Last updated 25
September 2001
Press Releases for
August & September 2001
- If you want to find the latest results try Results!
- If you are after older results and gossip please
go to the Courier pages.
25 September 2001
Blackheath Harriers, Bromley made a confident start to the
winter season with both men's and women's teams winning at the Club's annual
cross country relays at Sparrow's Den, West Wickham. The Club also provided the
fastest individual times in both races and in the men's competition had the
fastest individuals on four of the six stages.
It was particularly pleasing to see the return to
competition of Anthony Draper and Welsh International Joe Mills who have been
sorely missed over the Summer months. Draper controlled the opening 2.5 mile
stage cruising home in the lead in 13.12 and Mills clocked the second fastest
time of the day when he timed 12.59 on leg five.
Fastest of the day, however, was Roy Smith who had an
outstanding run on stage 3 to consolidate the lead established by Draper and
Scott McDonald. His time of 12.54 was all the more noteworthy as he is awaiting
an operation to remove tissue growth from the top of his leg. Dan Marks ( leg 4,
15.05) and Pat Calnan ( leg 6 ,13.48) completed the team and to add to the
celebrations the Club also provided the winning B team.
Like the men, the women's team led from start to finish
following an excellent opening stage from Jennie Butler. She clocked the fastest
leg of the day in 15.17 which was nearly half a minute faster than any other
runner and left the team over two minutes clear of second.
New member Sarah Cummings ran a useful 19.06 on the second
stage to be followed by Karyn O'Mahoney on leg three whose 16.52 was the third
fastest time of the day. Experienced Anne Cilia (18.53) anchored the team home
to victory, nearly a minute and a half clear of second placed Harborough with
Bromley Vets third.
This was the first time the Club had finished a team in
the women's race and encouragingly they nearly finished a second team with Jools
Neely, Cath Messent and Alison Jelly making up three quarters of a B team.
Both men's and women's teams will be in action again this
weekend in the South Of England 6 and 4 Stage Road Relay Championships at
Aldershot.
Meanwhile the Club's youngsters were enjoying success at
Canterbury in the Kent Road Relay Championships with two sets of silver medals
won. In the under 13's Michael Thorpe (9.53), Robert D'Angelo (10.12) and Danny
Brewer (8.58) took the runners up spot with Brewer running the fastest leg of
the day.
It was silver again in the under 17's where following a
strong 14.30 opening leg from Ray Perkins, Chris Daniel (15.02) and Daniel Snow
(14.49) guided the team to second place. The under 15's team of Dan McKeown,
Dale Willis and Tom Beech finished in 5th.
18 September 2001
Two members of Blackheath Harriers, Bromley figured
prominently at the Great North Run on Tyneside at the weekend. Scott McDonald
finished in 30th place in a field of 40,000. He timed an excellent 69.16 while
Darryl Hilliar timed 78.22 for 135th place.
One Heathen missing from the field was Mark Steinle. He
represents Great Britain at the World Half Marathon Championships in Bristol in
three weeks time.
Meanwhile another Club member was completing twice the
distance. Running a marathon is an achievement, but for Colin Poole this was his
hundredth marathon since he first attempted the distance 14 years ago. The 64
year old was running in the Sri Chimnoy Marathon at Battersea Park supported by
many of his Club colleagues.
Many Club members are now starting their preparations for
the London Marathon next April. Entry forms are available at most sports shops.
Anyone of any standard male or female interested in training with the Harriers
is welcome to visit the Clubhouse at 56 Bourne Way, Hayes, any Wednesday evening
from 6.30.
The track and field season is just about over but there
was still time for one more Club Record to be set. Competing at the Herne Hill
Open Meeting, Tom Robinson soared over 3.80 in the under 17's pole vault to add
10 centimetres to the Record that had stood since 1991.
There was further success for Blackheath members at the
veterans track and field championships at Erith. Ken Daniel defied the blustery
conditions to break the Championship record in the over 50's 800 metres timing
2.12.4. He returned to take the 1500 metre title the next day.
Gordon Hickey was another double winning taking the over
60's shot and discus but the biggest individual medal haul was that of the
evergreen Jim Day. The 67 year old captured five golds with wins in the pole
vault, sprint hurdles, high jump, long jump and javelin and also found time to
finish third in the 100 and shot putt.
Other wins came from Mike Martineau in the over 50's 400
hurdles and there was also silver for Peter Hamilton in the over 50's 1500 and
bronze for John Turner in the over 40's 200 metres.
