leaves them third in the 25 strong
division with 408.5 match points behind Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow on
422 and Herts Phoenix on 414. Underlining the strength of the meeting was the
fact that the Club only had four A string wins in the Senior age group. Liz
Hughes won the pole vault with a clearance of 3.60, Sandra Alaneme the triple
jump with 10.81, and Sam Singer the 400 in 59.0. Singer then teamed up with Katy
Benneworth, Louisa Guthrie and Harriet Robinson for a 50.8 second win in the
4x100.
Athletes of the calibre of International Montell Douglas,
who strained her hamstring in the 100; Double County champion Katy Benneworth,
who made the long journey down from Loughborough to compete; and top hurdler
Harriet Robinson all had to settle for 2nd places in their events, while Flo
Clark's excellent new discus best of 35.60 was only good enough for 3rd.
B string wins came from Rachel Blackie (discus and
hammer), Laura Betts (long and high jump), Rachel Chadwick (800) and Clare
Cooper (200).Cooper was also 3rd in the Under 17's 80 metre hurdles despite
timing a grade one standard of 11.6. In the under 15's age group the team scored
near maximum points in the throws. Shaunagh Brown won both the shot and the
discus with 9.89 and 33.46 while Amarah Taitt gained 1st and 2nd in the B
strings. There was a very promising Southern League debut from 12 year old Helen
Silvester who threw the javelin 26.46 while Emily Godley won the B string with
20.89.
There was another personal best from Lauren Blackie as she
leapt 5.19 to win the long jump. On the track Rebecca Taylor won the 800 in
2.19.7 and there was also a win in the 4x100 from a team of Emily Godley, Chloe
Shaw, Katrina Cosby and Helen Jordan.
British Milers Club Nike Grand Prix,
Solihull
Dave Taylor broke the British over 40's best for 5000
metres at the British Milers Club Grand Prix at Solihull. The former
Commonwealth Games representative at the Marathon timed an outstanding 13.53.13
a performance that would have placed him in the Senior top 10 rankings last year
and placed him 7th in a race featuring a number of foreign athletes. Michael
Skinner improved his personal best finishing in 14th place in 14.04.19 while
both Martin Airey (1.54.52) and Bella Clayton (2.10.17) both set seasons bests
over 800 metres.
National Junior League, Carshalton
Both Blackheath and Bromley's men's and women's teams
took a step closer to qualification for the National Final in September with
strong performances at the Southern Premier match at Carshalton. Reversing their
positions from Copthall last month the women were 2nd and the men 3rd against
the top 8 teams in the whole of the South Of England.
The Club under 17 Hammer record was broken again by Vickie
Thomas. She threw 42.81 to finish 3rd in the A string with Rachel Blackie
winning the B competition with 41.18. Both also scored good points in the shot
and discus while Christine Lawrence (37.07)and Frances Athawes (29.09) had a
double victory in the javelin.
It was near maximum points in the triple jump with Rachel
King 2nd in the A string with 10.82 and Jade Castell Thomas winning the B in
10.78 both of which are National Grade Ones for these talented pair of under
17's. Anna Smith gained a good 2nd in the high jump with a 1.55 clearance.
On the track Amy Godsell was in sparkling form in the
sprints. She swept to victory in the 100 in 12.5 and followed with a 25.7 2nd
place in the 200. Clare Cooper was just a tenth slower in winning the B
competition to add to her 15.4 victory in the 100 hurdles.
Katherine McKinlay took 2nd in the 400 in 59.8 with fast
improving Rebecca Syrocki winning the B race in 60.6.
The afternoon finished with a rousing victory in the 4x100
in 49.2 plus second place in the 4x400.
For the men there was a big breakthrough for Tom Robinson
in the pole vault. He soared over 4.10 for the first time despite having missed
much Winter training with injury. He won the competition as did Michael
Whitehouse in the high jump with 2.05 and League record holder Amir Williamson
in the hammer with 55.17. Both his brother Alistair Tawanaee (50.98),who won the
B competition, and new boy Mark Covington (50.19), as a non scorer, were over 50
metres as well. The brothers both then set new bests in the discus while Stuart
Harvey launched the javelin out to 57.18 to take runner up spot.
In the sprints Chris Musa showed good form with 3rd places
in both the 100 and 200 with Duayne Bovell 2nd in the B 100. Ian Allerton just
missed out in a close finish in the 400 but Max Richardson was an emphatic
winner of the B competition with a useful 51.2.
It was good to see Ben Samuels and Rob Wallace back in
action and despite not being at full fitness scoring important points for the
team. A reflection of the team spirit of both squads was the way Michael Leal
and Leanne Critchley volunteered to fill the B string sprint hurdles. They might
have expected to finish last but both ended in 5th place scoring vital points
for the team.
Southern Men's League
After a win in their opening match the Club fielded a
depleted team for the 2nd Southern Men's League Division One match at Southend
and suffered as a result. The fixture was possibly the toughest of the year. For
example, Nick Gasson lined up against top International Keith Cullen in the
5,000.
Gasson, nevertheless, ran a personal best but like the
efforts of his team mates this was not enough to prevent the squad from
finishing in 5th. The Division Three team travelled to Barn Elms and finished in
3rd place.
Forthcoming events
29th-30th South Of England Under 20/17/15
Championships, Watford
30th-31st CAU Inter County Championships, Bedford
5th June. British League, Liverpool
5th Southern Women's League, Norman Park
6th Young Athletes League, Norman Park
7th. Kent Veteran's League, Ashford
18 May 2004
County Track And Field Championships,
Ashford
The good weather brought out the best from the
athletes of Blackheath & Bromley at the Kent County Track And Field
Championships at Ashford. Six Championship Best Performances, four Club Records,
36 gold, 23 silver and 24 bronze medals, including 22 National Grade One
Performances, made it a weekend to remember. *
Liz Hughes opened her Summer season in the best possible
way by setting a new Championship Best in the Senior Women's pole vault. Her
clearance of 4.00 metres would have beaten all but one of the Senior Men, that
person being her coach and World Over 50's champion Allan Williams who soared
over 4.10 to show he is fully recovered from a heart scare last Autumn.
