Last updated
20 May 2020
Press Releases for
April, May & June 2018
26/06/18
Southern League and Kent Champs
Southern League
The club hosted round three of the Southern League at Norman Park and after
a resounding win now lie 2nd in the league table a point behind Chelmsford.
There were some fantastic individual performances but the highlight of the
afternoon was the 4 ladies who combined to win the 4 x 400m relay in a club
record of 3.42.35 which had stood for 31 years. Some great solid solo
running by Krystal Galley, Holly Mpassy, Megan Walsh and Rachel Dickens saw
the team bring the baton home to win by a staggering 25 seconds.
To come away with a match win, as we did, is a tribute
to all of the athletes, coaches, officials and supporters who have worked so
hard to get us ready for the season.
On the day, we had great conditions, and throughout
the day, we scored well with a number of great performances, with Tremayne
Gilling and Duayne Bovell winning both the 100m races, Olllie Briars won the
B string 200m in a new pb of 22.72, Reece Young won the high hurdles in
14.87 and the men won both relays. In the field Luc Durant and Alex Pope won
both shots and there was a welcome return to competitive javelin throwing
for James Whiteaker who won with a massive throw of 72.49m.
In the ladies events Rachel Dickens and Krystal Galley
won both the 400m races, and Jess Neal and Bethany Panton won both 1500m
races, Steph Fisher and Magda Cienciala won both 400m hurdles and Izzie
Hilditch won the sprint hurdles. Ellie Osmond won the 2000m steeplechase in
a new pb and the ladies won both relays. There were many personal best and
seasons best performance across the team.
BMC Loughborough
At the Loughborough BMC grand prix there were several athletes on duty
including Jacob Brown who ran the 800m in 1.50.57, while Katy Ann McDonald
smashed her pb with 2.04.14 for second in the UK at under 20 level, while
Zakia Mossi ran an impressive new pb of 2.10.46 to lead the UK under 15
rankings by over a second. Josh Schofield also recorded a new 1500m pb with
3.52.20.
Combined Events at Ashford
At the Regional combined event at Ashford, Pedro Gleadall had a fantastic
two days in the Octathlon winning the under 17 age group with 5109 points ,
and in doing so broke the 1991 Noel Levy club record and recorded a new CBP
score. Looking good for decathlon when the pole vault is added. Lauren
Farley was a great 4th in the inter girls heptathlon, Zoe Austridge was 13th
and Pablo Seema Roca had a great (final event) 800m that took him from 18th
to 5th, a great finish.
Kent Champs
The Kent 3000 championships took place at Dartford last week and in the
under 17 race the club had a clean sweep with Morgan Squibb winning her
third track championship of the summer in 10.29.45, Zoe White finished 2nd
in her first ever 3000m in 10.02.21 and fellow debutant Bethany Panton third
in 11.07.89.
Nick Brooks
19/06/18
Young and Old in action this weekend
England Champs
At Bedford the England Athletics Champs were held for the under 23s and
the under 20s and the club had over 30 athletes participating. Many new pbs
and near pbs were needed just to compete with the country’s top young
athletes and we had a great deal of success.
In the under 23 ladies’ events there was a double
victory in the 100/200m for Shannon Hylton taking the 100m in a pb of 11.44,
Divine Oladipo won the shot with 16.28m and took 2nd in the discus, while
Sophie Dowson took 4th in the pole vault with the same height as the runner
up with 3.50m, and in the under 23 men events Will Fuller took the bronze in
the 1500m.
The under 20 athletes had even more success on the
medal table with wins for Alex Botterill in the 800m, Joss Barber and Lewis
Mills took 2nd and 3rd in the 3000m steeplechase both with new pbs, and
Ethan Brown was just pipped into second in the 400m in 47.21. In the ladies
under 20 events Annie Davies won the 100m hurdles in a new b of 13.75 with
Issie Hilditch third in 13.85, Bekah Walton took silver in the javelin with
47.56m with Eloise Locke 6th with a new pb of 42.07m. There were bronze
medals for Katy Ann McDonald with a near pb in the 800m (2.05.80), Rebecca
Hawkins in the high jump with 1.79m, and Holly Mills in the long jump with
6.20m. Other notable efforts from Louise Evans and Megan Walsh for 4th and
5th in the 400m and Jade Oni 5th in the triple jump.
Young Athletes League (YDL Under 13/15)
At Reading the youngsters were in action and wins were very hard to come by
due to the fierce competition from the 6 competing clubs. BBHAC eventually
won the match by 7 points from Tonbridge with 542.5 points leaving the club
top of the league after 3 matches with 17 leagues points with Reading second
on 13 points. Barring a catastrophe, the club are on track to make the
league finals in September.
In the under 15 boys events Amir Sultan Edwards
continued his fine form winning the 300m in 35.40 improving his club record,
Pablo Seema Rocca won the 800m, Jacob Byfield the long jump in a new pb of
5.92m, Barnaby Corry won the pole vault with an impressive new pb of 3.40m,
Dillon Claydon won both the shot and discus and the club won both relay
events. Emily Kerr won the under 15 girls 100m and Shakanya Osahon won the
300m, Naomi Toft won the 800m and Ellie Dolby won the 1500m. The team also
won the 4 x 300m relay.