For further details of the Club call the Club answerphone
service on 020 8462 3115.
11 September 2001
"Blackheath Beat The Best"
On a busy weekend of relay action athletes from Blackheath
Harriers, Bromley beat the best in the World and Kent to win a host of gold
medals. Jonathan Barbour was part of the Great Britain 4x100 team who defeated
the United States to win at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia.
Running the opening leg, rather than the anchor which he
did at the World Championships, he helped the team to a time of 38.71 and the
$20,000 prize money. Earlier he had rubbed shoulders with more of the World's
elite in the 100 metres. In a race won by Dwain Chambers from American Tim
Montgomery, the European Under 23 champion finished 7th in 10.47 just 0.06 of a
second behind former world champion Ato Boldon and just one hundredth of a
second behind another top American, Dennis Mitchell.
Meanwhile the Club took on the best in Kent at the County
track relays at Tonbridge returning with a magnificent haul of nine gold medals
plus three new Club Records.
There were fireworks in the under 15 girl's age group
where the 4x200 metre team of Clare Cooper, Harriet Robinson, Joanna South and
Venita Akpofure took nearly two seconds off the Club Record to win in 1.48.9
which is faster than any team in the country last year, including County
representative squads. Earlier the same quartet had also revised the Club 4x100
record as they won in 50.6. Remarkably both times were quicker than the winning
performances in the Senior Women's races.
Relays often produce grandstand finishes and two of the
best on Sunday involved Blackheath teams. In the under 13 girl's 4x100 a fine
bend by Emily Godley and a stunning last leg from Serita Solomon amazed the
crowd and saw the team snatch gold by the thickness of the Club's Nike sponsored
vest in 54.9.
Only four Club teams in the country ran faster last year
and with Solomon, Godley and Sophie Robinson in the same age group next year,
the best may still be to come.
It was a similar story in the under 17's 4x400 where a
sparkling 49.8 last quarter mile from Ian Allerton saw him pip the Tonbridge
athlete on the line with both given the same time of 3.31.5.
The third Club Record of the day came in the under 13
girl's 3x800 where Rebecca Taylor, Aimee Boyle and Clare McNamara took over two
and a half seconds off the previous best to win in 8.13.2.
Elsewhere, there were wins for both the under 15 boys and
under 17 and Senior men's 4x100 teams. The Senior team, all coached by Ian
Dibbens, of Dewayne Lougheed, Jack Wilkie, Scott Jarred and Michael Champion
timed 43.0 for victory and then, with Anthony Draper replacing Lougheed took the
medley relay in 3.27.3. by five seconds. They were also second in the 4x400.
Four of the Club's seniors were in outstanding form at the
National 10km Road Championships at Cheltenham. The race also included an Inter
Counties match and 20 year old Dan Ayrton caused a major upset as, running as an
individual, he beat all of the selected Kent team to set a new best of 30.25 to
finish 19th. Scott McDonald was 54th in 31.42 with Andrew Rayner 78th (32.49)
and Russell Bentley 101st in 33.22.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
4 September 2001
Blackheath Harriers, Bromley's women's team saved their
best team performance of the season for the last match to secure promotion from
Southern League Division Three in emphatic style. A points score of 232 easily
excelled their previous best of 209 as they defeated 4th place City Of Salisbury
by nearly 50 points.
The team have beaten 22 of the teams in the Division this
year; and lost to just two; and such was the quality of many of the individual
performances, this young squad may well be challenging for another promotion at
the end of next season, with the ultimate aim of joining fellow Kent Clubs
Medway and Ashford in the National League.
There were 25 wins on the day with three individuals
achieving a hat trick of victories. In the Senior age group, Katy Porter won
both the A string 100 and 400 hurdles races with ease; the B 100 and then joined
Katy Benneworth, Sandra Alaneme and Louisa Guthrie for a comprehensive victory
in the 4x100.
Benneworth had earlier triumphed in both the under 17 80
and 300 hurdles races plus the senior long jump; while the third hat trick star
was Joanna South in the under 15's age group with B string wins in both sprints
and discus, as well as being a member of the victorious 4x100 team.
Guthrie also took both sprints in the senior age group and
there were gun to tape victories for Eve Bugler and Jennie Butler in the 1500
and 3000, with Karyn O'Mahoney equally dominant in the B 800. In the field Anita
Oliver set a new best of 9.12 in the shot as well as winning the B discus and
Sandra Alaneme took time out from high jumping to take the B shot with 9.03.
