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Apr & May 2002

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Last updated 5 June 2002

Press Releases for April & May 2002

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28 May 2002

Blackheath Harriers, Bromley's Mensah Elliott was left fuming after being disqualified after winning the 110 hurdles at the Inter Counties Championships at Bedford. He stopped the clock at 13.89 with a legal following wind to finish three hundredths of a second ahead of 1998 Commonwealth Games 4th placer Paul Gray from Cardiff. His delight at claiming his first Inter Counties title quickly evaporated when he was judged to have deliberately knocked down hurdles to win. Incredulous at the decision, Elliott appealed but this was rejected by officials who refused to look at a video recording of the race to support the protest.

"I am very very disappointed" said the Blackheath captain. "There is no way that I would deliberately knock down hurdles. You can't do that running at that pace. I'm upset that it is implied that I was cheating. I am going to appeal again against this decision and want my time to be recognised for what it is, a Commonwealth Games qualifying performance". Fellow hurdlers were quick to support Elliott with Paul Gray, elevated to the first place, offering him his gold medal. Ironically the Club's other top hurdler Mohammed Sillah Freckleton also fellow foul of officials at Bedford for the same reason earlier in the year at the South Of England indoor Championships. Like Elliott, he was baffled and angered by the decision. He was told that it was the result of an objection raised by another athlete but was not allowed to know who had raised the protest. At Saturdays Championship, Sillah Freckleton just missed out on a place in the final by .01 of a second timing 14.69 in his heat.

There was better news for Dwayne Grant who appears to have made a seamless transition to the Senior Ranks. He finished in 2nd place in the 100 in 10.59 behind Olympic 200 metre representative Marlon Devonish and this followed an excellent 20.9 for 200 metres the week before at a race in Ireland. Missing from the Final was the Club's fastest man of the year Daniel Plummer who beat Devonish the week before at Loughborough. He won his semi final in 10.42 but had to withdraw from the final with a hamstring strain. A similar injury also forced the withdrawal of Jonathan Barbour, but, on the plus side, European Indoors 60 metre representative Lash Lashore returned from injury to time 10.71 in the semi final.

Elsewhere on the track Alloy Wilson timed a season's best of 48.61 in the 400 metres; Martin Airey went out of the heats of the 800 with 1.54.83; and Peter Hannell was 8th in the 3km walk. In the field Levi Edwards was 6th in the long jump with 6.71 and super veteran Allan Williams finished 11th in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.10.

Outstanding performance of the weekend at the Southern Under 20's Championships at Watford came from Stuart Harvey in the under 15's javelin. His opening throw of 52.31 smashed the Championship record and broke the Blackheath Club Record which had been held by former English Schools Champion Gerald Harrison since 1986. The Brian Benn coached athlete's throw left him over three metres clear of the 2nd placed athlete.

There was another Club Record in the under 15 girl's shot where Victoria Thomas added one centimetre to her existing record as she putt 10.63. Sprint hurdles record holder Clare Cooper, recovering from injury, finished 5th in her final in 11.95. It was 5th also for training partner Harriet Robinson in the 300 hurdles in the under 17's age group where her time of 46.78 was also a personal best. She also finished 9th in the long jump while Clare Silvester was 8th in the javelin in 26.65.

Alex Pope had a successful time in the Under 17 Men's throws. He was 4th in both the shot and javelin, his 12.95 in the putt being a significant improvement on his best. Neil Simpson was the highest placed Harrier in the Under 20's competition with a 4th place in the 200 metes in 22.18. Ian Allerton set a new best of 49.61 for 5th in the 400 metres and Fabian Collymore claimed 6th place in the 100 in 11.06. Joe Godsell showed that metatarsal injuries are not the sole preserve of the nation's top footballers as he pulled up with the same injury while warming up for his 800 metre final. Terry Hawkey was 10th in the 1500 in 4.03.13.

A team from the Club finished in 9th place at the British Veterans National Road Relays at Sutton Coldfield. The team of Barry O'Gorman (19.19), Joe Clare (20.01) and Alan Davis (19.37) timed a total of 58.57 for the 3x3 mile race. There is a three page article on the Club in the latest edition of Running Fitness magazine. The item centres around the Club's annual mob match against South London Harriers and contains many pictures of the Club's athletes and facilities.

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21 May 2002

Blackheath Harriers, Bromley's Senior Men team produced a mixed set of results at the first British Athletics League Division Two match of the season at Bedford. While some of the performances were top quality, some were not so strong, giving the Club 5th place out of 8.