Christine Lawrence's CBP of 40.54 in the under 20 women's
javelin was not only a new Club Junior Record. It was a Senior one too. Not to
be outdone one of her training partners in the Brian Benn squad, Stuart Harvey,
launched the spear out to 62.15 in the Under 17 men's event for a CBP and Club
Record.
The Under 17 women's hammer record has already been broken
this year by Rachel Blackie but this time it was Vickie Thomas who improved the
mark to 42.08 a distance that would have placed her 4th in the country last
year.
Serita Solomon was in sparkling form in the 75 metre
hurdles with a Championship best of 11.33 in her heat a time she could well have
bettered in winning the Final had she not faced a -1.9 metre per second wind.
Her time was 11.42.
The final CBP came from James Alaka who timed a stunning
23.24 to win the under 15 boys 200 metres a performance that would have ranked
him 6th in the country last year.
This would no doubt have impressed Tawanda Chiwira, a sub
21 second runner, who won the Senior Men's race in 21.48
Other grade one winning performances were spread across
the age groups. Harriet Robinson was an easy winner of the Junior Women's 100
hurdles with 14.72. In the Under 17's Scott Blackwell (51.02 for 400); Alex
AlAmeen (13.75 for 100 hurdles) and Alistair Tawanaee (55.26 for Hammer) all set
personal bests. The same was true of Joe Stockton with 53.35 in the Under 15's
hammer. Also in this age group Rebecca Taylor dominated the 800 metres winning
by over 7 seconds and the Club's athletes grabbed a full set of medals in two
events. One of these was the pole vault where winner Rachel Arnheim (2.50),
runner up Lauren Blackie (2.50) and bronze medallist Emily Godley (2.40) all
achieved National Grade One performances.
The other clean sweep came in the 2500 walk with a one,
two, three from Julia Stacey, Holly Williams and Jessica Bain, whose brother,
Robert, won the Junior Men's walk in 14.00.28.
A number of athletes achieved grade ones but did not win
their events and included Bobby Lockwood, (14.24 in the Under Men's shot),
Rachel King, (10.74, under 17 women's triple jump), Rachel Blackie, (40.49 Under
17 women's hammer), Shaunagh Brown, (31.03 Under 15 girls discus), and Richard
AlAmeen, (52.85 Under 15 Boys Hammer).
Highlights from the Surrey Championships were the
performances of Amy Godsell and Michael Whitehouse and 2nd claim member Mark
Covington. Godsell ran excellent grade ones of 25.3 in the under 17 women's 200
and 40.80 in the 300 but still missed out on gold. Likewise Whitehouse cleared
2.05 in the under 20 men's high jump but had to settle for 2nd. Covington, who
is first claim Guildford And Godalming, won the Hammer with 53.04.
At the Hampshire Championships there was a new best for
Patrick Boundy who won the javelin with a throw of 64.56.
Full results from the
County Championships are available on Club website.
* Last year the Club won 30 gold, 18 silver and 21 bronze
at the Kent County Championships
Harold Thompson
Such a fine set of County Championships would have
been of great satisfaction to Harold Thompson who died recently at the age of
87. He was a former Past President of Blackheath Harriers and always took
immense interest in the Club's current activities despite illness and having to
have his leg amputated in the last year.
While a pupil at Whitgift School, he did running but was
also a very good shot and competed for the team at Bisley on a number of
occasions including the occasion when they won the Ashburton Shield.
He joined the Club in 1935 and was a successful athlete
who performed with distinction over the half mile while at Imperial College,
gaining a purple (the equivalent of an Oxford Blue or a Lancaster Red). He also
represented the AAA's and Kent. He would run in all the Club's fixtures and was
still competing into his 50's which included taking part in the Centenary 100 x
1 mile relay. He was Editor of the Club Gazette for several years, Club
Archivist for over 30 years, and did much to help in the writing and printing of
the Club Centenary History. He was immensely proud to be made President of the
Club in 1966.
He thoroughly approved of the recent merger that created
Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC. A large number of Club members attended his
funeral in West Wickham last week. His sister Madge is now considering joining
the Club having been a supporter of its activities for the last 70 years!
Kent Young Athletes League, Deangate
The Club enjoyed a successful start to the new look
Kent Young Athletes League. With the demise of the Kent Women's League the
existing Kent Boys and Colts League has been expanded to provide competition for
Under 13 and Under 15 girls. Individual highlight of the day was a new Club
Record for Rachel Arnheim who cleared 2.60 to win the under 15 girls pole vault.
This also bettered the Under 17's record as well. Previous record holder Lauren
Blackie won the B string event. Shaunagh Brown won the discus by over 12 metres
but perhaps the most pleasing thing to note was the consistently high standard
of achievement across the whole range of events which allowed the Under 15s to
win by 44 points.
The Boys were not so successful team wise but there were
nevertheless some good performances which included a win for Richard AlAmeen in
the shot with 10.94 and a new best of 4.40.3 for Sam Simpson in the 1500 metres.
The Under 13 girls won by a huge margin, 83 points.
Highlight here was the 26.30 winning throw of Helen Silvester which would have
placed her just outside the top 10 in the country last year. No girl was outside
a top two place all afternoon. For the boys Stephen Cavey won the 200 by nearly
three seconds and the 800 by 9 while there were promising A string wins for
Stephen Camacho (100), Andrew Jordan (75 hurdles), Oliver Robinson (1500) and
Harry Beazley (shot).
