Last updated
17 December 2015
Press Releases for
January, February & March 2009
31/03/09
World Cross Country Championships
Michael Skinner was the fourth scorer for the
Great Britain mens team at the World Cross Country Championships in Amman,
Jordan. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete started steadily like the rest of the
GB team and gradually worked his way through the field to finish in 87th place.
First scorer for Britain was Frank Tickner in 74th place and the team finished
14th, the 4th European team to finish.
European Masters Indoor Championships
The Club has a new World Record Holder! At the
European Masters Indoor Championships at Ancona in Italy, Helen Godsell not only
won the over 55s 60 metres but she did so in a new World Record and British
Record of 8.46. Her time was a sensational 0.11 of a second quicker than her
previous British Record, a huge margin over such a short distance and left her
over half a second ahead of the runner up.
Her Championships didn't end there. She followed this by
winning the 200 metres and breaking the British record with 28.68, three
hundredths of a second within the previous mark. To complete an outstanding
championships she was part of the 4x200 metre team which struck gold in a time
of 1.57.31.
Keeping gold medals in the family her brother Bob Minting
won the over 55s 800 metres in 2.13.43 and he was also 8th in the 1500, two
places behind Ken Daniel.
The Club’s other individual medallist was Bill Foster who
finished third in the over 50s 3000 metres in 9.24.22 while Tom Phillips was
part of the over 55s 4x200 metre relay team who won silver medals.
Earlier Tom had finished 5th in the final of the 200
metres in 26.20 and reached the semi final of the 60 metres. Clem Leon was also
in action in the 60, 200 and 400 metres events reaching the semi final of the
latter.
Road Racing
Two athletes from the Club featured prominently in
the Victoria Park 5 Mile Road Race. Loughborough student James Poole finished in
6th place in 25.47 while another student Alex Bruce Littlewood, who is at
Portsmouth University, was 12th in 26.30.
Earlier in the week Alex had finished in second place in
the Chichester Corporate Challenge. Over a 4.5 kilometre course he ran 13.40,
twelve seconds behind the winner. There were 324 finishers.
At the Sandy 10 mile road race Bridget Davey finished in
72nd place overall in 68.20 and was second woman to finish. She was the first
over 35 woman to finish.
Track and field
The track and field season is now well under way.
At the Havering Open Meeting Alloy Wilson continued his return to competitive
Athletics by winning the 300 metres in a very useful 35.9 seconds.
Blackheath & Bromley are looking for new members of all
ages and abilities to join the Club. With this in mind the Club is hosting two
meetings at Norman Park track to give youngsters the opportunity to compete in a
track and field meeting. The first meeting takes place on Saturday the 4th of
April and is for school years 4 to 7. The second meeting takes place on Good
Friday the 10th of April. Entries can be made on the day and full details can be
found on the Club website at
www.bandbhac.org.uk
24/03/09
English Schools Cross Country Championships
Three athletes from Blackheath and Bromley came
away from the English Schools Championships at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire
with team medals.
In the Senior girls race Jen Hamer came in 46th to help
Kent to the team title by 17 points from Somerset.
It was a similar story in the Senior Boys race Frank
Kilama finished in 61st place and was the Kent teams fourth scorer as they won
gold medals 12 points ahead of Cheshire.
Amber Reed was the Club’s highest finishing athlete. In
her first English Schools she was 29th in the Junior Girls race despite having
been ill since the Inter Counties Championships. She was first finisher for Kent
and led them to silver medals behind a strong Surrey squad.
New Member Emily Nolan had a good run in the Intermediate
Girls race finishing in 92nd place for London in her first year in the age
group.
National Sportshall Finals, Bimingham
A number of the Club’s athletes were in action in
the final of the Aviva National Sportshall Finals in Birmingham. Five individual
medals were won with the highlight being two golds for Dina Asher Smith. She
produced a 2.42 metre leap in the under 13 girls long jump which was just 17
centimetres off the UK Record and also won the 4 lap race. In the same age group
there was gold too for Holly Fletcher as she won the 6 lap race and a bronze for
Aine Hurlock in the two lap race. Niyaz Choudhury won silver in the under 13
boys shot with a putt of 11 metres.
Others in action included Ellie Lawrence, Reon Gowan Wade,
Louis Hopgood, Victoria Munt, Rachel Robinson, Frances Read, Jessica Moore and
Ellie Duffy Penny.
Closing 5 Yacht Handicap
Past President John Robinson completely fooled the
handicapper to win the Closing 5 mile Yacht Handicap race by over three and half
minutes. Taking advantage of a handicap of 25 minutes he finished with a net
time of 18.56. Second was Siobhan Budd with Jean-Phillipe Delon in third.
Fastest runner was Alex Bruce Littlewood who ran 29.13 and fastest woman was
Siobhan Budd with 22.36.