The Club will need to field stronger teams in the remaining three matches if it is to claim one of the two promotion places. Anthony Draper was nominated as the Blackheath Man Of The Match award for his 1.49.6 winning run in the 800 metres. Trailing in his wake was Windsor's James McIlroy, one of the fastest runners in the country. Martin Airey secured maximum points in the B string. This was Draper's first British League match for two years and there were also welcome returns for Joe Mills and Spencer Newport who both took 3rd places. Mills timed 3.58.0 in the 1500 while Newport clocked 14.40.7 in the 5,000.

Captain Mensah Elliott and Mohammed Sillah Freckleton defied the blustery to win both strings in the 110 hurdles in 14.1 and 14.7, and Nange Ursell won an exciting 400 hurdles race in 54.0 his fastest ever opener to a season.

Highlights in the field came from veterans Allan Williams and Alan Hardy in the pole vault, who achieved 3rd places; and from Mark Awanah who took 2nd in the triple jump to go some way to compensating for a disaster in the long jump where, after two no jumps, he ran through on his 3rd attempt. Elliott, Daniel Plummer, Gavin Neblett and Bomene Barikor combined for 2nd place in the 4x100 and it was 2nd again in the 4x400 for the team of Ian Allerton, Barikor, David Moulton and Alloy Wilson, who overtook Enfield and Haingey 10 metres before the line to clinch 5th place in the match.

Plummer and Elliott were both in action the previous day at the Aqua Pura International at Loughborough. Plummer was in outstanding form in the 100 finishing 2nd to Mark Lewis Francis in a time of 10.38 while Elliott was 5th in the 110 hurdles in 14.01.

The Women had a successful afternoon in the Southern League at Oxford winning their Division Two match by 2 points. Blackheath's Athlete of the match for the seniors was Sandra Alaneme for her performances in the field which included wins in the triple jump and high jump. The under 15's award went to Victoria Thomas for her wins in the shot and discus. These were difficult choices as so many performed well. Katy Porter and Carolina Jones Baldock started the day by gaining maximum points in the pole vault and from then on the lead alternated with Reading AC the whole afternoon. Porter also won both the 100 and 400 hurdles races and there was a double hurdles win also for Harriet Robinson in the under 17's 80 and 300 races. Sam Singer took the 400 and 100 metre B races.

For the under 15's Keighley Douglas scored good points in the sprints and there were also maximum points in the 75 hurdles from Nina Akif and Joanna Wood. With only the under 15's discus to go, Reading led by 5 points, but a double win from Thomas and Florence Clark secured victory. The points score of 204 means the Club are now pushing for promotion to Division One.

There was more success in the Men's league with the B team finishing 2nd in Division two match at Guildford and the C team winning in Division Four at Walthamstow. Athlete of the Match awards went to Will Bolton for his wins in the 3,000 steeplechase and B 1500 and to Tom Robinson for his 3.70 clearance in the pole vault. Both teams are now in promotion positions with the B team 4th and the C team top of the table.

The Club's Young Athletes took a good second place in their match at Croydon Arena. Particularly noteworthy was the success in the throws with Trevenan Walther-Symons, Leigh Hall-Henry, Alex Pope, Amir Williamson and Daniel Murray scoring near maximum points in the under 17 age group. Andrew Johnson won both the 100 and 400 hurdle races and there was a double win also for Sanjo Bamgboye in the B 100 and A 400.

Highlight in the under 15's age group was Stuart Harvey breaking through the 50 metre in the javelin and there was a double win in the 400s from Dominic Parsons (55.5) and Simon Martin (57.2). For the under 13's Richard Al Ameen putt the shot 7.68 for victory. Full results are on the Blackheath website at www.bandbhac.org.uk

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14 May 2002

Over 20 gold medals, three Club Records and numerous personal bests at five different venues made it another successful County Championship weekend for athletes from Blackheath Harriers, Bromley.

At the Kent Championships at Crystal Palace, Dwayne Grant took both the Senior Men's 100 and 200 metre titles in 10.6 and 21.2 in his first year in the age group. There was a double win also for Anthony Draper who set a new best of 48.8 in the heats of the 400 metres before lowering it further to 48.5 to win the final. He returned the next day to record his fastest 800 metre time in two years winning in 1.49.7.