In the under 13 boys events Dylan Carroll won both the
100m and long jump, and in the girls events Kilali Samuel-Horsfall Dejeva
won both the 75m and 150m.
British Masters Road
Peter Hamilton came 2nd in the British Masters o/70s 5k Road Champs at
Horwich in 21.48.
Nick Brooks
13/06/18
Diamond League Southern Counties, County Schools
and NCAA Action plus Geneva International
In the Diamond League events Dina Asher Smith clocked
10.92 for a new 100m UK record in finishing second in the Oslo event, and
went on to win the Stockholm 100m in 10.93. Adam Gemili returns to fine form
clocking 20.21 in Oslo in the 200m.
At the Southerns at Bedford, Scott Huggins won the
Senior pole vault with 5.00m and Jonathan Ilori set a new best of 16.28 for
2nd in the triple jump and he was also 2nd in the long jump with 7.07m.
Louis Mascarenhas was 2nd in the discus with a seasons
best of 49.24m and came 3rd in the shot with a new best of 14.92m. Kieran
Daly was 3rd in the 100 while Will Ruiz who set a pb in the 5000 and Lewis
Ely who got a seasons best in the high jump.
Sarah Abrams won the long jump with 6.09m, while in
the ladies under 20 events there were wind for Louise Evans in the 400m with
a new pb of 55.26, Katy Ann McDonald in the 800m equalling the championship
record in 2.06.56, Rebecca Hawkins in the high jump and Eloise Locke in the
javelin also with a pb of 41.57m. In the mens Under 20 champs there were 2nd
places for Korede Awe in the 100 and Joe Fuggle in the 400 hurdles; and
third places for Ethan Brown in the 200 and Joss Barber in the 1500. Hammer
thrower Ben Hawkes, who competes for us in the YDL only, won the hammer with
71.55m.
At the Midlands Championships, Dan Putnam took 2nd in
the Senior 200m as did Joe Rogers with a seasons best in the 400m.
At the NCAA Collegiate champs in Eugene it’s a great
achievement to make the final 24 for the finals and Jahisha Thomas leapt to
6.53m in the long jump for third spot and took 6th in the triple jump with
13.39m, and Divine Oladipo putt 16.55m for 9th in the shot.
At an international match in Geneva Shannon Hylton
clocked 22.99 with sister Cheriece clocking 23.99 in the 200m. Zara Asante
was 6th in triple jump with a leap of 13.02m for new pb.
At the Kent Schools at Ashford there were wins at
under 17 men’s level for Pedro Gleadall in the pole vault and Rico Cottell
in the 100m hurdles, while Lewis Mills won the senior boys steeplechase and
in the ladies under 17s there were wins for Morgan Squibb in the
steeplechase, Zsiriah Thomas in the 100m, Holly Mpassy in the 300m, Hannah
MacAulay in the shot and discus, Lauren Farley in the javelin and Lois
warden in the pole vault.
In the under boys there wins for Sam Reardon in the
800m and Pablo Seema Roca in the 1500m, while Jacob Byfield won the triple
jump with a massive new pb of 13.19m and Dillon Claydon won both the shot
and discus. In the girls’ races Emily Kerr won the 100m, Ellie Dolby the
1500m and in the under 13 girls Faith Mpassy won the high jump.
At the London Schools there were wins for Lara Mannes
and Sabrina Mannes in their 800m races, and Amir Sultan Edwards won the
junior boys 200m, while Zakia Mossi won the Middlesex Schools 800m in a new
record time.
Nick Brooks
5/06/18
Great team performances from senior men’s and
women’s teams
With the men competing in the BAL Division 1 League
match at Portsmouth and the ladies competing in the UK Women’s Premier
League at Eton, BBHAC had many great performances from our athletes this
weekend which secured the men’s team another second place and very much in
the places for promotion, while the ladies in the UK’s club top league
competition secured a fantastic third team place.
The team did not get these great rewards without some
very impressive individual performances. Both venues had superb conditions
with warm sunshine and mainly little wind. There were lots of highlights but
seeing Scott Huggins clearing 5.23m in the pole vault and making three good
attempts at a new club record of 5.30m was right up there. Welcome back
Kieran Daly in the sprints! Absent with injury for some while he won the 100
and 200 A strings. Jonathan Ilori won the triple jump by over a metre with
15.89 and Will Fuller edged first in the 1500 with Phil Sesemann making it
maximum points in the B string.
For the second fixture in a row we won more A strings
than any other club.
Just as thrilling for our supporters were B string
victories for Dan Putnam in the 200 in 21.31; James Habergham in the 800
(he’s competed at nine of the last ten matches); and Lewis Mills, 9.51.45
for his debut in the 3000 steeplechase.
Others making their debuts were James Lancaster, still
an under 20 but spectacularly 2nd in the A string hammer with 51.16; Alex
Nwenwu, 4th in the 110 hurdles; Josh Schofield, 3rd in the 5000; Korede Awe
in the 4x100; and Joe Rogers, 4th in the B 400 and also part of the 3rd
placed 4x400 team despite tweaking his hamstring in warm up.