This was the final race in the Bennett Cup handicap series
which takes place over nine events over the Winter months. Going into the last
event the points were very close and it was Will Slack who eventually prevailed
denying Mark Ellison his third Bennett Cup victory in second and Chris Pike, who
had been leading going into Saturdays race, in third.
New President
At the Club AGM Alison Brand was introduced as the
Club’s new President. Alison began her involvement at Club when she joined
Blackheath Harriers social Club in 1973. She has been involved in the Club ever
since, becoming an associate member when the Club opened to women in 1992 and
then switching to full membership. She was made a Vice President in 2000 by Past
President Richard Coles.
Speaking after her election she commented “We all know
that Blackheath & Bromley Harriers A.C. is a great and marvellous Club, we all
want success and that requires an immense amount of continuous effort, certainly
from the athletes themselves, but just as much from the invaluable,
hard-to-come-by and indispensable volunteers.
I hope to see more people volunteering to help in some way
during the coming year. If more people help then more people benefit and the
burden is not so heavy on those who have been generously giving their time for
years and sometimes feel 'invisible'. I also hope that in the coming year we can
reorganise in order to build towards more successful senior teams and also
continue to support and encourage our already successful younger athletes”.
Out going President Tim Soutar also proposed four new Vice
Presidents who were accepted by the Meeting with acclaim. These are Chief Trail
Layer Bob Cliff; Ted Pepper race organiser Andy Tucker; Transport Manager and
London Marathon baggage organiser Roy Watkins; and pole vaulter coach to many of
the Club’s athletes Allan Williams.
Open Meetings
The outdoor track and field season is fast
approaching and Blackheath & Bromley are looking for new members of all ages and
abilities to join the Club. With this in mind the Club is hosting two meetings
at Norman Park track to give youngsters the opportunity to compete in a track
and field meeting.
The first meeting takes place on Saturday the 4th of April
and is for school years 4 to 7. The second meeting takes place on Good Friday
the 10th of April. Entries can be made on the day and full details can be found
on the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk
17/03/09
Michael Skinner has been picked to represent Great Britain
at the World Cross Championships in Amman, Jordan on the 28th of March. The
Blackheath & Bromley athlete gained his selection despite missing the Trials
race which was incorporated in the Inter Counties Championships at Nottingham.
Skinner had been away training and racing in Australia at the time but his
consistent level of performance for Great Britain in recent years got him the
nod from the selectors.
The 29 year old, former Langley Park schoolboy, was the
second Briton to finish both in 2008 when he came 66th in Edinburgh and in 2007
when he was 62nd in the heat of Mombassa, Kenya. He has also represented Great
Britain in the European Cross Country Championships for the last four years.
Also on the International scene, race walker Chelsea
O’Rawe Hobbs was in action in the Gran Premio Citta Di Lugano meeting in
Switzerland. Despite still being an under 20 athlete she finished in 8th place
in the womens 10km race in a time of 57.09 having passed through halfway in
28.26.
British Universities Championships and other track and
field
Scott Huggins is the British Universities pole
vault champion. The Brunel University student won the contest in Sheffield with
a clearance of 4.80, although this height was 20 centimetres lower than last
year when he was runner up. Nick Moore was 11th with a clearance 3.80.
Training partner Rachel Arnheim was fourth in the womens’
contest with a clearance of 3.50. Another Brunel athlete, Irish International
Pamela Hughes was 5th equal in the high jump with a leap of 1.65.
Pamela and Scott’s performances helped make it a special
weekend for Brunel as this was the first time ever that the University won both
the mens and womens trophies at a British Universities Championships.
Also indoors Alloy Wilson represented Essex in an Inter
Counties match at Lee Valley and won the B string 400 metres in 50.28.
These performances promise much for the Summer season and
some athletes have already begun their outdoor campaigns. At the Kingston &
Polytechnic open throws meetings a wide age range of the Club’s athletes were in
action.
Fresh from breaking the British Indoor record for the over
75s shot putt, Gordon Hickey managed slightly further outdoors with a distance
of 9.98. He needs to throw another 57 centimetres to break the outdoor record
but you would not bet against him doing this as he holds the over 65s and over
70s records. He also threw the javelin 24.67, the discus 24.09 and the hammer
23.80. Barbara Terry also did all four throws in the womens’ over 60 age group
with performances of 18.44 (javelin), 20.03 (discus), 8.53 (shot), and 28.55
(hammer).
Promisingly a number of youngsters showed good early form.
In the under 17 womens age group Ellie Duffy-Penny launched the discus out to
24.44, nearly seven metres further than her previous best, and putt the shot
8.33. Niyaz Chowdhury had his first competition in the under 15s age group and
opened with a very useful throw of 29.95 in the discus. This is actually further
than anyone from the Club threw in this age group in 2008 and over five metres
further than he threw with the lighter under 13s implement last year. He also
putt the shot 8.61 while for the girls Eleanor Dumper threw the discus 22.46 and
the shot 8.67, a personal best.