There were significant performances in the field from two of the Club's older members. Alan Williams finished 2nd in the pole vault with 4 metres 20 centimetres at the age of 48 while in 4th place 68 year old Jim Day, competing in his 48th consecutive County Championships, cleared 2.60.

Samantha Singer won her first medals in the Senior age group with 2nd and 3rd places in the 400 and 200 metres. In the under 20's age group Karim Chester secured a hat trick of gold medals achieving personal bests of 55.16 and 39.70 in the hammer and discus to add to the shot putt title. Katy Benneworth scored impressive victories in the 100 metres and long jump.

There were also silvers for Terry Hawkey (800), Ian Allerton (400), Jack Wilkie (200), and Abi Jacobs (triple jump). One of the Club's under 20 records was broken in these championships but it didn't happen in an under 20 event. It came in the under 17 women's triple jump where Sandra Alaneme leapt 11.45 to break both the under 17's and under 20's record. This gave her victory and she also took the high jump title clearing 1.60.

Clare Silvester was also in Club record breaking form in the javelin sending the spear out to 29.39 to improve the previous best by over a metre and a half and show that it will be only a matter of time before the 30 metre barrier is broken.

Harriet Robinson snatched gold in a close finish in the 80 metre hurdles in 12.1 but then just missed out first place in the long jump, her 5.02 being 2 centimetres off first. There was gold too for Anita Oliver in the discus and personal bests for Amir Williamson and Paul Barrett in the hammer. Fourth hammer best of the weekend came in the under 15 boys event where Alistair Tawanaee struck gold with 41.54. Clare Cooper continued her unbeaten run in the 75 hurdles and there was an outstanding throw of 48.85 from Stuart Harvey to win the javelin.

Elsewhere Daniel Plummer was in sparkling form at the Essex Championships at Basildon. He timed one of the fastest 100 metre times by a Briton this year to win in 10.35 and then followed with a 21.3 to win the 200. Levi Edwards claimed silver in the long jump with 6.86.

At the Surrey Championships at Kingston there was gold for Joe Godsell in the Under 20's 800 metres in 1.56.81 and he also timed a useful 50.66 in the 400.

Martin Airey won the Senior Men's 800 at Sussex Championships at Crawley and Mohammed Sillah Freckleton clocked an excellent 14.4 to win the 110 hurdles at the Middlesex Championships. Virtually all these athletes will be in action again this weekend with the first British League match of the season taking place on Sunday at Bedford; Southern Men's and Women's League on Saturday; and Young Athletes League on Sunday.

More details of the County Championship will appear on the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk  as does further information on the Club for those interested in joining.

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7 May 2002

Three of Blackheath Harriers, Bromley's International sprinters showed fine early season at the weekend. In the States Jonathan Barbour timed 10.47 to win the 100 metres at the Cardinal Invitational Meeting at Stanford while Commonwealth Games 200 champion Julian Golding had a rare excursion over 400. He finished 3rd in 49.90.

Closer to home Dwayne Grant opened his campaign with a win in the 100 in 10.6 at the Southern League Division Two match at Newham. Alloy Wilson won the B competition and there were double wins also from Martin Airey and Terry Hawkey (800); Anthony Draper and Andrew Rayner (1500) and Mark Purser and Richard Holt (110 hurdles).

In the field the outstanding performance came from veteran Allan Williams in the pole vault. The 48 year old won the event with a clearance of 4 metres 30 centimetres before failing in an attempt at 4.42 which would have been a new National Over 45's record. Sudip Burman Roy's contribution in the four throws was rewarded with the Blackheath Team Manager's Man Of The Match Award. It was not quite enough to win the match as the Club were pipped by 3 points by Aldershot. Nevertheless they did beat fellow British League Clubs Newham and Essex Beagles, and Bedford.

The Award for Man Of The Match at the Division Four East match at Colchester went to young Chris Daniel who set a new best of 11.67 in the triple jump as well as winning the B 800 and scoring valuable points in the long jump and 4x400. The Club won the fixture by a large margin from the host club. Among the many good performances was a double win for debutant Leon Odiete in the 100 and 200 and one also for Dewayne Lougheed in a rare outing over 400.

The Club's women's team continued it's promising start to the season with another 2nd place in the Kent League match at Erith. In the Senior age group there were wins for Katy Benneworth (100 and long jump), Louisa Guthrie (200), Sam Singer (400), Hazel Barker (3000) and the 4x400 team of Napthali Morris, Karyn O Mahoney, Guthrie and Singer.