In the under 15's Venita Akpofure returned from injury to
win both sprints and there was also a double for Clare Cooper in the B shot and
75 Hurdles. Both joined South and B long jump winner Harriet Robinson for the
relay win.
Meanwhile the Club's boys were in action at the Auxiliary
Final of the McDonald's Young Athletes League in Birmingham. This is the 18th
time in 19 years that the team have qualified for a National Final and judging
by Saturdays performance there will be more to come.
The under 17's were the best in their age group with a
string of personal bests, the highlight being Tom Robinson equalling the Club
Record in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.70.
Karim Chester won the A hammer and got 2nd places in the
shot and discus. Paul Barrett made it maximum points in the B hammer and the
Shelley brothers both set new bests. Robin threw 34.91 in the discus and Phillip
was over 12 metres in the shot for the first time with 12.48.
On the track the best performances came in the sprints and
hurdles. Andrew Johnson went under 14 seconds for the first time in the 100
hurdles and there was a double win in the 100 metres from Fabian Collymore and
Dwayne Bovell.
Collymore was also 2nd in the 200 with Sanjo Bangobe 1st
in the B race. Ian Allerton won the 400 and Ray Perkins set a new best in
finishing 3rd in the 3000.
Best performances in the Under 15's age group came from
the Tawanaee brothers Amir and Alistair. Amir set new bests in winning the B
hammer and gaining 2nd in the A discus while Alistair was 3rd in the A hammer
and 2nd in the B discus.
In the under 13's Daniel Casey was 3rd in the 800 and
Daniel Brewer set a new best of 4.55.82 in the 1500.
Former Young Athlete Dwayne Grant was in representative
action in the Junior Inter Area match at Ipswich. The European Junior bronze
medallist ran his fastest ever 100 metres winning in 10.26 but this was with the
assistance of a strong following wind of 4.2 metres per second. He was also part
of the South's winning 4x100 metre team.
Some of the Club's older members were also in action at
the weekend. At the British Veterans Throws Pentathlon Championships at Burton
there was a gold and silver in the over 65s from Colin Brand and Gordon Hickey.
Meanwhile at the Southern Veterans Inter League match Ken
Daniel continued his unbeaten run of middle distance wins in the over 50's age
group. The 51 year old has been unbeaten since returning from the World Veterans
Championships in July and won the 1500 metres with a blistering 62 second last
lap. Bob Minting took the 800 metres with ease, not surprisingly as he is the
fastest in the country this year.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For more details visit the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk
where further details of, and pictures from, these matches will be posted.
28 August 2001
Jonathan Barbour continued to put the disappointment of
the World Championships behind him as he timed an excellent 10.28 for the 100
metres in the IAAF permit meeting in Thessaloniki in Greece. The Blackheath
Harriers, Bromley athlete was a member of the Great Britain squad who failed to
finish in the 4x100 in Edmonton, but his time in Greece will fill him with
confidence as he prepares for the Goodwill Games at the start of September.
He finished third in His race and had the satisfaction of
defeating fellow British International Marlon Devonish.
Some of the Club's younger members were in action in the
Southern Inter Counties match at Copthall. Best placed individual was Neil
Simpson who moved down from his normal 400 metres to finish 2nd in the 200 in
22.68. He also took 4th place in the 100 in 11.35.
Katy Benneworth and Sandra Alaneme both performed with
distinction against girls up to three years older. Both are still under 17s but
competing in the Under 20's competition both achieved 3rd places. Benneworth
leapt 5.15 in the long jump; while Alaneme soared over 1.60 in the high jump.
Elsewhere Ken Daniel picked up two gold medals at the
Veterans AC Championships at Kingston. He won both the over 50's 800 and 1500
titles and also took bronze in the 400 metres.
The coming weekend will be a big one for the Club. The
women's team will be aiming to secure promotion at their Southern League
Division Three match at Norman Park, while the Boys Young Athletes team travel
to Birmingham on Friday to compete in Saturdays McDonald's Auxiliary National
Final at Alexander Stadium.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and standards.
For further details and an application form please visit the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk
21 August 2001
Blackheath Harriers, Bromley athlete Dwayne Grant was back
to winning form as he won the 200 metres while representing Great Britain in the
Junior International match against the United States at Stoke On Trent.