Other results
A number of Club Members took part in the Sevenoaks 7 mile race in the
picturesque Knole Park and the Senior Men won the team race. First home for the
Club was Jamie Atkinson who finished in 39.22. Former winner Roy Smith was 6th
(41.13) and was also the first over 40 runner to finish.
Darryl Hilliar 16th (43.56) and Dave Ellison 20th (44.56)
completed the scoring team. First woman home for the Club was Angela Cook in
129th with 54.18. Some of the Club's walkers were recently in action at the UKA
Norwich Union Star Track One Minute Walking Challenge in Nuneaton. Second in the
Boys competition was Robert Bain who managed 265 metres. For the girls there was
good packing from Chelsea O'Rawe-Hobbs 11th (218m), Julia Stacey 12th (216m) and
Holly Williams 13th (215).
Robert Bain was in action again at the 9km race at
Blackheath where he set a new best at the distance of 44.22 to win by over 4 and
a half minutes. The was an improvement of over a minute on his previous best
despite a testing five lap course.
22nd. Southern Men's League, Southend and Richmond
22nd Southern Women's League, Norman Park
23rd. National Junior League, Sutton
24th. Kent Veterans League, Bexley
24th. B & B Schools Meeting with Myrtle Augee
26th. Club 5,000 metre championships
29th-30th South Of England Under 20/17/15 Championships, Watford
30th-31st CAU Inter County Championships, Bedford
11 May 2004
National Young Athletes League, Norman
Park
Blackheath & Bromley youngsters hopes of reaching the
final of this years National Young Athletes Final remain in tact after a good
win over a strong Harrow team in the first round match of the Southern Premier
Division at Norman Park.
This is the first time that qualification for the final
will be dependent on the combined points of the boys and girls rather than being
scored separately. Last year the Club's girls became the first Club from the
South Of England to win the National Final but the boys did not qualify for
either the main or Auxiliary finals. Add to this that controversially there are
only two places available in this years final for Southern Clubs and it was
clear that it was vital to start the season well.
The Club's youngsters rose to the occasion and the
talented squad achieved 13 National Grade One performances and swept up three of
the four Athlete Of The Match awards.
Stephen Cavey continued his outstanding start to the
season winning the Under 13 boys 800 metres by the length of the straight. His
time of 2.13.5 would have ranked him 2nd in the country last year and took over
a second off Abdi Madar's 10 year old Club Record. It gave him the Boys track
Athlete of the Match award. The field event award went to Joe Stockton for his
eye catching 53.12 throw in the Hammer. Unranked last year this distance would
have placed 2nd on last years lists and acted as perfect 67th birthday present
to his coach Mike Davies. Lauren Blackie picked up the girls field event award
for her 5.16 leap in the under 15 long jump and Serita Solomon missed out on the
track award by the thickness of a vest as she timed 11.4 to place 2nd in the
Under 15 girls 75 metre hurdles timing the same as Medway & Maidstone's
Catherine Wearing who got the award.
Daniel Haque produced two Grade One performances in the
sprints winning both the 100 and 200 in times of 10.9 and 22.7. Other grade one
sprint times came from James Alaka who timed 11.4 in the under 15 boys 100 and
Amy Godsell whose 12.1 in the under 17 girls 100 would have ranked her in the
top 5 in the country last year.
Top hurdlers Clare Cooper and Alex Al Ameen scored maximum
points in the under 17 age groups and there were some outstanding throws from
Stuart Harvey (59.65 in the under 17 men javelin); Richard Al Ameen (47.76 in
the Under 15's B Hammer) and the ever dependable Shaunagh Brown whose 31.00
metres in the under 15's discus won by over 10 metres.
These were just some of the individual highlights from
what was a first class team performance with athletes of all abilities from all
age groups contributing to this excellent result. It was particularly pleasing
to see both the under 13 boys and girls winning their age groups. The
contribution of those so new to sport promises a rosy future.
Match Result. 1st Blackheath & Bromley 472. 2nd Harrow
405.5. 3rd Medway & Maidstone 326.5. 4th Milton Keynes 261.
British League Division Two, Cardiff
A spirited effort by the athletes could not prevent a
very disappointing last place for the Senior Men's team in their opening
National League Division Two match in Cardiff. A lengthy list of absentees for a
variety of reasons was the cause of this slump which is hugely frustrating as
the squad is capable of challenging for promotion back to Division One.
Star performer of the day was Tawanda Chiwira, the Club's
Zimbabwian Olympic 400 metre runner who now lives in Plumstead. He sped round
the 400 in 47.65 for 2nd place but was disappointed with his time knowing that
he needs to take 2.5 seconds off this if he is to gain selection for his 3rd
successive Olympics. He also ran a 48.1 split in the 4x400 relay.
Other good performances on the track came from Fabian
Collymore who was 3rd in the 100 in 10.84; Barry Stephenson who timed 14.59.2
for 3rd in the 5000; and Giles Clifford who at the age of 40 was 4th in the 3000
steeplechase. Out in the field Tom Robinson added 30 centimetres to his seasons
best in the pole vault and it is only a matter of time before the talented
Junior is over 4 metres. Seasoned campaigner 45 year old Alan Hardy revelled in
his return to National League competition clearing 3.40 for 4th place in the B
string. Sam Bobb opened his outdoor season with 14.16 in the triple jump, and
Patrick Boundy, who did all four throws, launched the javelin out to 61 metres
with his last throw of the competition.
It was all not enough and the Club need to turn out a much
stronger squad for the next match in Liverpool in a months time.