South London Harriers Mob Match and Bennett Cup
he Club failed to beat rivals South London
Harriers in the annual mob match which took place at Coulsdon. The hosts were
stronger numerically and also featured prominently at the front. In fact Alex
Bruce Littlewood was the Club’s only finisher in the top ten in 4th place.
Club President Tim Soutar was 12th with Richard Parrott
making a welcome return to competition in 15th. First woman to finish from the
Club was Julie Reynolds in 50th with Carolyna Jones Baldock 76th.
The race incorporated the eighth of the nine race Bennett
Cup Handicap series and the winner on this occasion was Andy Tucker with Gary
Williams second and Chris Pike third. The final race in the series is the
Closing 5 Yacht Handicap race this Saturday and there are any number of runners
who could still win the overall title. Sixty points are awarded to the winner of
each handicap race and currently overall Chris Pike enjoys a slender 5 point
lead in the standings with 313 points. He is hotly pursued by Mark Ellison on
308 with Andy Lawes poised just behind on 305. Just 10 points separates the next
seven chasing runners and it is still possible that the winner could come from
someone outside the top 10 such is the sophisticated scoring system of Chief
Handicapper Professor Chris Haines. The first runner is off at 2.30 and in
theory, if the handicapping is perfect, all runners should cross the finish line
together.
Club AGM
The Club Annual General Meeting takes place after
the handicap race this Saturday at 6.30pm and as usual the highlight will be the
announcement of the new Club President. Tim Soutar has served the Club in this
capacity for the last year and he will be handing over to his chosen successor.
There is much speculation as to who this might be but there are still names
available in the Presidents sweepstake.
Road Racing and multi terrain
It has been a particularly busy time on the roads
recently with the Club’s athletes in action at a number of different venues.
Alex Gibbins showed he is warming up nicely for this years London Marathon as he
finished second in the Finchley 20 Mile race in 1.54.33. He was also third
recently in the Roding Valley Half Marathon in 72.02.
International marathon runner Peter Tucker finished 12th
in the Hastings Half Marathon in a time of 71.24. Nick Kinsey was next in for
the Club in 33rd with Roy Priestly 96th. First woman to finish for the Club was
Jennie Butler in 128th with Sarah Dowling 220th and Kate Pratten 592nd. Jen
Hamer was the second woman to finish at the Sevenoaks Rotary 10km in Knole Park.
She was 27th overall in a field of 562 finishers in a time of 41.25. Jonathan
Halls was 38th and Danielle Harker and Abi Brown finished in 136th and 137th.
Ken Daniel, who has recently announced his retirement from
Mob Match racing after years of sterling service, ran the fastest time at the
Crook Log Friday 5km Handicap. The old war horse clocked 19.04.
Open Meetings
The outdoor track and field season is fast
approaching and Blackheath & Bromley are looking for new members of all ages and
abilities to join the Club. With this in mind the Club is hosting two meetings
at Norman Park track to give youngsters the opportunity to compete in a track
and field meeting.
The first meeting takes place on Saturday the 4th of April
and is for school years 4 to 7. The second meeting takes place on Good Friday
the 10th of April. Entries can be made on the day and full details can be found
on the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk
10/03/09
BMAF Indoors and Throws Championships
Helen Godsell and Gordon Hickey both enjoyed
memorable weekends at the British Masters Indoor and Throws Championships at Lee
Valley. The Blackheath & Bromley duo both revised their own recently set British
records.
Helen improved her British best in the over 55s 60 metres
as she won in 8.57, three hundredths of a second quicker than her previous best
that she set just three weeks ago. She also struck gold in the 200 metres
winning in a time of 28.83. This also was a seasons best and so she approaches
the European Indoor Championships full of confidence.
Out in the field Gordon Hickey was busy revising his own
British over 75s shot record. He won his competition with a putt of 9.96 an
improvement of seven centimetres on his previous best. He was also second in the
heavy weight competition with 11.34.
The Club’s other winner was Bill Foster. The former
British International Marathon winner won the over 50s 3000 metres in 9.28.68.
Most bemedalled athlete of he weekend, however, was Barbara Terry who won three
bronze medals in the over 60s age group in the shot, hammer and heavy weight.
There was silver too for Richard Holt in the over 35s 400
while Tom Phillips was 4th in the over 50s in 7.82 his fastest time since 2006.
Ken Daniel was 5th in the over 55s 1500 in 4.42.73.
Inter Counties and World Cross Country Trials,
Nottingham
A number of athletes from the Club were in action
at the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Nottingham which
incorporated the Trials for the British team for the World Cross Country
Championships.