Josh Barber was close to his best as he ran 9.37.02
for second place in the steeplechase; another under 20 Ben Sutton set new
bests of 6.84 in the long jump and Luc Durant was just outside his best with
14.69 in the shot. Then there was Alex “I’ll do anything” Pope competing in
seven of the eight field events, scoring 35 points and setting seasons best
in the discus, long jump and pole vault in the process. Lewis Ely set
seasons bests in the high and triple jumps. Ever dependable Jordan Layne was
solid in the 400 and 4x400 and Adam Herring again travelled from Norfolk to
run the 4x400. It was reassuring to have six non scoring 100 metre runners
among whom were Camron Lyttle and Shamar Thomas Campbell in their first
appearances for the team this season.
Years from now those present will tell of how they
were at the match when James Habergham (an 800m metre runner) threw the
javelin and Duayne Bovell (a sprinter) launched the discus. They will also
reminisce of the occasion when the Club moved another step closer to gaining
promotion back to the top division of the British League.
There is a long way to go but the table makes good
reading
1. Harrow 16 (735)
2. Blackheath & Bromley 14 (602)
3. Southampton 12 (588)
4. City of Liverpool 8 (562)
5. Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow 8 (496)
6. Sale Harriers 6 (493)
7. Kingston AC & Polytechnic 6 (481)
8. Herne Hill Harriers 2 (356)
At the ladies’ match there were many welcome returns
to the team with international sprinter Shannon Hylton winning the A string
100m in 11.51 and a great 2nd in the 200m in 23.21, Krystal Galley ran a
superb new pb for third in the 400m with 54.69 and Katy Ann McDonald
returned to form with a second place in the 800m in 2.08.20. Jess Keen ran
seasons bests for 5th in the A string 1500 and 3rd in the B string 800m,
while the remarkable Clare Elms clocked an impressive 10.14.70 in the 3000m
A string for 4th showing a clean pair of heels to many athletes more than
half her half her age. In the sprint hurdles both our athletes broke 14
seconds with Izzie Hilditch 3rd in the A string in 13.86 and Annie Davies
winning the B string in 13.98.
It was also great to see England rugby international
Shaunagh Brown back in action doing an Alex Pope by competing in multiple
throwing events to give her enough points for second place in the Hannah
Cordell trophy for most individual points scored, behind Shannon Hylton.
Sarah Abrams and Holly Mills both won the long jumps by considerable margins
with Zara Asante and Allison Wilder taking third spots in the triple jump,
while Deborah Martin took 2nd in the high jump with 1.75m the same as the
winner with Rebecca Hawkins winning the B string in 1.70m.
In both relays the teams were second losing narrowly
to Birchfield in the 4x100m and then just coming up 1/100th of a second
short in the 4x400m again to Birchfield who went onto to win the match with
239 points, with TVH last year’s winners second on 203 and Blackheath &
Bromley a mighty fine third on 195.5.
Elsewhere Adam Gemili clocked a great 200m time of
20.45 and Maya Bruney ran 23.97 in her 200m race against world class
opposition at a meeting in Hengelo in the Netherlands.
Nick Brooks
29/05/18
Under 17s and 20s in YDL action, Westminster Mile
and BMC Gold Races
YDL Bromley
It was the turn of the two older age groups to compete in the YDL held at
Bromley, and like the first match there was an emphatic team victory with
869 points, with Shaftesbury a distant 2nd on 727 points and Windsor Slough
Eton and Hounslow (WSEH) third on 653.3. So after two of the four matches
the league table has the same three teams in the first three places on
1697.5, 1448.5 and 1346.3 respectively leaving BBHAC with a healthy 250
point lead.
For the men Ethan Brown won the A string 200m in a new
pb of 21.64, Angus Harrington (new pb 1.54.44) and Benjamin Gardiner won
both 800 strings as did Ricky Lutakome and Abel Tadesse in the 1500m,
likewise Charlie Davis and Callum Myatt won both 3000m strings as did Lewis
Mills and Aaron Enser in the 2000m steeplechase, while Kelechi Aguocha won
the high jump with a pb of 1.95m and Kieron Sadler and Angus Harrington won
both javelin strings. The team also won the 4x400m relay.
In the under 17 mens events Oliver Briars won the 400m
with a massive new pb of 49.15 with Kieron Morgan winning the B string,
Oliver Bright and Matthew Francis won both 1500m strings, Rico Cottell won
the 100m hurdles with Oscar Heany Brufall winning the 400m hurdles with a
country leading 54.11 and Calaen Raju taking the B string. In the field
Harrison Thorne and Rico Cottell won the high jump strings, and star field
man of the day saw Pedro Gleadall win the A string discus, pole vault and
also the javelin with a massive new pb of 61.29m, and he also ran the first
leg in the sprint relay.