The European Junior bronze medallist clocked 21.00 for
victory and was also part of the 4x100 relay team who won in a time of 40.79. In
the field Mark Awanah made his Great Britain debut and leapt a useful 7.25 for
4th place in the long jump.
Also on the International scene, Jonathan Barbour bounced
back from disappointment at the World Championships in Edmonton by taking the
scalp of Mark Lewis-Francis, the world's fastest ever junior over the 100
metres. He did so at the Norwich Union Classic at Gateshead where he finished
5th in the 100 metres in 10.45. He finishes his season with two more
International events, competing in Greece this week before travelling to
Australia to take part in the Goodwill Games at the start of September.
His Clubmates were also in action in the North East as
they made the long march to Jarrow for the 4th and final match of the British
Athletics League Division One season. Although already virtually relegated, the
team justified the expense of a long trip with a string of victories and
personal and seasons bests.
Team captain Mensah Elliott made a promising debut over
400 hurdles timing 54.37 before saying "it was a one off". His efforts
did not seem to affect him over the shorter hurdles race as he won that in
13.92, and Mohammed Sillah-Freckleton made it maximum points for the Club as he
won the "B" race before leaping a season's best of 1.95 in the high
jump.
Lash Lashore narrowly missed out on victory in the 100 by
a couple of hundredths of a second and Michael Skinner looked impressive in
winning the B string 800 metres.
New personal bests came from Neil Simpson who ran under 50
seconds for the first time in the 400; and Bomene Barikor who leapt 6.70 in the
long jump; and there were season's bests for Roy Smith and Pat Calnan in the
5000 metres.
All these effforts were not enough to avoid the drop from
the top division of League competition in the country, but with two out of eight
teams relegated there is not margin for error. Chief difficulty for the Club
this year has been a heavy injury list and with these absentees back to fitness,
they will be capable of an immediate return to the top flight.
Meanwhile the womens section were securing their second
promotion of the season as they won the Division Two title of the Kent Womens
League despite being beaten in the last match by Paddock Wood. Having already
been promoted in the McDonalds League for Girls, they will be looking for a hat
trick of promotions at the final Southern Womens League match of the season at
Norman Park on the 1st of September. Currently second in the table a solid
performance will ensure one of the five promotion places.
The success of the women's section will prove useful with
the news that it is proposed to make the annual Cup competition for seniors a
joint scoring event. A 64 team competition is suggested with only the teams in
the top two Divisions of the National Men's and Women's league guaranteed
places.
Blackheath's women's team qualified for the Cup semi final
last year and a combined men and women's team could prove an interesting
innovation.
Some of the Club's youngsters were in action in the AAA's
under 17s and under 15s Championships at Sheffield. Best placed in the under 17s
age group was Sandra Alaneme who was equal 6th in the high jump with 1.60 and
she was also 8th in the triple jump in 11.02. Katy Benneworth leapt a promising
5.43 for the 7th in the long jump and was ran 12.57 in the heats of the 100
metres.
For the Boys there was disappointment for Karim Chester
who threw 52.10 for 8th in the hammer but better news for Sanjo Bangobe who set
a new best of 22.95 in the semi final of the 200 metres. Dwayne Bovell timed
11.34 in the semi final of the 100 metres and Vickie Thomas threw a useful 9.54
in the under 15's shot.
The Club is always looking for new members, male of
female, of all ages and abilities. For further information contact Dave Liston
on 01322 663504.
14 August 2001
The World Championships in Edmonton did not prove the most
successful for athletes from Blackheath Harriers, Bromley. After being selected
for the marathon, Mark Steinle had to withdraw through injury which left
Jonathan Barbour in the sprint relay squad as the Club's sole representative.
Making his first appearance at a Senior Championship, the
European Under 23 champion was selected to run the last leg in the heat of the
4x100, but a faulty changeover with Christian Malcolm meant the team never made
it across the line.
A more promising performance on the International scene
came from Mensah Elliott in the 110 hurdles at the Great Britain 'B'
International against France. He defied the blustery conditions to finish 3rd in
14.29.
Dwayne Grant and Mark Awanah have been selected to
represent Great Britain in the 200 and long jump in this weekend's junior
international match against the United States.
The Club maintained their promotion challenge in Division
Three of the Southern Womens League as they equalled their best points score of
the season of 209 to win their fifth round match at Deangate.