With Scott Overall and Mike Skinner both out the country
there was nobody from the Club up the front in the Senior races. In fact Mike
did race last week out in Australia where he finished 17th in the 5000 metres at
the Melbourne Track Classic Meeting in 14.17.87.
Jennie Butler was first home for the Club in the Senior
Womens race in 89th position. In the Mens’ race Alex Gibbins finished 104th with
Peter Tucker 121st and Jeremy Bradley, who has registered to compete for the
Club as a Higher Competition Athlete this Summer, 142nd.
In the Under 20s age group Alex Bruce Littlewood was 41st
in the mens’ race with Frank Kilama 73rd and Hannah Garcia was 153rd in the
womens’ event. Jen Hamer was 52nd in the Under 17s age group.
Highest placed athlete from the Club on the day was Amber
Reed who was an excellent 19th in the under 15 girls race following on from her
27th place in the National cross country last month. Oliver Taylor was 113th in
the boys event with Will Mercer 174th
Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award
Loraine Ugen is the Club’s Jack Petchey Foundation
Achievement Award winner for February. The 17 year old has enjoyed a very
successful indoor season which has been recognised with selection for England in
the Celtic Cup and for Great Britain in a jumps International in the
Netherlands. Loraine has improved her best in the long jump to 5.91 the second
furthest in the country this year and was an important member of the Club’s
Junior team who became National Junior League Champions last Summer.
Each month the Club selects one young person, in the 11 to
25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a
framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a
club project of the recipient's choice.
Other results
Missing from last weeks report was mention of Amy
Godsell’s performance at the Surrey Indoor Championships. Like her mother Helen,
she has been in good form this Winter and she won the 60 metres title in a
seasons best of 7.69.
On the roads Bridget Davey finished 37th in the Lydd Half
Marathon while further afield Les Smith was 363rd in the Banbury 15 and Ray
Bennett was 116th in the Duchy Marathon.
3/03/09
The Winter season is nearing its close but there was
plenty of activity for the members of Blackheath & Bromley across the world at
events in Australia, Holland, Wales and Thanet.
Internationals, Indoor City Challenge, Cardiff, and
other indoors
Two athletes from Blackheath & Bromley were
selected to represent Great Britain in a jumps International against Holland in
Apeldoorn. The GB team won the match and Scott Huggins cleared 5 metres to
finish in third place in the pole vault, a good effort on his Senior debut and
the highest place Briton in the contest.
Lorraine Ugen went one better and finished in second place
in the long jump with a new personal best of 5.91. It is only a matter of time
before she goes over six metres.
Mike Skinner has been out in Australia training and he
showed that things are going well as he ran 3.45.36 in the Sydney Track Classic.
In a high class field this gave him 9th place.
At the Inter City Indoor Challenge Final in Cardiff a
number of the Club’s athletes were in action for the South London team. Highest
placer was Kola Adedoyin who took third place in the triple jump with a leap of
14.60
Dan Putnam had a busy day. He took 4th place in the 200
metres in 22.60 and he was also 6th in the 400 in 49.69, good performances from
a first year Junior on a track that has tight bends which militates against fast
times.
Liz Hughes was 5th in the womens pole vault with a
clearance of 3.55, a seasons best, while in the mens event Nick Moore was just
outside his best with a height of 3.80. It was 7th place also for Lauren Blackie
in the triple jump with a leap of 11.61 and second claim Dave Boyce was 9th in
the 1500 with 4.11.41.
At the Surrey Indoor Championships Jermaine Alexander was
third in the Under 20 mens 60 metre final in 7.12. Neil Francis clocked 7.4 in
the Senior Mens race.
Cross Country
Blackheath & Bromley were well beaten in the
Annual Mob Match against Orion Harriers. Numbers were almost even for the match
at Hayes but the visitors from Essex packed well up front to ensure a
comfortable victory. The hosts did, however, have the consolation of providing
both the first male and female athletes to finish.
Alex Bruce Littlewood returned from Portsmouth University
to win the 7.5 mile race by four seconds in 46.58. Next home for the Club was
Alex Gibbins in 5th place followed by Gareth Evans in 13th.
Jennie Butler followed on from her fine run in last weeks
National Cross Country Championships to comfortably win the womens' race in a
time of 52.44. She was actually the Club's 5th scorer in 17th place overall.
Julie Reynolds was the next runner from the Club to finish in 40th with Angela
Cook 74th.
Jennie also enjoyed success in the Bennett Cup Handicap
race which was incorporated in this event. She won in a net time of 36.54 with
Ian Montgomery second and Alex Bruce Littlewood third.
With just two races left in the Handicap series positions
are mighty close with just twenty three points separating the top ten athletes.
With a maximum of 60 points available in each of the last two matches it is
still anyones title. Leading at the moment is Gareth Evans with 274 points
followed by Mick Jones on 269 and Mark Ellison on 265.