There were some outstanding performances in the under 17's age group with wins for Harriet Robinson (LJ), Sandra Alaneme (TJ), Anita Oliver (Shot and discus) and Clare Sylvester (javelin). Victoria Thomas easily won the shot in the under 15's while Clare Cooper continued her unbeaten sequence in the sprint hurdles.

Both Rebecca Taylor and Shaunagh Brown came close to breaking Club Records in the under 13's age group. Taylor was 0.3 of a second off the 1000 metre record timing 3.12.6 while Brown was 8 centimetres off the shot record. She also won the discus with Emma Mason making it maximum points in the throws with a win in the javelin.

Meanwhile, at Norman Park the boys were in action in the first round of the Young Athletes League finishing in 3rd place. The most success came in the under 17's age group with an A string win for Sanjo Bangboye in the 400 to add to a B string win in the 100. Alex Pope won the discus as did Amir Williamson in the hammer with 45.21, and there was more success in the throws in the under 15's where Stuart Harvey threw 43.77 for victory in the javelin.

The Club hosted it's Annual Ted Pepper Road Race on the Bank Holiday Monday with the first Harrier home being Andrew Rayner in 2nd. Roy Smith (4th), Pat Calnan (9th) and Scott McDonald (10th) also made the top 10.

Sadly the Club learned on the morning of the race that one of it's Vice Presidents, Tod Amner, had died while on holiday in America. Full results of these matches appear on the Club website.

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30 April 2002

Mark Steinle was Blackheath Harriers, Bromley's star performer as the Club's senior men's team finished 18th in the National 12 stage road relays at Sutton Coldfield. Just two weeks after finishing 8th in the London Marathon, he timed the fourth fastest long leg of the day recording 25.48 on the 7th stage.

Considering the number missing through injury 18th was a good result for the Club against the top teams in the country and compared favourably with the 16th place achieved in the Southern relays and 29th in the race last year.

Youngster Andrew Rayner ran a sensible race to time 27.45 on the opening leg and veteran Bill Foster was just two seconds slower on leg three. Other long legs came from Roy Smith (28.11), Peter Tucker (29.21) and Giles Clifford (30.07). Fastest short stages on the day came from 800 metre specialists David Moulton and Anthony Draper who timed 15.30 and 15.38 respectively. Other legs came from Terry Hawkey (16.05), Nick Gasson 16.33, Rob Williams (17.11) and Pat Calnan (16.17).

Meanwhile, the Club's women's team made a promising start to their Southern League campaign with a third place in the opening match at Hertford. Highlight of the afternoon was a new Club Record in the under 17's shot where Sandra Alaneme, competing as a senior, putt 9.39 to better her own record by 24 centimetres. She also won the triple jump with 10.80 and placed 3rd in the high jump.

Other A string wins came from Katy Porter in the 100 hurdles (14.9) and from Katy Benneworth who leapt 5.41 in the long jump. There was a good second place for Eve Bugler in the 800, while Anita Oliver set a new best of 29.71 in the discus.

Two recent Club Record breakers shone in the under 15's competition. Clare Cooper broke the Club 75 metre hurdles record earlier in the month timing 11.4. She didn't have to run quite so fast to win the event at Hertford clocking 12.0. She also won the 100 in 13.3 and was 2nd in the long jump with 4.85.

Rebecca Taylor timed 2.24.3 for 800 metres at the recent Blackheath schools meeting to take nearly four seconds off the Under 13's club record. At Hertford she took 18 seconds off her previous best for 1500 to time 5.11.8.

Other good performances in the under 15's competition came from Flo Clarke who threw a 24.21 best in the discus to add to her win in the B string shot. Clare Sylvester set a new best of 27.54 in the javelin and there was a double win in the shot and discus for Victoria Thomas and a useful 20.96 for Roxanne Hargreaves in the javelin.

The Junior Men's team finished in fourth place in their opening Southern Premier Division match at Copthall against the top club's in the South Of England. If they maintain that position after the four fixtures, they qualify for the National Final in September. It was a real team effort as there were no individual winners the whole afternoon.

Karim Chester had a good afternoon in the throws with a 3rd place in the hammer followed by personal bests of 13.03 and 39.46 in the discus. Under 17 Amir Tawanaee made a promising League debut to take 2nd in the hammer with 38.01 and Tom Robinson returned from injury to place 3rd in difficult conditions in the pole vault as well as taking 2nd in the sprint hurdles B string. Alex Pope set new bests in both the pole vault and shot.