In the ladies events there was a double sprint double
for Immanuela Aliu and Parris Johnson, topped off by their U20 sprint relay
win; two fine 400m runs from Megan Walsh (2nd in A) and a Louise Evans win
in the B string and a massive new pb and top 8 national ranking; a great 300
from Holly Mpassy well supported by Natasha Bennett with the B string win; a
shot Pb for Lauren Farley (while doing the long jump at same time!) plus a
win in the javelin; double, winning pbs in the triple jump for Jade Oni (who
also won the long jump) and Karina Harris, with Zoe Austridge completing the
treble by winning the U17 event; a strong run in hot conditions from Jess
Keene in the 3000m, supported by Amy Leach with the B string win; the same
result in the 1500 steeplechase from Yasmin Austridge and Millie Smith;
another convincing sprint hurdles double from Issie Hilditch and Annie
Davies; similarly, a good double win in the hammer from Victoria Wiltshire
and Yinka Shokunbi; other throws wins for Hannah Macaulay (discus and B
string shot) and Anna Barnett (B string discus); and a win for the U17
sprint relay team.
BMC Gold Races Watford
The cream of the clubs middle distance athletes were in action in the BMC
races at Watford where the best performance of the day was run by Alex
Botterill in yet another 800m pb of 1.47.95 and closing in on Julian
Spooner’s 38 year old club junior record. Other fine runs from Jacob Brown
1.49.45, Ricky Lutakome 1.50.06 and James Habergham 1.54.70 with Andrew
Smith improving his 1500m best to 3.42.75 the metric equivalent of around a
4 minute mile. Dan Kennedy clocked 4.08.80 in his 1500m, and Katy Ann
McDonald ran 2.12.08 in the ladies races.
Westminster Mile
Many club athletes across the age ranges were in action with a first 4
across the line in the under 15 girls race with Ava White, Zakia Mossi,
Morgan Squibb and Naomi Toft, backed up by Ellie Dolby in 8th, Annie Thomas
10th, Jess Neal 15th and Sabrina Mannes 19th. Joss Barber was second in the
under 20 mens category, while Sam Reardon clocked a mighty impressive 4.33
mile for 9th in the under 15 boys event with Pablo Seema Roca 11th.
Elsewhere
Will Fuller became the second athlete this season to break 14 minutes in the
5000m gaining a new pb of 13.56.19, while at the Loughborough Javelin
Carnival, Bekah Walton threw a new club under 20 record of 48.50m. I can
also report from the previous week that Issie Hilditch clocked 13.98 for the
100m hurdles at the Loughborough international representing GB Juniors.
Nick Brooks
22/05/18
Loughborough International and Young Athletes
League
Many of our senior national league team athletes were
in action on Sunday at the Loughborough Intl meeting where Ethan Brown ran a
great 47.30 in the 400m to prove his recent personal best was not a one-off.
Also our sprinters were in action giving selector Pat Calnan a headache
ahead of the upcoming BAL match at Portsmouth with Kieran Daly clocking
10.66/21.40 in the 100/200m, Dan Putnam 10.73/21.91 and Dean Hylton and
Camron Lyttle 10.68 and 10.87 respectively in the 100m. In the ladies events
Immanuela Aliu clocked 11.99 in the 100m and Maya Bruney 24.06 in the 200m,
while Annie Davies ran 14.06 in the 100m hurdles.
In the distance events 18 year old Alex Botterill just
missed a pb in the 800m with 1.48,66 and Ricky Lutakome clocked 1.50.55.
Will Fuller just missed his 1500m pb with a highly respectable 3.45.67,
while in the field events Scott Huggins vaulted 4.95m, and Jonathan Ilori
triple jumped 15.81m and Zara Asante registered 12.45m in the ladies event.
At the time of writing as usual there are still no
Southern League results posted publicly from our Division One match at
Battersea Park but we believe we finished second to a strong Chelmsford
side. Among the ladies there were good wins for Katy Ann McDonald in the
800m, Morgan Squibb in the 1500m, Millie Smith in the 1500m steeplechase,
and solid runs from Duane Bovell in the 100m, Jordan Layne in the 400m and a
welcome return to the track for Alex Bruce Littlewood who ran well in both
the 1500m and 3000m picking up valuable points. Nana Okwesa won the triple
jump with new 13.07m pb and there was a win and a new pb of 1.90m for
Kelechi Aguocha who also managed a pb in his B string triple jump win.
At Highgate at the night of 10,000 metres events Ross
Braden ran a 33.08.96 and a new pb.
The under 13 and 15 teams were in action at the YDL
match at Bromley and after a disappointing first match performance where
originally BBHAC were given third and later amended to second, this time
around there was an emphatic team win with 561.5 points to Havering’s 531
and Tonbridge third on 490 leaving BBHAC on top of the league table with
Reading second and Havering third.
Competition was fierce and many of our athletes had to
gain pbs to keep the team ahead with 2 A string and 2 B string wins for the
under 13 girls, 2 A string wins for the under 13 boys, 6 under 15 girls A
string and 5 B string wins but best of all the under 15 boys delivered 12 A
string and 5 B string wins.