At the Southern Schools Inter Counties Championships at
Bexley Will Ruiz finished in 11th in the year 8 race. Richard Webb was 55th in
the Boys Year 7 race.
Road
Many of the Club’s youngsters took part in the London Borough of Bromley trials
for the Adidas London Mini Marathon which is part of the London Marathon day on
the 26th of April.
Full results are not yet available but the top three
placings in each race are as follows. Boys 15/16/17, 1. Hector Kurtyanek, 2.
Martin Parry, 3. Greg Proctor. Girls 15/16/17, 1. Krystal Galley, 2. Rebecca
Smith, 3. Chelsea Crouser. Boys 13/14, 1. Tomas Greenhill, 2. James Murphy, 3.
Alex Pennett, Girls 13/14, 1. Amber Reed, 2. Lauren Heria, 3. Hope Stenning.
Boys 11/12, 1. Richard Webb, 2. William Fuller, 3. Louis Parkinson, Girls 11/12,
1. Janae Galley, 2. Louise Davison, 3. Issy Jackson.
Selections for the Bromley team will follow but Will
Mercer has been selected to represent Croydon.
A number of athletes from the Club were in action in the
Thanet 20 mile road race. Richard Hall continued his back to back race program
finishing in 18th place in 2.13.31. He was followed by Dave King (87th), Mark
Skelly (114th), Matthew Newins (115th), Kieth Duffy Penny (191st), Trevor
Delahoy (224th) and Justine Eastbury (238th)
24/02/09
On another busy weekend for the Club, athletes from
Blackheath & Bromley were in action across the Country at International,
National, and Area level; indoors, on the country and on the roads. Four
athletes were on International duty, one UK record was set, and many younger
members qualified to compete in the National Sports Hall Final in March.
Celtic Cup
Four athletes from the Club were selected to
represent their countries at the Celtic Indoor Cup in Cardiff. Best performance
here came from Shaunagh Brown. Competing for the England under 20s team she won
the Senior and Under 20 shot competition with a putt of 14.09. Lorraine Ugen
made her International debut but had to settle for 6th place in the long jump.
Two Brunel students represented their respective
countries. Scott Huggins was second in the pole vault for Scotland with a leap
of 4.94 and Pamela Hughes was third in the high jump for Ireland with a
clearance of 1.68.
Also in action indoors was Katie Murray. She ran a very
useful 58.67 for 400 metres at the Midland Counties Open Meeting in Birmingham
National Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill
Fields
The Club were represented in most of the races at
the National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields and although
there were no medals for the Club or its athletes there were some good
performances.
It wasn't so many years ago that the Club won the Senior
Mens race at the National Cross Country Championship. Eighth last year, they had
to settle for 28th this as some athletes are out the country and others injured.
However, there is much promise for the future as the team
was led home by first year Senior James Poole who finished in a very useful
101st place. Peter Tucker was 124th closely followed by another first year
Senior, Andrew Conway who closed in 129th. Alex Gibbins 205th, Richard Daniel
629th and Richard Hall 702nd completed the scoring six.
Jennie Butler had a fine run in the Senior Womens’ race
working her way through the field to finish in 44th place. Sarah Dowling in
193rd, Kate Pratten 248th and Carolyna Jones Baldock 349th completed the scoring
quartet. This gave them 35th in the team race.
Alex Bruce Littlewood also finished in 44th place in the
under 20 mens race, a very good run considering he has been struggling with
injuries for much of the Winter. Frank Kilama was 114th.
In the under 17s age group Jonathan Halls and Ross Braden
were 241st and 260th in the mens race with Chelsea Crowser and Melody Kane 115th
and 149th in the womens race.
Highest placed athlete on the day was Amber Reed. She had
another good run finishing 27th in the under 15 girls race. Some remarkable
packing saw Hannah Cook close in 212th, Lauren Heria 217th and Hope Stenning
218th with Jessica Jones just behind in 255th. This gave them 21st position in
the team competition, the highest placed B & B team on the day.
Sam Jackson led the boys team home as he finished in
118th. Greg Proctor had a good run to finish 177th with Will Mercer 191st,
Robert Yates 202nd, Adam Willis 259th and Tom Greenhill 293rd.
Will Ruiz enjoyed a good National debut in the under 13
boys race. He was first home for the Club in 97th place with Richard Webb 136th,
Thomas Desborough 292nd and Daniel Waller 334th. Sonia Woolhouse was 253rd in
the girls race.
Vets AC Championships
Highlight of the Veterans Athletics Club
Championships at Lee Valley was a new UK best in the over 75s shot putt. Gordon
Hickey, who in his younger days was one of Britain’s top high jumpers, produced
a throw of 9.89 to improve the previous record by 14 centimetres.
