Last updated 5 June
2002
Press Releases for
April & May 2002
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