On the track best placings came in the sprints with Fabian Collymore and Dwayne Bovell both 3rd in the 100s and Collymore and Jack Wilkie gaining 4th and 2nd in the 200. Ian Allerton was 3rd in the 400 with Joe Godsell, "fresh" from a 4th in the 800, placing 2nd in the B string. AAA'S indoor bronze medallist Terry Hawkey was in action for the second day running finishing 3rd in the 1500 in 4.09.9.

The Club also placed 2nd in the opening Kent Boys and Colts League match at Deangate. Adai Monerville opened his season in fine form with a double win in the under 15's 100 and 200 metres and there were other wins on the track for Dominic Parsons in the 400 and sprint hurdlers Dwayne Lennon and Alex Al Ameen. In the field Alistair Tawanaee won the discus and B shot while there was an excellent 46.90 winning throw from Stuart Harvey in the javelin. Best result in the under 13's came in the 400s with a double win for Josh Hamit and Sam Simpson in the 400 while Michael Thorpe won the 1500 in 5.16.3.

Two Club members were in action in the National Duathlon Championships at Swindon. Having spent much of his time on a bike while injured, Spencer Newport finished in 15th place in his first National Championship while veteran Nick Kinsey, the former British record holder at the Iron Man triathlon, placed 27th. The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.

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23 April 2002

Blackheath Harriers, Bromley made a successful return to Division One of the Kent Women's League finishing second to Bromley AC in the opening Fixture at Tonbridge, and for the third week running a Club Record was broken.

Having just missed out on the under 13's shot record by 4 centimetres, Shaunagh Brown recorded her second win of the day as she improved in each round to add nearly a metre to the discus record with a throw of 21.18.

The results of the under 13's age group were the most encouraging of the afternoon with a huge turn out for a match so early in the season. This meant that the Club were able to field a staggering 9 non scorers in the 75 metre races. Best times came from Emily Godley who won the scoring race in 10.8, Serita Solomon (10.7), Chloe Shaw (10.9) and Sophie Robinson (11.0). The four later combined for an emphatic victory in the 4x100.

There were also wins for Serita Solomon in the sprint hurdles and for Emma Mason in the javelin. Olivia Dyer made a promising debut for the Club with 2nd place in the 1000 metre walk and there was 2nd also Emily Godley in the long jump. Clare Cooper started her season in fine style winning the Sprint hurdles and long jump in the under 15's age group.

It was first also for Victoria Thomas in the shot to add to her 2nd in the discus. There was a double win also for Sandra Alaneme who won the high jump and triple jump in the under 17's age group while Harriet Robinson took the long jump with a leap of 4.79. Further wins in the field came from Anita Oliver with a new personal best in the discus of 29.48 and from Clare Sylvester with a 25.73 throw in the javelin.

The Seniors were short on numbers but still covered most events. Best performances came from Siobhan Budd who won the 3,000 metres in 10.26.1 and from junior Katy Benneworth who won the 100 metres in 12.8 and was also 2nd in the 100 hurdles and 3rd in the long jump.

Team manager Michelle Bovell came out of retirement to run the 200 metres and 4x400 and there were similar heroic efforts from Karyn O'Mahoney and Carolina Jones-Baldock who both competed despite not having fully recovered from illness.

The previous day a number of members took part in the Sward And Kinnaird trophy meeting at Kingston. Best performances here came from Martin Airey and Andrew Rayner who won both strings of the 800. Rayner's was a new best of 1.57.1 while Airey's 1.56.9 meant he received the trophy for the fastest 800 metre time of the day.

In the field veteran Alan Hardy soared over 3.60 in the pole vault while evergreen Jim Day cleared 2.60 at the age of 68. At the other end of the age scale first year junior Karim Chester threw 49.97 in his first competition with the Senior Hammer.

On the roads 21 runners took part in the Roy Parris Memorial Yacht handicap at Hayes. First over the line was 62 year old John Bugler competing just three days after running in the London Marathon. He was able to recount his experience of that race at the Club's London Marathon Supper held later in the evening where Mark Steinle, Britain's top distance runner, and advisor Alan Storey were among over 100 who attended. Steinle was presented with his trophy for winning the Club Marathon Championship which was incorporated in the London event and will be in action again for the Club this weekend in the National 12 Stage Road Relay at Sutton Park.