Elsewhere Tom Phillips timed 26.74 in the 200 metres and
Ken Daniel ran 4.50.62 in the 1500, over ten seconds quicker than his most
recent performance.
Sussex Beacon Half Marathon
A number of the Club's athletes warmed up for this
weekends important Mob Match against Orion by running in the Sussex Beacon Half
Marathon at Brighton. In a field of well over 4000 runners David Beadle was
first home in 65th place with Richard Hall, fresh from the previous days
National Cross Country, just behind in 69th. Third finisher for the Club was
Neil Ayrton in 127th just one place ahead of the first woman to finish Fran
Green. Anne Cilia was the Club’s only other woman finisher in 919th.
Sports Hall
Many of the Club’s youngsters were in action in
the London Regional Final of the Aviva Sportshall UK Championships at Newham
Leisure Centre. Representing South London they enjoyed an outstanding day with
most of them qualifying for the National Sports Hall Final in Birmingham next
month.
In the under 15 girls age group Jessica Moore finished as
second best athlete overall winning the eight lap race and the speed bounce
contests. She also took bronze in the long jump.
Rachel Robinson won the 4 lap race and was part of the 4 x
2 lap race team which enjoyed victory. Also in this quartet were Ellie
Duffy-Penny and Victoria Munt.
Frances Read picked up two silvers in the Speed bounce and
the Vertical Jump.
Joshua Oyedele showed more promising form as he won the
two lap race, the shot putt, and the standing long jump. This left him as the
top all rounder in the under 15 boys age group.
In the under 13 girls Aine Hurlock won the two lap race
and was also third in the standing long jump. She then picked up another gold in
the 4x2 lap relay along with Holly Fletcher. Holly had earlier won the high jump
with an impressive leap of 1.30 and she completed a hat trick of wins in the 6
lap race, an event where Ellie Lawrence won bronze to add to her gold in the
shot putt with 8.41.
Third place in the shot was Shannon Clarke who also won a
gold in the obstacle relay. The other triple gold medallist in this age group
was Dina Asher Smith. She won the four lap race by over three seconds and jumped
6.64 in the standing triple jump. She also won gold in the eight lap parlauf.
In the under 13 boys Louis Hopgood won the shot with a
putt of 7.63 and the 8 lap race and was third in the 6 lap trial race in 1.21.3.
17/02/09
On a busy weekend athletes from Blackheath & Bromley were
in action all over the country in National and County Championships and with
some success. A British record, National and County titles and many personal
bests made it a good weekend for the Club and its members.
European Indoor Trials, Sheffield
To get to compete in the European Indoor Trials is
an achievement in itself as athletes are invited to compete and, although there
were no medal winners at Sheffield, the opportunity to take part was an
important experience. Scott Huggins responded to the challenge with another 5
metre performance that gave him 5th place in the pole vault.
Amy Godsell finished 5th in her heat of the 60 metres in
7.83 and James Alaka clocked 6.97 in the mens' event. James also ran 21.87 in
the semi finals of the 200 and Lauren Blackie was 11th in the triple jump with a
leap of 11.60.
England Athletics Aviva Under 20 Championships,
Birmingham
Two athletes from the Club struck gold at the
National Under 20 Championships in Birmingham. Shaunagh Brown won the shot with
a putt of 14.51 which is easily the furthest by a Junior athlete this year and
actually places her 4th in the Senior rankings, one centimetre ahead a
heptathlete Kelly Sotherton. It was gold too for Lorraine Ugen who leapt 5.80 in
the long jump to snatch victory in the last round of the competition.
There were silver medals too for Dan Putnam in the 400 in
an indoor best of 48.71 and Mary Iheke in the womens' event in a new indoor and
outdoor best of 56.16. Sabine Efiannayi picked up silver in the under 17 womens'
shot with 11.46.
Bronze medals came from Tremayne Gilling in the under 20
mens 60 in 6.89 and from Kola Adedoyin in the triple jump in the same age group
with 14.42.
There were other good performances too. Anna Huggins
equalled her best of 3 metres in finishing 11th in the under 17 womens’ pole
vault; Savannah Echel Thompson timed 56.77 in the heats of the under 20s 400;
and Megan Southwart ran 9.21 in the heats of the 60 metre hurdles.
Rachel Dickens and Georgina Middleton both ran new bests
in the Under 15 girls 60 metres of 8.15 and 8.24 and Rhiannon Jones ran a very
useful 9.71 in the 60 metre hurdles. Dina Asher Smith took 5th place in the 200
metres in 26.18.
Kent and Essex Indoor Championships, Lee Valley
There were medals galore for the Club's athletes
at the Kent and Essex Championships at Lee Valley. Alloy Wilson returned to
action after a long break to win the Essex Senior 400 title but all the other
winners were in the Kent events.