There were many outstanding performances but none more
so than the 300m effort from Amir Sultan Edwards who smashed the club under
15 record with 35.54 and easing down, which ranks him third all time in the
UK and for good measure he won the 200m in a new pb of 22.79. Also in this
age group the boys won both relays, Same Reardon and Pablo Seema Rocca won
the 800m and 1500m, Barnaby Corry won the pole vault, Jacob Byfield won the
long jump with a 5.76m pb, Dillon Claydon took both the shot and discus and
Tyreece McLaughlin-Green won the hammer. In the under 13 boys events
newcomer Dylan Carroll won both the long jump and 100m.
For the under 15 girls there were wins for Emily Kerr
in both the 100m and 200m both in new pbs, Shakanya Osahon won the 300m,
Naomi Toft won the 800m, Zakia Mossi the 1500m in a new sub 4.40 pb and the
team won the 4 x 300m relay. In the under 13 girls Kilali Samuel-Horsfall
Dejeva won both the 75m and the 150m.
Monday night also saw many club athletes in action
despite many of them competing at the weekend as well and pbs were in
abundance. At the time of writing no confirmed results were available.
This weekend the under 17 and 20 teams are in action
at Norman Park on Sunday in the YDL upper age group event.
Nick Brooks
16/05/18
Middle Distance extravaganza, US achievements and
Kent County Champs
Sportscity hosted some of the UKs finest middle
distance athletes in the BMC event and the club had 6 athletes taking part.
Teenager Alex Botterill ran a great new 800 pb in 1.48.47 in the main race
won by a 15 year old in 1.47.50 for a new world age 15 record. James
Habergham also ran a pb of 1.51.80.
In the 1500m new boy Andrew Smith clocked 3.43.75 for
a pb and Phil Sesemann broke 14 minutes for the 5000m for the first time
winning the main race in 13.59.27 with second claimer Graham Rush not far
behind in 14.11.27. Will Ruiz also continued his fine form also clocking a
new pb with 15.25.87.
On the collegiate circuit in the US Joseph Ellis
bettered the club hammer record again with a mighty throw of 72.72m while
Jahisha Thomas leapt out to 6.55m in the long jump for 4th in the UK
rankings. Oliver Newport also recorded 7.43m in the mens long jump.
Scott Huggins has been selected to represent Scotland
in the Loughborough International meeting.
It was also the county championship across England and
the club had many athletes competing far and wide with the biggest
contingent at the Kent event in Ashford over two long days.
Notable winners in the 100m under men were Korede Awe
in 10.77 and Katia Cienciala in the under 17 womens event and Emily Kerr
winning both the under 15 girls 100m and 200m events in pbs of 12.63 and
pb.25.81, while Ethan Brown won both the 200m and 400m in the under 20 mens
events, 21.66 in the 200m giving him a new. Holly Mpassy won both the under
17 ladies 200m and 300m and Oliver Briars won the under 17 mens 400m, with
Louise Evans winning the under 20 ladies 400m.
To the middle distance events and there were wins for
Morgan Squibb in the under 17 ladies 800m and steeplechase, Ellie Dolby won
the under 15 girls 800m and 1500m, Sam Reardon won the under 15 boys 800m
and set an extravagant new pb of 2.03.88 in qualifying, Angus Harrington won
the under 20 mens 1500m and Pablo Seema Rocca the under 15 boys 1500m in a
new pb of 4.17.70. In the senior events Clare Elms now back to form won the
ladies 5000m with Amy Leach 2nd.
In the hurdles President’s son Jacob Byfield won the
under 15 boys 80m hurdles in a new pb of 12.35m, he also won the long jump
and triple jumps by clear margins. Rico Cottell won the under 17 mens 100m
hurdles and Coleman Corry set a new pb of 57.52 in winning the under 20 mens
400m hurdles. In the ladies under 17 1500m steeplechase Millie Smith won
comfortably, Rob Donohue won the senior mens event over 2000m and Lewis
Mills won the under 20 event. Isabelle Bridge won the under 17 ladies 3000m
walk by almost 2 minutes.
In the field there were high jump wins for Deborah
Martin and Rebecca Hawkins in the senior and under 20 events respectively
and Pedro Gleadall won the under 17 mens event and also the pole vault. A
great deal of success was had in the pole vault with Scott Huggins winning
the senior mens event, George Pope won the under 20s and getting to 4m in
the process, Lois Warden won the under 17 ladies vault and Barnaby Corry won
the under 15 boys event with a new pb of 3.15m. Myles Xavier won the under
17 mens long jump with a 6.43m pb and Ben Sutton won the under 20 event.
Louis Mascarenhas retuned to form winning both the senior mens shot and
discus with Dillon Claydon taking the under 15 boys shot and discus crowns
and Anika Olalere winning the under 20 ladies shot. Hannah MacAulay won the
under 17 ladies discus and Carys Marsden won the under 20 event. In the
ladies under 20 hammer Victoria Wiltshire won, Pedro Gleadall completed a
triple win by taking the under 17 mens javelin with Eloise Locke winning the
under 20 ladies event and Lauren Farley won the under 17 ladies event.