Other
The Club were well represented at the mile race to celebrate the 50th
Anniversary of the breaking of the 4 minute mile. The race set off at 6 pm on
Thursday 6th of May the same time 50 years ago that Sir Roger Bannister broke 4
minutes for the first time. In the line up was Michael Skinner who helped set
the pace leading the runners on the third of the 4 laps helping Australian Craig
Mottram to win in 3.56.
From there Skinner headed to Balmoral to compete on the
roads over the same distance finishing 10th in 4.14.
Overseas Julian Golding was in action in an in Kingston,
Jamaica. He finished 4th in the 200 metres in 20.77 to show he is getting in
shape to gain qualification for the Great Britain team for this years Olympics.
Two of the Club's more senior members enjoyed success at
the British Masters "10" Throws Decathlon at Copthall. Gordon Hickey was 1st in
the over 70's age group while Colin Brand in his first ever appearance was 2nd
in the over 65s.
B & B Schools Meeting
There was a successful start to the Club's new series
of open meetings for schools at Norman Park. With the support of Nike open track
and field competitions for years 6, 7 and 8 are provided with medals for the
winners and certificates for the top 3 in each event.
The aim is to appeal to those who are new to the Sport and
to allow athletes to take part in different events to which they are used to. At
each of the three meetings a guest International athlete will be in attendance
and at the first one it was the Club's newest International Mohammed Sillah
Freckleton who was presenting medals and certificates and signing autographs.
Mo represented Great Britain in the World Indoor
Championships in March and is training hard to gain a place at this years
Olympics. He has been injured for the last two three weeks but after a good warm
up he was able to give a brief demonstration of hurdling to the gathered
youngsters.
There are two more scheduled meetings. On the 24th of May
shot putter Myrtle Augee, the England Captain at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
will be the guest International and on the 21st of June it will be the turn of
1998 Commonwealth Games 200 metre champion Julian Golding.
Entries should be made via the school. Further details can
be obtained from the Club's Schools Liaison Officer Paul Patten on 020 8777 8754
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
Forthcoming events
15th-16th County Championships, Ashford
22nd. Southern Men's League, Southend and Richmond
22nd Southern Women's League, Norman Park
23rd. National Junior League, Sutton
24th. Kent Veterans League, Bexley
24th. B & B Schools Meeting with Myrtle Augee
26th. Club 5,000 metre championships
4 May 2004
Southern Men's League
Blackheath & Bromley's Southern Men's League season
started reasonably well with a win for the Division One team in their match at
Woking and a 3rd place for the Division Three team at Horsham. However, it would
almost certainly have been a double win had more athletes been able to compete
and the success was due in part to a number of athletes doing more than their
share of events. Biggest points scorer for the team at Woking was Bomene Barikor
who competed in 4 individual events and two relays. He won the 200 and triple
jump in 22.7 and 13.17 as well as clocking 11.3 for 2nd in the 100 and
contributing a 50.0 split in the victorious 4x400 relay team.
Juniors Amir Williamson, Michael Whitehouse and Ian
Allerton all also recorded individual wins. Williamson launched the Senior
Hammer out to 49.68 in the last round of the contest to set a new personal best
and win the competition. Whitehouse leapt 1.95 to take the high jump but would
undoubtedly have gone higher but for the slippery run up.
Allerton easily won the individual 400 in 50.3 before
taking the B200 and anchoring the 4x400 relay team. Although he didn't win the
800, James Poole's personal best of 2.00.6 for 3rd showed it is only a a matter
of time before he breaks the two minute barrier.
Seasoned campaigners Nigel Keogh, Andy Hodge and Richard
Holt also weighed in with wins. Keogh won the 400hurdls and B 400 before
collapsing on the track with a calf injury while former 2.10 high jumper Hodge
won the 110 hurdles with some ease. Holt strode round the B 400 hurdles for a
comfortable win.
Out in the field veterans Alan Hardy and Gordon Hickey
scored more valuable points without which the Club would not have won the match.
Most notable performer at the match at Horsham was acting
Team Manager Mark Purser who led by example by competing in a staggering 11
events. Quality of performance generally had to take 2nd place to completing
events but he nevertheless recorded a very useful 62 seconds in winning the 400
hurdles.
Father and son, Ken and Chris Daniel, Jake Aust, David
Griffin, Mark Ellison and Chris Hogg comprised the rest of a very thin team
whose appetite for events nearly won them 2nd place in the match.
Ted Pepper Memorial 10km, Beckenham
Barry Stephenson was a runaway winner of the Club's
annual Ted Pepper Memorial 10km at Beckenham. The 22 year old schoolteacher
finished just one second outside his best with 31.39 and would more than likely
have gone faster had he had anyone to challenge him. The torrential rain may not
have helped either. Surprise package of the day was Steve Holmes who finished in
4th place with Roy Smith in 5th place and first over 40 finisher.
Kate Pratten was first woman home for the Club followed by
Carolyna Jones Baldock.
Race organiser Richard Coles was pleased with an entry of
over 200 with each finisher receiving a momento.
8th. British Athletics League, Cardiff
9th National Young Athletes League, Norman Park
15th-16th County Championships, Ashford
22nd Southern Women's League, Norman Park
22nd Southern Men's League, Southend and Barn Elms
23rd Natioanl Junior League, Sutton
24th Kent Vets League, Bexley
27 April 2004
Nike National 12 and 6 Stage Road
Relays, Sutton Coldfield
It was a very mixed day for Blackheath & Bromley at the Nike National 12
and 6 stage road relays at Sutton Coldfield. While the women's squad continue to
develop a presence at National level, the men's challenge petered out after 10
on the 12 legs.
Best performance of the day came from Michael Skinner, who
awoke in the morning to hear of the death of one of his training partners,
Windsor's Sam Haughian, in a car accident in South Africa. He recorded the 5th
fastest time of the day, an excellent 14.12 for the first short leg, a run which
propelled the team up to 3rd place after Barry Stephenson had brought the squad
in 17th on the traditionally competitive opening stage. Jamie Atkinson slipped
to 13th on leg 3 a position held by 45 year old Bill Foster on the next stage.