In the Senior age group there were golds for Daniel Haque
(60 metres), Sam Bobb (triple jump) Nick Moore (pole vault), and Rachel Arnheim
(pole vault) but trumping them all was Helen Godsell who picked up bronze in the
60 metres in a British over 55s record of 8.60. Another over 55 Allan Williams
was second in the pole vault.
Katrina Cosby made an impressive breakthrough as she won
the under 20 womens 400 in a new Championship best of 57.62 while Alex Blair
took the mens title and Megan Southwart the 60 metre hurdles.
In the under 17s Dominic Coelho won the 60 metres and
there were further wins for Mark Longhurst (Long and triple jump) Sian Hurlock
(triple jump). Mark was also third in the 200 metres behind Jonathan Pettet who
took silver with a very useful 23.71. There was disappointment for Ben Parkin
who was first across the line in the 400 metres and it was unfortunate to say
the least that he only found he had been disqualified when he went to the awards
presentation.
Amara Lalemi Jacobs picked up silver in the 60 metres as
did Sian Hurlock in the long jump and Christine Lyston in the high jump.
Bronze medals went to Sian Duffy in the 300 and Rachel
Robinson in the 800.
Dina Asher Smith won the under 15 girls 60 metres and 300
metres the latter being particularly notable as the Club had the first three
finishers with Holly Fletcher second and Jessica Moore third. Further wins came
from Victoria Munt (1km walk) Rachel Dickens (200) and Adam Willis (Long jump)
and there were silvers for Georgina Middleton (200) and Frances Read (long
jump); and bronzes for Rachel Giannini (60 hurdles) Jessica Moore (long jump),
Adam Willis (800) and promising Joshua Oyedele in the 200.
SCVAC Indoor Championships, Lee Valley
There some more fine performances at last weekends
Southern Counties Indoor Championships at Lee Valley with every athlete who
competed for the Club picking up medals.
Helen Godsell claimed a hat trick of gold medals in the
over 55s age group winning the 60 metres in 8.69, the 200 in 29.07 and the 400
in 69.13.
Busiest athlete was Clem Leon who took part in six events.
His best performance came in the triple jump which he won with a leap of 10.30.
He was also second in the high jump and fourth in the long jump. On the track he
was 4th in the 400 and 5th in both the 60 and 200 metre races.
Tom Phillips was second in the over 50s 60 metres in 8.07
and third in the 200 in 26.43. However because there were guests in front of him
in the 200 he actually won the gold a good way to finish his time in this age
group. He turns 55 at the end of this month, three days before the European
Masters Indoors in Ancona.
Ken Daniel was 2nd in the 1500 but claimed gold as the
winner was a guest. Back in the field Allan Williams won the over 55s pole vault
with a clearance of 3.75 and also finished second in the high jump. Alan Hardy
was second in the over 50s pole vault with a leap of 2.70
Kent League, Swanley
The last Kent Cross Country League races of the
season for Senior Men and Women took place at Swanley. The women finished 5th
for the season and were led home by Bridget Davey in 7th place. Captain Kate
Pratten finished in 21st with Carolyna Jones Baldock 26th.
Junior Alex Bruce Littlewood was first home for the Senior
Men in 11th place backed by Roy Priestley in 52nd, Giles Clifford in 66th and
Rob Brown in 76th.
10/02/09
Scottish Indoor Championships
There was a small piece of Athletics history made at the Scottish Indoor
Championships in Glasgow when for the first time ever two Scots cleared five
metres in a pole vault competition. One of these was Scott Huggins, the first
year Senior from Blackheath & Bromley. He won the competition on countback with
a clearance of five metres from Shettleston's Alasdair Strange. He also came
very close to clearing a new Scottish Indoor record of 5.11 and now prepares for
the Aviva European Trials this coming weekend in Sheffield.
It was a double celebration for the Huggins household as
sister Anna was the top under 17 woman with an equal best of 3 metres. Training
partner Nick Moore cleared 3.60 and was close to going over 3.80.
Surrey League, Ham Lands, Kingston
Dave Taylor continued his return to racing after
an injury with an outing in the Surrey League. Competing for his second claim
club Herne Hill Harriers at the final match of the season at Ham Lands near
Kingston he finished in 17th place in a time of 28.49.
Sidcup 10
A number of the Club’s athletes were in action at
the Sidcup 10 mile road race with pride of place going to Peter Tucker and
Jennie Butler. Peter finished 4th overall in 50.51 which gave him third place in
the Kent Championship which was incorporated in the event. Jennie was 40th in
the race and was third woman home, but won the County title.
Alex Gibbins finished in a very good 8th place and others
to feature included Richard Hall 42nd, Steve Holmes 47th, Steve Pairman 66th,
Tony Crowder 97th and Darryl Hilliar 110th.