With the track and field season underway the Club is looking to recruit new members male and female of all ages. All athletes from the age of 11 can compete while special coaching exists for the under 11's. For further details contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504 or Michelle Bovell on 07984 178546 or ask for them at Norman Park track on a Tuesday or Thursday evening from 6.30 pm onwards.

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16 April 2002

Mark Steinle finished as first Briton for the third year running in the Flora London Marathon while Rebecca Taylor was a winner in the accompanying London Boroughs Mini Marathon.

Steinle, the 27 year old Blackheath Harriers, Bromley athlete, timed an outstanding 2 hours 9 minutes and 17 seconds to come 8th in the strongest London field ever with Khalid Khannouchi setting a new World Best of 2.05.38.

To put Steinle's run in perspective his time was over a minute and a half faster than Eamonn Martin's winning time in 1993 and ranks him 8th on the British all time list. It was the fastest time by a British athlete for 5 years and took nearly a minute and a half off his Club Record. It was a brave run as well. With the pacemakers running at World Record pace, Steinle stuck in with the lead group and passed the Half Marathon point in 62.47 just 24 seconds off his best for the distance.

Understandably he slowed in the second half of the race but he maintained his position and closed in just 7 seconds behind former London winner Antonio Pinto of Portugal. He will now be looking to run in the 10,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games before competing in a big city marathon in the Autumn.

Further down the field Tim Dickinson made a promising debut at the distance finishing 31st in 2.23.35 with Nick Kinsey135th in 2.37.29. John Hoy (2.52.03) and John McConville (2.59.16) were also inside the three hour mark.

Two Members continued their sequence of completing every London Marathon. Past President Mike Peel finished 7316th in 3.42.44 while Pete Shepheard who has a best of 2.27 closed in 28390th in 5.15.58.

First woman home for the Club was Anne Cilia in 10660th in 3.55.13 with Kate Pratten 13123rd in 4.04.41.

There was further success for the Club in the accompanying Mini Marathon where Rebecca Taylor had another outstanding run to win the London Boroughs 11 and 12 year olds race. Other good runs came from Ray Perkins and Eve Bugler who made the top 10 in their respective age groups.

Steinle's was not the only Club Record to fall at the weekend. Out in the States, Tawanda Chiwira timed 46.04 for the 400 metres in the Sun Angel Classic meeting at Arizona State University. Such was the quality of the field that he was only the 5th fastest of the day but this nevertheless bettered the Club Record set by the Reverend Ted Sampson at the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958. Chiwira followed this with a 44.7 split in the 4x400.

Also in America Daniel Plummer smashed his personal best for the 100 metres at a meeting at Tallahassee, Florida. He clocked 10.39 to finish second to World Junior Champion Mark Lewis-Francis who won in 10.14. At the same meeting Mark Awanah was witness to a piece of British Athletics History. He took 4th place in the long jump with 6.92 as fellow Briton Chris Tomlinson leapt 8.27 to break Lynn Davies' British Record which had stood since 1968.

Meanwhile in Belgium the Club won the prestigious Wellington Relays race in Ostend. The race takes place on a horse race course which was the venue for last years World Cross Country Championships and attracts teams from all over Western Europe with live coverage in the Belgian media. The Club won by 6 seconds ahead of the team that won by 20 seconds last year with the athletes and legs as follows, Joe Godsell (800), Nigel Keogh (600), Mark Purser (200), Steve Cooper (600), Andrew Rayner (1200), Anthony Draper (1200), Terry Hawkey (800), Ian Allerton (450), David Griffin (350) and Dewayne Lougheed (200). After solid opening legs the team hit the front on Draper's leg and were never headed after this.

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9 April 2002

Blackheath Harriers, Bromley's Senior Men's and Women's teams comfortably qualified for the National 12 Stage and 6 Stage Road Relays after finishing 16th and 14th at the Southern Championships at Milton Keynes.

The Men's team was way below full strength but the depth of talent in the current squad ensured a smooth passage to the Final. Best performances on the 6 Long stage legs of 5 miles came from Scott McDonald (25.36), Andrew Rayner (25.42) and Roy Smith (25.46) while 800 metre specialist David Moulton clocked an impressive 17.27 on a short stage. Other good short legs came from Ant Draper (17.28) and Terry Hawkey (17.59).