This weekend sees the YDL under 13 and 15 teams in
action at Norman Park on Saturday and the mens and womens senior team now
top of Southern League Division1 in action at Battersea Park on Sunday.
Nick Brooks
7/05/18
Over 100 BBHAC Athletes in action over busy Bank
Holiday weekend – Men second in BAL, Maya Bruney win BUCS 400m title
National League Division 1
At Eton in perfect warm and still conditions,
BBHAC senior men were in action in the British Athletics Division 1 match
with many new members on display. Despite many athletes being unavailable as
this for some reason cashed with the BUCS Champs, Blackheath rallied well in
the last 5 events to secure 2nd place on 293 points behind Harrow on 380 but
ahead of Southampton on 285.
Teenager Ethan Brown ran very strongly and despite
being caught with 80m to go used his strength to pull away to record a great
new pb of 47.19 in the 400m making him the fastest under 20 in the UK.
Another teenager making his debut was Alex Botterill who is the Commonwealth
Youth Games champion, who ran very maturely outkicking his rivals to win the
800m in 1.51.42. Phil Sesemann ran a very relaxed and controlled race in the
3000m pulling away over the last 1000m to win in 8.25.31 and winning by the
length of the home straight.
Tom French won the long jump with 7.26m and won by
40cm, while Scott Huggins entered the pole vault at 4.80m as all but one had
finished the competition, and after knocking down his opening height went on
to win with a great 5.10 vault. To round things off the mens 4X100m of
Duayne Bovell, Dan Putnam, Kyle Reynolds-Warmington and Toby Olubi combined
well to win the relay, and the team in the 4x400m relay secured a solid
second, with Adam Herring running a massive new pb of 50.4 on leg 3 having
travelled from Norwich just to run in the relay. Dan Kennedy was our only B
string winner in the steeplechase with a new pb. Besides those already
mentioned there were a series of pbs for Will Ruiz and Lewis Mills in the
1500m with 4.04.77 and 4.07.25 respectively, Charlie Davis with 10.03.18 on
the 3000m steeplechase, Kelechi Aguocha with 1.80m in the high jump and
Angus Harrington 44.93 in the javelin.
The race for the Graham Botley Memorial trophy for
most individual points in a season is well under way with Alex Pope leading
on 26, Dan Putnam last years winner on 24 and Ethan Brown and Alex Botterill
on 19.5 points. The second match in June is at Portsmouth.
Ted Pepper Race
In Mondays Ted Pepper race over 10km at Norman Park the club had 28 athletes
among the 407 finishers. Last years winner Ross Braden was second this year
with Luca Ercolani 7th, Roger Beswick 8th and Tony Crowder 9th.Carole
Penlington was second lady home in 32nd place and Amy Leach third lady to
finish in 36th.
BUCS Champs
At the BUCS Champs held over three days at Bedford the club had many top 10
finishers representing their respective Universities and Colleges with
Camron Lyttle 6th in the 100m, Vivien Olatunji 7th in the ladies 100m, Mary
Adeniji 7th in the ladies triple jump and Louis Mascarenhas 5th in the shot
and 4 in the discus.
On the final day Maya Bruney continued her winning
ways by winning the ladies 400m crown in a new pb of 53.10, and Joe Fuggle
lopped a huge amount of time of his pb for second in the mens 400m hurdles
with 52.56. Will Fuller also ran a lifetime best for 4th in the 5000m with
14.05.97, Sam Milner threw 43.61m for 6th in the ladies discuss and Joss
Barber ran 9.37.72 in the steeplechase for 10th spot having run new pb in
qualifying of 9.32.61. Jess Keene ran a pb in the ladies 5000m with
17.51.07.
At the Newham Open 100m series Dean Hylton clocked
10.71 and Immanuela Aliu ran a new pb with 11.88.
Nick Brooks
2/05/18
Young and Old in action for BBHAC in a typical
weekend – new club hammer record and ladies discus record.
The Upper Age of the Young Athletes Development (U17
and U20) took place at Reading in cold and windy conditions but the team
performed admirably and won the match convincingly with 764.5 points from
Shaftesbury 664.5 and Windsor with 633. Yasmin Austridge broke her own club
record in the ladies under 20 steeplechase with a 4.53.6 clocking. There
were some excellent early season efforts from Bekah Walton in the javelin
(supported by Eloise Locke, Lauren Farley and Daisy Dowling), Jade Oni, on
her League debut, in the long jump and her speciality, triple jump, Carys
Marsden and Yinka Shokunbi in the hammer, Issie Hilditch and Annie Davies in
the 100mH, Holly Mpassy in the 300m and a number of the middle distance
ladies, especially Sophie Hoare, Lucretia Polloni, Morgan Squib and Millie
Smith, with pride of place going to Ava White (U17) who followed up an
impressive win in the 3000m with another win in the U20 800. This was all
rounded off by 3 good relay wins.