It was another veteran, 40 year old Dave Taylor, who ran
the Club's best long leg. He moved the team back up to 6th place, his time of
26.22 being the 9th fastest long leg of the day.
From here the Club began to slip despite a very useful
16.06 from Nick Gasson on the next short leg and brave efforts from Roy Smith,
Ciaron Osborn, Chris Hogg and Ken Daniel. However, fielding only 10 athletes in
a 12 man event is not good enough and the disappointment was exacerbated by
seeing the Aldershot squad claim victory in a time that a full strength B & B
team could easily better.
The women although never challenging for the leading
places performed solidly throughout and were rewarded with 25th place overall,
which made them the 4th Southern Club to finish.
Hannah Leach and Jennie Butler both returned from injury
lay offs to perform. Hannah brought the team home in 38th on the opening stage
with 19.55 before Jennie moved up to 32nd with 18.48.
Despite have run the London Marathon the previous week,
Clare Lodwig edged up a place with 21.18 before Diane Ballard pulled the squad
up to 27th with 19.51 a position held by Carolyna Jones Baldock on leg 5 with
20.59. It was left to Kate Pratten to anchor the team home in 25th with a 20.29
leg.
Southern Women's League, Reading
Despite the absence of a number of athletes, Blackheath & Bromley started
the Southern Women's League season with a win in their first round match at
Reading.
With only 6 actual Seniors at the match the Club were
heavily reliant on using under 17's but they rose to the occasion performing
with distinction winning 4 A string events. Rachel Blackie set a new Under 17's
Club Record of 41.28 to win the Hammer with previous record holder Vickie Thomas
securing maximum points in the B string. This record could be in for constant
amendment in the coming months.
There were personal bests also in the throws from Flo
Clark who won the discus with 34.21 and from Frances Athawes who smashed through
the 30 metre barrier for the first time with 30.52 to claim victory. Rachel King
was the Club's other A string winner soaring over 2.10 to win the pole vault.
Elsewhere on the field Katy Benneworth set a new best of
10.51 for 2nd place in the triple jump while Laura Betts won the B event in
10.48 as well as finding time to race the B 1500.
Best performance on the track came from Bella Clayton who
was 2nd in the 800 in 2.12.1. The matches also have hurdles events specifically
for under 17's and here maximum points were gained by Clare Cooper and Jo Wood.
The Under 15s were again outstanding with Serita Solomon
producing a lightning quick 100 metres of 12.4 and setting another best of 11.5
in the 75 hurdles. Both were National Grade One performances as were those of
Rebecca Taylor, 4.48.0 in winning the 1500, and Shaunagh Brown, first in th
discus with 31.53.
Lauren Blackie improved her best to 5.09 in wining the
long jump and there was a notable breakthrough for Katrina Cosby who timed 27.0
in the 200 in her first year in the age group.
Match result. 1. Blackheath & Bromley (195.5), 2. Crawley
(183.5), 3. Reading (169), 4. Herne Hill (155), 5. Chelmsford (135)
National Junior Athletics League,
Copthall
Both Men's and Women's teams made bright starts to the National Junior
League season in the opening Southern Premier Division match at Copthall. The
Division features the top South of England teams with the first four facing the
leading quartet from the North in the National Final in September.
With the men 2nd and women 3rd both are on course for the
Final but three tough matches remain.
Amir Williamson started the meeting off on the right note
for the men winning the hammer by ten metres in a best of 55.90, 3rd furthest in
the UK this year. His brother Alistair Tawanaee made it maximum points in the B
string with 45.27.
Michael Whitehouse, on his Club debut, was joint first in
the high jump with 2.05: Stuart Harvey fired out the javelin to a new best of
56.38 for 2nd; and Alex Pope flew over 4 metres in the pole vault for victory as
captain Tom Robinson secured maximum points in the B string.
Bobby Lockwood competed in the non scoring shot and discus
as he awaits clearance after moving from Cambridge Harriers but showed what an
asset he will be as he threw 14.07 and 45.07.
Diminutive Daniel Haque set new bests in the long and
triple jump but his real highlight came on the track. Still an under 17 he flew
round the 200 for a magnificent 22.0, only beaten by European Junior 100 metre
champion Leon Baptiste of Enfield & Haringey. Another new boy Tunde Balogun also
had to be satisfied with 2nd behind Baptiste looking impressive with an 11.1
time. More good points were scored in the 400 by Ian Allerton and Max
Richardson. Middle distance highlights came from James Poole and Danny Brewer.
Poole's reward for gutsy efforts in the 800 and 1500 were massive pbs of 2.01.3
and 4.17.0 while Brewer coped well against athletes up to 4 years older to set a
best of 9.47.8 for 3000.
David Holloway was a revelation in the long and short
hurdles with B string 2nd places of 59.5 and 16.8 while Alex Worley's season
began with a new best of 58.5 in the A string 400 hurdles.
As absorbing was the women's match as the team impressed
following promotion last season. The throwers again excelled with Christine
Lawrence and Frances Athawes claiming maximum javelin points with throws of
39.70 and 29.78. Duplication of this score in the Hammer was denied Rachel
Blackie and Vickie Thomas by an outstanding A string throw by Shaftesbury
Barnet's Sam Hynes who was just outside the League record. Together with Flo
Clark they also scored good points in the shot and discus.
There was more success in the jumps where Jade Castell
Thomas made a useful debut in the triple with a leap of 10.43. Rachel King
claimed 2nd in the B event but her highlight came in the pole vault in which she
cleared 2.30. Jade was also just off her best in the long jump with a leap of
5.11while Anna Smith leapt a promising 1.50 in the high jump.