The squad was depleted because of the clash with the AAA's
Under 17 and Under 15 Championships and the holiday season but a battling team
performance, which included a new Club Record and a number of personal bests,
saw them overcome third placed Luton in the 25 strong division.
In the senior age group acting team manager Karyn
O'Mahoney led by example as she made a welcome return to competition after a
three and a half month break, to win the 800 metres and also finish 2nd in the
400. Katy Porter was a comfortable winner of both hurdles races as well as
taking 3rd in the 100 and there was also a double win for Jennie Butler, who
finished the afternoon with four personal bests. She was a runaway victor of the
the 3000 and 1500 in times of 10.21.9 and 5.04.6, putt the shot further than
ever before and finished with her fastest ever relay split in the 4x400.
Carolina Baldock-Jones took full advantage of her team
mates A string success as she won the B 1500 and took 2nd in both the 100
hurdles and 400. In the field, Abi Jacobs equalled her best in the triple jump
with 9.71 while Hannah Fosten returned to competition to score good points in
the throws together with Hammer winner Lydia Henderson Boyle.
Highlight in the Under 15's age group was a new Club
Record in the javelin from Clare Silvester. She has now added 8 metres to her
best in the last couple of months and won with a throw of 27.27 as the Club
achieved maximum points in the A string throws with Vickie Thomas winning both
the shot and discus.
Thomas completed a hat trick of wins taking the javelin B
string while Harriet Robinson had another outstanding afternoon with a new best
of 5.17 in the long jump to add to wins in the 100 and 75 hurdles.
Meanwhile Ken Daniel and Jim Day both struck gold at the
South Of England veteran championships at Copthall. Daniel took the over 50's
800 and 1500 metre titles, while in the over 65's Day won the pole vault and
finished 3rd in the high jump.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For further information please contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504
7 August 2001
With the track and field season coming to a close male
teams from Blackheath Harriers, Bromley secured two League titles over the
weekend and the women confirmed the first of hopefully three League promotions.
After scrutiny by the League officials the girls team have
finished second in their division of the McDonalds Young Athletes League and
gained promotion to the South East Premier Division of the League. They already
top the Kent Womens League Division Two by a huge margin and hope to consolidate
their second position in the 25 strong Southern Womens League Division Three
this weekend.
The Club's under 13's won their age group competition in
the Kent Boys and Colts League with yet another Club Record being broken.
This came in the discus where in his first competition in
the event Alex Al-Ameen added just over 5 metres to the previous record with a
throw of 28.04. His brother Richard continued his enviable record of improving
his personal best in every match this season as he putt the shot out to 7.41
metres to add to his new best in the discus.
With it being the last match of the season, awards were
made to the athletes who had produced the best performances in their events
during the course of the season. Among these were Daniel Brewer in the under
13's 1500 metres and Stuart Harvey who threw an impressive 42.90 in the under
15's javelin.
There was also a new best in the discus for Amir Tawanaee
as he threw 32.32, although this was not enough to prevent the Club being
defeated in this age group to a strong Medway team.
The veteran men rounded off their Kent League season with
a win in their match at Erith, a result which leaves them as champions.
Highlight of the meeting came in the medley relay where crusty 51 year old Ken
Daniel, running for the over 40s team, swept the team up from 3rd to 1st on the
last 800 leg with a split of 2.10.
In the Southern Mens League the Club's "B" and
"C" teams rounded off the season with solid mid table positions in
Divisions Two and Four East. In the Division Two match at Chelmsford the best
performance came from Steve Cooper who had wins in both the B string 800 and
400. Nick Hamilton ran a useful 50.5 in the 400, but like Daniel Plummer in the
100, who timed 10.9, had to settle for second place.
In the field, there was a welcome return to action for
Sudip Burman Roy who took part in all four throws, while Robert Chambers leapt a
seasons best of 1.80 in the high jump.
At the Division 4 East match at Eastbourne a spirited team
effort saw the Club finished second with the highlight being captain Paul
Byfield's twelve and a half metre winning effort in the triple jump.
Some of the Clubs youngsters were in action in the under
17's Inter Counties match at Crawley with the highlight being Karim Chester's
winning throw of 60.35 in the hammer. There was also a personal best for Tom
Robinson in the pole vault with a leap of 3.50 and Andrew Johnson was 3rd in the
100 metre hurdles in 14.2.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For further information contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