Elsewhere at the London Colleges open event Amir
Sultan Edwards broke the club 400m record for under 15 boys with 50.52
eclipsing a record which has stood since 1996. At the Loughborough trials
Dan Putnam recorded 10.91/21.81 in the 100m and 200m with Camron Lyttle
clocking 10.95 in the 100m. Will Fuller opened his 1500m account with a
3.50.01 timing, James Habergham ran a pb in the 400m with 51.3 and Joe
Fuggle ran a great 53.73 in the 400m hurdles. In the ladies events Niamh
Bridson Hubbard ran 9.51.06 in the 3000m.
At the Penn Relays in Philadelphia Divine Oladipo
broke her own club record by over a metre in the ladies discus with a throw
of 54.23 and Joseph Ellis smashed his own club record in the mens hammer
with a truly international performance of 72.16m in Fayetteville. In
Louisville, Kentucky Oliver Newport leapt out to 7.35m in the long jump and
Jahisha Thomas leapt to a windy 13.32m in the ladies triple jump in Des
Moines, Iowa.
Only one team from Blackheath & Bromley competed at
the British Masters Athletics Federation road relays at Sutton Coldfield.
Our M65’s were delighted with a silver medal behind a powerful Oxford squad.
The event comprises a team of three each running 5km. 70 year old Peter
Hamilton clocked 22.22 on the hotly contested first leg, finishing 7th
overall and handed over to Rob Brown who scythed through the field to 3rd in
22.01. Bob Minting then took the team up to silver with a 22.21 clocking.
Nick Brooks
17/04/18
Commonwealth Medals for Dina and Southern League
Success
In the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast,
Dina Asher-Smith ran brilliantly for a bronze medal in the women’s 200m
final with a time of 22.29 and in doing so beat Olympic champion Elaine
Thompson into 4th place. Later in the week Dina ran in England’s 4 x 100m
relay team running a strong second leg giving England an unassailable lead
going into the last keg which was run by Lorraine Ugen a former B&B athlete
to anchor the team to winning gold medals.
Adam Gemili who had withdrawn from the men’s 100m
final having qualified among the fastest athletes was unable to compete in
the mens 4 x 100m relay which England also went onto win.
Southern League
Close to home at Bromley’s Norman Park, the
first match of the Southern League season took place with new manager team
Nick Swatton fielding many of the clubs youngsters, many of who we will see
in action in the Youth Leagues as well. Conditions were perfect as the
weather was warm and the wind was not aiding or hindering the athletes. In
the mixed match B&B had 10 men winners in the A string events with the
ladies gaining 11 wins, and in the B string events the men had 7 winners and
the ladies 14.
There are far too many performances to mention but the
highlights were undoubtedly seeing Pedro Gleadall clearing a new pb of 4.30m
to win the pole vault, and having three good close attempts at 4.42m in
trying to take the under 17 club record. Although he missed the record he
will beat it this season on another day. Youngster Oscar Heany-Brufall
stormed around the 400m hurdles to win in 55.69 for a new pb, while Morgan
Squibb made her debut in the 2000m steeplechase and won by almost a minute
also just missing the under 17 club record by 8/10 of a second with 7.20.97.
With some water jump coaching this record won’t last much longer.
The ladies 4x400m team of Megan Walsh, new girl Louise
Evans who earlier won the 400m in a new pb of 56.36, Rachel Dickens who
earlier had won the 200m and European junior 200m champion Maya Bruney,
combined to win with a new league record of 3.49.05 winning by the length of
the home straight.
National 12 Stage Road Relay
Also the senior men’s team were in action in Birmingham’s Sutton Park
and they finished a highly respectable 32nd with a time of 4.45.29. Will
Fuller got the team off to a good start coming home in 20th place and after
that the team ran solidly and always finishing each leg between 29th and
32nd place. Will was our fastest long leg runner with 27.17 while Will Ruiz
ran 28.39 as our second fastest, our fastest short leg runners were Joss
Barber with 16.54 and the evergreen vet Alex Gibbins with 17.17.
|
1 |
Will Fuller |
27.17 |
20 |
|
2 |
Georges Vacaharopoulos |
17.22 |
29 |
|
3 |
Ross Braden |
29.08 |
31 |
|
4 |
Joss Barber |
16.54 |
31 |
|
5 |
Will Ruiz |
28.39 |
29 |
|
6 |
Tom Desborough |
18.58 |
32 |
|
7 |
Chris Tuck |
30.25 |
32 |
|
8 |
Marco Arcuri |
18.19 |
32 |
|
9 |
Dan Kennedy |
29.15 |
31 |
|
10 |
Alex Gibbins |
17.17 |
31 |
|
11 |
Danny Brewer |
32.17 |
31 |
|
12 |
Richard Byford |
19.38 |
32 |
Gravesend Race Walking
The Cecil Gittins meeting at Gravesend was greeted with Summerlike
conditions which were very welcome after the rain but less welcome for those
competing as the higher temperature added to the hills and bends on the
course to make the races, especially the 15km, even harder. A very unfit
Peter Hannell battled over the first 5km with difficulty and settled for the
shorter event only to be embarrassed by being first home against the older
competition including 85 year-old Ken Livermore. At the other end of the age
scale were two of Shaun Lightman’s Blackheath charges doing one 2.5 km lap.