More good performances came on the track with under 17
Clare Cooper claiming a double victory in the 100 hurdles and flat, her time of
15.2 over the sticks being a personal best. Another under 17 Amy Godsell's time
of 25.6 in the 200 was a new best in her opening race and promises much for the
year. Rebecca Syrocki gained a good 3rd in the B string in 26.2 while there was
more success in the 400 with Katherine McKinlay 2nd in the A string with 59.6
and Rachel Chadwick 3rd in the B string with 61.0.
International & Other
Sprinters Julian Golding and Dwayne Grant were in action at the Penn
Relays in Pennsylvania as part of a Great Britain representative team. They
teamed up with Newham's Daniel Plummer and Birchfield's Mark Lewis Francis to
finish 4th in an Invitational 4x100 metres that was won by the United States.
Golding and Grant were also part of a Commonwealth 4x200
metre team that failed to finish.
May the 6th will mark 50 years since Sir Roger Bannister
broke the 4 minute mile and one Club member will be playing an important part in
the Anniversary Celebrations at Oxford's Iffley Road track.
The British Milers Club will be staging a special mile
race at exactly the time of that run in 1954 and Michael Skinner will be one of
the pace makers. He will take the runners round to the three lap mark.
The Club's Sydney Wooderson, former World Mile Record
holder from the 1930s and an inspiration to the young Bannister, will not be
able to attend the event. He will be 90 later this year.
Forthcoming fixtures
April
30th Kent Veterans League, Dartford
May
1st. Southern Men's Leagues Div One and Three at Woking and Horsham
2nd Kent Young Athletes League, Deangate
3rd. Ted Pepper 10km Beckenham
8th. British Athletics League, Cardiff
9th National Young Athletes League, Norman Park
20 April 2004
Spencer Newport was Blackheath & Bromley's first athlete
home in the Flora London Marathon finishing in 45th place in a new personal best
of 2.22.31. He had been aiming to go under 2.20 but was nevertheless happy with
his performance as he felt far more comfortable than on his previous two
Marathon performances.
Rory Byrne was next home in 2.29.49 in 80th with Nick
Kinsey third in 2.41.26 in 229th while John McConville was the other Clubman
home inside 3 hours with 2.51.33.
First woman home was Clare Lodwig in 3.50.23 (8545th
overall) followed by Natalie Brightwell in 4.41.43 and Jo Kift in 5.01.01.
There were three other very notable performances. Mike
Peel (3.46.51) and Pete Shepheard (4.29.21) maintained their records of having
completed all 24 London Marathons that have been staged. Only 29 people have
done this. Dick Griffin dipped under 4 hours in 3.57.21 but the real
significance here was that it is the 100th marathon that he has completed.
Many of those competing did so in aid of the Parkinsons
Appeal to raise money to help secure the long term funding of the Deep Brain
Stimulation Unit at Queen Square, London.
There was great success for the youngsters in the London
Boroughs mini marathon, most noticeably in the 13 and 14 year old girls race
where Katie Murray won in 16.18 three places ahead of Rebecca Taylor.
Amy De Matos was 6th in the girls 11and 12 year olds race
closely followed by Jessica Bain who, although better known as a race walker,
was 8th and Danielle Critchley who was 10th.
First home in the other races were Stephen Cavey (14th in
the 11-12 boys race); Sam Simpson (21st 13-14 boys); James Poole (16th 15-17
boys) and Sarah Coombs (15th 15-17 girls) Full result are on the Club website.
Ostend Relays, Belgium
The Club enjoyed great success at the Ostend Relays in Belgium with the
Senior Men finishing in 2nd place, the Masters team coming 3rd and the Senior
Women making their debut appearance in the event.
The race for the Senior men consists of 10 legs of varying
lengths around a horse racing course. Joe Godsell got them off to the best
possible start on the opening leg of 800 metres bringing the team home in the
lead and Chris Daniel had one of his best ever runs to hang on to 2nd place on
leg two.
Jamie Atkinson and Barry Stephenson both had excellent
runs on the long 1200 metre legs while Veterans Nigel Keogh and Neil Ayrton ran
well despite having competed earlier for the Masters team. Here they picked up
the bronze medals despite having athletes as old as 53 year old Ken Daniel in
the team. Encouragingly a Senior Women's team finished in 13th and they promise
to return to finish even higher next year.
Sward And Kinnaird Trophy Meeting
The Relays Meeting in Ostend meant the Club fielded a very thin team at
the Sward And Kinnaird Meeting at Kingston. Aimed primarily at providing good
early season competition, some good performances were overshadowed by a serious
injury to Rob Chambers.
The 26 year old, who made his National League debut last
season, landed awkwardly in his opening leap in the long jump. A visit to
Accident and Emergency revealed a fracture tibia and depression of the tibia
below the knee. He remains hospital awaiting an operation.
It was a good day, however, for Daniel Haque. Still an
under 17 he set new bests in both the 100 and the 200 with times of 11.3 and
22.8 finishing 2nd and 3rd against Senior opposition.
David McKinlay warmed up for the British Universities
Championships in two weeks time as he ran 1.58.3 for the 800 to finish 2nd.
Daniel Campbell cleared 1.80 in the high jump and 70 year old Jim Day came 4th
in the pole vault with a clearance of 2.60. Andy Hodge was competing for the
Oxford and Cambridge University team, Achilles, and showed he is in good shape
timing 15.9 into a headwind in the 110 hurdles.