In the Women's race both Jennie Butler and Siobhan Budd ran their fastest ever times on the course. Budd brought the team home in 6th on the opening stage while Butler timed 19.59 on leg 3. Steady runs from Cath Castledine, Zoe Morrell, Carolina Jones Baldock and Karyn O'Mahoney secured comfortable qualification.

The Club's young athletes also achieved relay success recently at the Parkwood cross country races at Canterbury. The boys team of Daniel Casey, Colin Norris, Dan Ryan and Andrew Rayner finished as first team with Rayner's 6.32 the fastest of the day, as he pipped Invicta East Kent's last leg runner on the line to give the Club victory by one second.

The Girl's team of Claire McNamara, Bryony Proctor, Hannah Williams and Hazel Barker finished in 6th place and there was more success in the supporting under 11's race with Coutney Millar and James Proctor taking 1st and 2nd places. These performances meant that overall the Boys finished 2nd in the League for the season with the girls 3rd.

The summer track and field season could not have got off to a much better start with Victoria Thomas breaking the under 15 Girls Club Record in her first competition of the year. She putt the shot 10.62 at the Hercules Wimbledon Trophy Meeting at Crystal Palace.

There were a string of other good performances including personal bests from Anita Oliver (u17 discus 28.62), Shaunagh Brown (u13's shot 6.81), Alex Pope (u17 discus 36.91) and Sandra Alaneme (u17 long jump 4.99).

Dwayne Bovell was 2nd in both the 100 and 200 in the under 17's age group as was Eve Bugler in the 800. In the under 15's Stuart Harvey threw a useful 44.36 in the javelin while Alex AL-Ameen leapt a promising 1.55 in the high jump. Best performer in the under 13's age group was Serita Solomon who was 2nd in the 100 and 3rd in the 200.

More members were in action at the Club's Open Meeting at Norman Park. Michael Champion showed good early form in the sprints winning the 300 metres in 35.2 to add to his 16.3 clocking in the 150 metres. Other good performances in the 150 metres came from Alloy Wilson (16.6), Fabian Collymore (16.7), Jack Wilkie (16.7) and Levi Edwards (16.8) while training partners Ian Allerton and Dewayne Loughedd matched each other in both sprints timing 17.3 and 37.2.

An exciting 600 saw under 20 Joe Godsell prevail over Martin Airey while under 13 Rebecca Taylor coped well in the windy conditions to time 3.22.1 in the 1000 metres. In the field Katy Benneworth posted a excellent 5.52 in the long jump and vet 55 Chris Ellis showed that he has wintered well with a 37.56 throw in the discus.

Many Club members will be in action this weekend in the London Marathon and Mini Marathon. Mark Steinle will be attempting to be the first Briton home for the third year running. Last year he was 6th overall in 2.10.46 and his recent 63.02 in the City Of Murcia Half Marathon suggest that he is in the form to break through the 2.10 barrier. In form Tim Dickinson should also feature prominently while further down the field other Club members will be making landmark performances. For 69 year old Harry Martin it will be his 300th marathon while Pete Shepheard and Mike Peel will be aiming to continue their sequence of having finished every London.

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2 April 2002

Dave Taylor showed that he is close to his very best form as he clocked an impressive 63 minutes 47 seconds to finish 5th in the Wilmslow Half Marathon against a top quality field. He was not the only Blackheath Harriers, Bromley athlete in action as Tim Dickinson improved over a minute on his previous best to close in 9th in 65.41.

Also on the roads, but closer to home, Scott McDonald was the leading Heathen in the Paddock Wood Half Marathon finishing 9th in 70.39. Cliff Keen was next home in 27th in 76.29, the 8th veteran to finish.

On the country there was more success for the Club at the Veterans National Cross Country Championships at Berryhill Park, Mansfield. In the over 40's race Bill Foster took 3rd place in 32.31 and it was bronze again in the over 70's for Bill Clapham in 25.51. Joe Clare was 20th in the over 60's race in 42.27.

The Club's cross country season finished in traditional manner with the Closing 5 handicap race at Hayes. Fastest on the day was Dave Ellison in 31.04 with Andy Tucker 2nd in 32.18 and Peter Barlow, fast returning to fitness, in 3rd in 32.35. Winner of the handicap on the day was Ron Chambers with John Copley 2nd and Simon Capey 3rd.

The overall handicap title which is contested over 9 races went to Nick Barber followed by Dave Ellison with Brendan McShane 3rd. The Club's Annual General Meeting took place in the evening with Pat Calnan taking over as President from Mike Peel for the next year.

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