Abi Smith, now in the Under 15 group, won the race while Katie Brash was the
only Under 13 and it was the latter who had better performance over what was
for her a long and hard distance.
2.5 km Girls
1. A.Smith (B&B 1st U15G) 15 min 2 sec; 2. C.Wallis (AFD U15G) 15 min 43
sec; 3. M.Morris (M&M U17G) 15 min 45 sec 4. K.Brash (B&B 1st U13G) 16 min
33 sec.
5km Men
1. P.Hannell (B&B M75) 36 min 24 sec
Nick Brooks
12/04/18
Harriers on the move!
For more than 90 years Blackheath & Bromley Harriers
AC have operated from their headquarters in Bourne Way, Hayes, but changes
are afoot to move their base to Norman Park to be closer to their training
track. At last month’s AGM, Club members overwhelmingly voted in favour of
developing a new community sports centre adjacent to the athletics track in
Norman Park, Hayes Lane, Bromley. The decision was reached after years of
investigation and consultation with interested parties.
This is a big commitment for the club as it will mean
selling their existing freehold clubhouse and investing the sale proceeds
and reserves as well as undertaking major fundraising activities to raise
sufficient funds to enable them to complete the project in time to celebrate
the Club’s 150th anniversary in 2019.
Whilst ensuring the long term future of athletics in
the borough the club also aims to provide a venue for other local community
groups which run sports, leisure and fitness classes. The centre will
provide catering, toilets, changing rooms, a strength & conditioning suite
and a number of multi-purpose rooms available for hire for meeting or by
medical practitioners to provide physiotherapy and sports massage.
Alan Pickering, Chairman of the trustees, said “Sadly,
good news stories are rare these days. However, athletics in the London
Borough of Bromley is a beacon of optimism. Not only did the Club have its
best ever year in 2017, the Norman Park development will secure our pivotal
position in British Athletics and be at the heart of the local community.
Every family in the local community will receive a warm welcome when they
visit the new home of Blackheath and Bromley Harriers AC.“
The planning application for the building has just
been submitted to Bromley Council Planning Department by Architect, Zareen
Rahman of Zendium Design and a successful outcome is hoped for this summer
to enable work to commence by the Contractor, Paul Barthorpe of The
Construction Project Limited at the beginning of September.
“The new facilities at Norman Park will, when
completed provide an excellent, modern, indoor space for athletes to train
in during the winter months and in addition offer fantastic leisure and
fitness opportunities for the wider community.“ Said new Club President,
Paul Byfield.
The Club would be interested in talking to potential
users and funders of the centre.
Notes to Editor
Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC is one of the UK’s oldest clubs and thrives
today, with over 850 members and is a registered charity. To the wider
public the club is perhaps best known for its senior athletes’ recent medal
winning successes at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London of Adam
Gemili and Dina Asher-Smith, both of whom had already competed with
distinction at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Success at the elite level is based upon excellence in
the younger age groups. B&BHAC teams finished in first place in both the
lower and upper age groups in the Youth Development League (Southern Premier
Division) in 2017, and won the Kent Young Athletes League. Last September,
the Junior Girls team took third place at the European Junior Clubs Cup
Final. B&BHAC’s young athletes also excelled individually in 2017 winning
numerous medals at the European Under 20 Championships, Commonwealth Youth
Games and National Championships.
This competitive success is supported by a dedicated
group of coaches, team managers and volunteers who give up their time for
free. The Bees Academy which operates from Norman Park for children aged
between 5 - 11 acts as a feeder into the Club.
For further information please contact:
Chris Hilditch - Trustee - Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC
Tel: 07990 861125 E-mail:
hilditch517@btinternet.com
Tim Soutar - Trustee - Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC
Tel: 07896 309708 E-mail:
tim@timsoutar.co.uk
10/04/18
Gemili makes Commonwealth 100m final but has to
withdraw
Adam Gemili qualified as second fastest athlete for the Commonwealth
Games 100m final in 10.11 but had to be withdrawn with an abductor strain on
doctors advice, which meant then he could not also be part of the England
team in the 4x100m relay. Lets hope its precautionary and that he has a full
season ahead.
Tonbridge AC Easter Open Meeting 3km walk
The SWC presence at this big open meeting was only in the coaching and
judging aspect but Shaun Lightman’s coaching group were represented by Abi
Smith (B&B). With damp and windy conditions results were mixed with Abi in
the middle of her trio and a little down on her best but inside 18 minutes.
Lee Valley Open
First chance to test themselves outdoors ahead of the first southern
league match on Saturday at Norman Park, several athletes competed at the
Lee Valley Open. There were pbs in the pole vault for Pedro Gleadall with
4.25m, George Pope with a pb of 3.93m, and Ellie Barrett also a pb with
3.30m. Pedro also made a comeback in the javelin with a solid 53.51m.
Elsewhere
Jahisha Thomas competed in Baton Rouge in the US and jumped a mighty 6.44m
on the long jump but with an illegal tailwind of 3.7m. A great start the US
Collegiate outdoor season. The previous weekend Jonathan Ilori jumped a new
personal best of 16.13m in the triple jump in Texas.
Nick Brooks