Forthcoming fixtures
April
24th Nike National 12 stage and 6 stage relays, Sutton Coldfield
24th Southern Women's League, Reading
25th National Junior Athletics League, Copthall
30th Kent Veterans League, Dartford
May
1st. Southern Men's Leagues Div One and Three at Woking and Horsham
2nd Kent Young Athletes League, Deangate
3rd. Ted Pepper 10km Beckenham
13 April 2004
Track And Field
International
Three of Blackheath & Bromley's leading track athletes
made useful starts to their outdoor seasons in America. Competing at Tempe, in
Arizona, 1998 Commonwealth Champion Julian Golding clocked 21.07 for 200 metres
into a minus 0.6 headwind.
Meanwhile over at Azusa, in California, World Indoor
Hurdler Mohammed Sillah Freckleton took time out from racing over the sticks to
sharpen his speed on the flat. He timed 11.12 for the 100 metres and then
followed with 22.05 for the 200.
Junior sprint specialist Montell Douglas continued the
fine form she has showed indoors over the Winter and was just 7 hundredths of a
second off her best as she timed 11.84 for the 100. Her 24.18 for the 200 was an
outdoor best and Junior Club Record although not as quick as she ran indoors
this Winter.
Alpha Beta Meeting Haringey
The Club finished in equal 4th place in the Alpha Beta
Meting at Haringey a fixture featuring an A and B competition with the bottom
two from the A match relegated to the B contest the following season. Promoted
last season, 4th showed the Club is consolidating it's position as one of the
leading Women's teams in the South Of England.
With the fixture featuring Senior and Under 15 matches it
was the performances of the youngsters that secured the Club's place in the A
match for next season. The Under 15 girls won their match by 29 points while a
mix of three actual Seniors plus Under 17 and under 20 athletes finished 8th.
There were three grade one performances in the under 15s age group despite the
strong winds. Shaunagh Brown improved her best in the discus to 33.60 to win by
nearly 10 metres, a performance that would have put her 4th ranked in the
country last year. It was also a new Club Record. Serita Solomon would
undoubtedly have gone quicker in the 75 hurdles had she not been racing into a
minus 2 metre per second wind. Her 11.68, over a second clear, was, therefore,
an exceptional performance as it would have placed her 13th in the country in
2003. In addition, her 12.97 victory in the 100 saw her defeat an English
Schools champion and two girls who'd beat her in the National Indoor
Championships over 60 metres.
Rebecca Taylor was a comfortable winner of the 800 in
2.18.34 and would have gone quicker but for the blustery conditions.
Personal bests abounded including double wins for Lauren
Blackie with 5.02 in the long jump and 1.48 in the high jump; Katrina Cosby with
27.77 in the B200 and 4.68 in the B long jump; and Amarah Taitt with 9.47 in the
A shot and 24.39 in the B Discus.
With personal best already achieved by her two Herbie
Kuenstlinger coached training partners 15 year old Flo Clark responded with one
of her own as she launched the discus out to 33.24 to finish 4th in the Senior
competition.
Highlight on the track for the Seniors came in the 400
metres where both Katy Porter and Rebecca Syrocki both won with ease in times of
58.92 and 61.96 respectively. Elsewhere under 17's Leanne Critchley and Alex
Wickham both showed promising early season sprint form against Senior athletes
while Christine Lawrence's 36.60 3rd place in the javelin would have been
further in more favourable conditions.
Individual
A number of Club athletes were in action at the
Tonbridge AC where three Mike Davies coached athletes achieved personal bests
and English Schools qualifying distances in the Hammer.
English Schools International Amir Williamson sent the
Junior implement out to 54.77 a distance that would have placed him 5th in the
country last year. His brother Alistair Tawanaee in the age group below threw
53.35 nearly two metres better than last year.
In the Under 15's Richard AlAmeen's throw of 44.59 was an
improvement of almost three metres on his best from 2003.
Williamson also set a new best of 40.23 in the discus with
Tawanaee throwing 35.48 and AlAmeen 26.22.
There were also some encouraging performances in the pole
vault where Simon Tolson won the Senior event with 3.70 but saw Alex Pope, who
he coaches, go 10 centimetres higher to win the Under 20 competition and equal
his outdoor best.
In the under 17's age group both Scott Huggins and Adam
Berry achieved new bests of 3.20 and 2.90 respectively.
On the track Bella Clayton timed a useful 41.4 for 300
metres to easily win the Senior Women's event and equally impressive were Daniel
Haque's 17.0 in the Under 17men's 150 metres and Scott Blackwell's 36.9 for 300.
In the junior age group Max Richardson's 1.26.0 and Ella Fisher's 1.39.6 showed
they will soon be setting new bests over 800.
London Marathon and Mini Marathon
Mark Steinle has been forced to withdraw from this
years London Marathon because of an achilles injury. The 29 year old has been
country's fastest male marathon runner for the last three years and had been
hoping to qualify for the Great Britain team for this years Olympics in Athens A
number of the Club's other top runners will be in action in the big event. Most
prominent of these should be Rory Byrne and Spencer Newport with the others
being of a whole range of ages and abilities. Many will be running in aid of the
Parkinson's Appeal for Deep Brain Stimulation. Deep Brain Stimulation allows
sufferers of Parkinson's Disease to lead a near normal life. The Appeal is
urgently seeking to raise £1.5 million to secure the long term funding of the
Deep Brain Stimulation Unit at Queen Square, London. This will provide a
dedicated operating theatre and equipment to facilitate an extensive research
programme, fund the training of neurosurgeons and ensure the operation will be
as widely available as possible on the National Health in perpetuity.
One person who would benefit from this treatment is one of
the Club's Vice -Presidents Les Roberts. Now aged 60 Les is a former World over
45s Champion at the 5,000 metres. Such treatment could allow him to run again.
In addition to the main event the London Mini Marathon also takes place with
teams from all the London Boroughs in action. A number of the Club's younger
runners will be representing the Borough of Bromley whose team is Boys 11-12
years. Stephen Cavey, David Peatfield, Cameron Ward, Nathan Jeffries, Jack
Howell, Ray Barton, Nicholas Day, Thomas Dillon-Hearn, Boys 13 - 14 years.
Michael Thorpe, Edward Martin, Ryan Smith, Danny Barbara, Robert Evans, Glen
Wheeler, Josh White, Sam Simpson. Boys 15 - 17 years. James Poole, Tom Beech,
Andrew Moulden, Daniel Brewer, Jonathan Vintner, Robert D'Angelo, Edward Senior,
Nick Graham Girls 11 - 12 years. Amy DeMatos, Rebecca Smith, Danielle Critchley,
Grace Power, Jessica Findlay, Katie Gibbs, Dannielle Barley, Jessica Bain. Girls
13-14 years. Rebecca Taylor, Hannah Garcia, Katherine Cunningham, Sarah McLellan,
Claire McNamara, Kellie Saul, Katie Murray, Samantha Day, Girls 15 - 17 years.
Sarah Coombs, Bryony Proctor, Vanessa Evans, Debbie Shearring, Sophie Williams,
Katherine Lau, Ella Fisher, Caroline McQuillan.
Forthcoming events
17th Sward & Kinnaird Trophy Meeting, Kingston
18th London Marathon and mini marathon
18th Wellington Relays, Ostend
24th Nike National 12 stage and 6 stage relays, Sutton Coldfield
24th Southern Women's League, Reading
25th National Junior Athletics League, Copthall
30th Kent Veterans League, Dartford
6 April 2004
Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC comfortably qualified for
the Nike National 12 Stage Road Relays when they finished 10th in the Southern
Championship at Milton Keynes.
They were helped in no small way by the long leg efforts
of Michael Skinner, Dave Taylor and Barry Stephenson. Skinner clocked the 7th
fastest long stage time of the day as he moved the Club up to 3rd place on leg
3. His time of 24.10 was just five seconds quicker than 40 year old Dave Taylor
on leg 5. Stephenson had set the Club up nicely on leg one as he timed 25.01 and
Russell Bentley in his first race since injury moved up to 5th on the short leg
2 with 17.34.
It was the loss of long leg powerhouses Spencer Newport,
Rory Byrne and Mark Steinle that cost the Club a higher position but Newport and
Byrne were putting together their final preparations for the London Marathon
while Steinle has an achilles injury. With these and others available the Club
has a squad more than capable of challenging for medals both at Area and
National level.
What was pleasing to see at Milton Keynes was the efforts
of Juniors Jamie Atkinson, Terry Hawkey and Tom Webb on the short legs together
with athletes such as Richard Hall and Ciaran Osborn who have progressed from
Wednesday night runners to represent the first team.
Stalwarts Peter Tucker, Chris Hogg and Richard Daniels,
who travelled over form Germany to compete, completed the B & B dozen. Leg 1.
Stephenson (25.01) 7th, 2. Bentley (17.34) 5th, 3. Skinner (24.10) 3rd, 4. Hall
(20.10) 10th, 5. Taylor (24.15) 7th, 6. Hawkey (18.43) 8th, 7. Tucker (27.34)
10th, 8. Atkinson (18.09) 9th, 9. Hogg (29.42) 11th, 10. Webb 19.17 11th,
Daniels (26.25) 10th, 12. Osborn (18.52) 10th
B & B warm up meeting
Athletes of all ages took part in the Club's warm up
meeting at Norman Park and although weather condition were not perfect, there
were nevertheless a number of promising performances.
The most notable came in the under 15's age group where
Shaunagh Brown's 31.82 in discus was just nine centimetres off her best from
2003 which ranked her 9th in the country. Likewise Rebecca Taylor's 2.16.9 in
the 800 equalled her best from 2003 when she was 14th quickest in the land.
There was not a huge turn out of Seniors but Joe Godsell's 17.4 and 35.9 times
in the 150 and 300 metre races suggest he will be comfortably through the 50
second barrier for 400 this year. Similarly Katy Benneworth's wins in 19.4 for
the 150 and 5.28 in the long jump showed promise for the season. Runner up in
the long jump was Laura Betts in her first competition for some time.
Hammer throwers Amir Williamson and Alistair Tawanaee took
time off from their main event and produced National Grade 3 performances in the
discus, Amir throwing 39.81 in the under 20 men and Alistair 37.55 in the under
17s. On the track in the under 17s the best performances came from Scott
Blackwell with 17.7 in the 150 and from Dominic Parsons who clocked 36.5 in the
300. For the girls Flo Clark opened her season with 28.91in the discus and new
member Rachelle Brace, who has joined the Club from Dartford launched the
javelin spear out to 32.53.
In the under 13's Stephen Camacho showed good ealry season
form winning the 100 in 14.2 to add to wins in the 200 and long jump. Perhaps
the best race of the day was the girls 800 where the lead changed throughout
with Amy De-Matos eventually winning in 2.35 from Rebecca Smith in 2.38.5 and
with Lucy Price, Jenny Linker and Danielle Critchley all achieving grade 3
times. Isobel Ivy leapt a useful 4.07 in the long jump.
There were also some outstanding performances in the older
age groups. Gordon Hickey putt the shot 13.07 in the over 70s age group and
Colin Brand sent the discus out to 37.76 and javelin to 39.32 in the over 65s.
On the track Maureen Miller timed 44.4 in the over 40s 300.
Forthcoming events
10th Alpha Beta Trophy Meeting, Haringey
17th Sward & Kinnaird Trophy Meeting, Kingston
18th London Marathon and mini marathon
18th Wellington Relays, Ostend
24th Nike National 12 stage and 6 stage relays, Sutton Coldfield
24th Southern Women's League, Reading
25th National Junior Athletics League, Copthall
30th Kent Veterans League, Dartford