Sportshall
Two athletes from the Club were in action for Kent
in the South East Regional Sportshall Final of the Aviva Sporthall UK
Championships. Dina Asher Smith won two individual events in the under 13 girls
age group. She leapt 2.38 metres in the standing long jump to win by six
centimetres. She also enjoyed a good win in the 4 lap race timing 52.3, 1.4
seconds quicker than the runner up. She was also part of the team that won the 8
lap paarlauf race.
In the under 15s age group Rachel Dickens was 8th in the
standing long jump with 2.18 and equal 8th in the 2 lap race in 25.1. She also
putt the shot 5.07.
Ron Pickering Memorial Fund
Four members of the Club have received grants from
the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund. The Fund was set up in memory of the former BBC
commentator to support athletes in education up to the age of 23 years old.
James Alaka was the number one under 20 in the country
last year in the 100 metres and represented Great Britain at the World Junior
Championships.
Stephen Cavey was the fastest under 17 over 1500 metres in
the country in 2008 and the English Schools champion.
Scott Huggins broke the Scottish Junior record on a number
of occasions in 2008. He also won the Senior Inter Counties title for the second
year in a row and represented GB at the World Junior Championships.
Dan Putnam was 4th fastest under 17 in the country in 2008
breaking the Club record with 48.55. He represented England indoors.
Tony Weeks Pearson
In the week when Mo Farah broke the UK 3000 metre
indoor record, Tony Weeks Pearson who broke the record in 1954 has suffered
serious injuries while walking to the recent Kent Fitness League. The Club Past
President fell and dislocated both knees which has left him with both legs in
plaster from the thigh to the ankle.
Tony set the UK Indoor record on the 18/12/54 in Belgium
with a time of 8.25.4.
London Mini Marathon
Time is running out for youngsters to enter the
London Borough Of Bromley Trials for this years Adidas Mini London Marathon. The
trials are open to boys and girls aged between 11 and 17 who live or receive
full time education in the London Borough of Bromley.
The trials take place on Sunday 1st March and each race
will start and finish on the running track at Norman Park. The first five
finishers in each of the age group races will gain automatic selection for the
Borough team that competes in the Adidas Mini London Marathon on April 26th.
The remaining three places will be at the discretion of
the borough team organisers. There are three races each for boys and girls in
the following age group categories 11-12, 13-14 and 15-17.
The deadline for entries is Friday the 20th of February.
Entry form here -
closes 20 February
British Universities Championships
The Club were hoping to have a number of athletes
in action in the British Universities Cross Country Championships at Aberdeen.
Unfortunately the race was called off on Friday afternoon.
3/02/09
Montell Douglas opened her Indoor campaign at the Aviva
International at Glasgow. The British Record holder for the 100 metres was in
action in the 60 metres in a high class field. Having missed some training
through injury in November, the Blackheath & Bromley athlete had to settle for
5th place in 7.45.
A number of the Club’s athletes were in action at the
London Indoor Games at Lee Valley. Perhaps the highlight here was a new over UK
over 55s record in the pole vault from the evergreen Allan Williams, who
represented Great Britain at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. He made a clearance of
3.81.
In the Senior Mens age group James Alaka set a seasons
best of 6.91 in the 60 metres while for the women Rachel Arnheim cleared 3.40 in
the pole vault.
In the under 20s age group Shaunagh Brown putt the shot
the furthest in the country this year as she threw an indoor best of 14.11.
Second claimer Tremayne Gilling ran an excellent 6.88 for the 60 metres, the 6th
fastest by an under 20 in the country this year. Lorraine Ugen was another to
set a seasons best as she ran 7.77 in the womens’ race as did Megan Southwart in
the 60 metre hurdles with 9.13. Lorraine also won the long jump with a leap of
5.78. Christina Moore cleared 3.20 in the pole vault. Jermaine Alexander ran
7.32 in the 60 metres.
Sabine Efiannayi opened her season with a putt of 11.11 in
the under 17’s shot which ranks her 4th in the country this year. Jonathan
Pettet showed that his Winter training is going well as he ran 52.96 for the 400
metres which is close to his best from outdoors last Summer. Sian Hurlock leapt
4.63 in the long jump and timed 8.55 for the 60 metres.
At the Birmingham Games Lauren Blackie finished 4th in the
triple jump with a leap of 11.90, a seasons best.
On the roads the Club took the team prize in the Watford
Half Marathon. First home was Peter Tucker who came 4th overall in 70.26. Alex
Gibbins was 12th in 73.30 while veteran Keith Ewing rolled back the years to
finish third scorer in 52nd place with 81.46. This gave them an overall time of
3.45.33 just 25 seconds clear of the team from St Albans Striders.
At the London Open Walks meeting at Victoria Park,
Victoria Munt finished 3rd in the 2500 metres race which meant she was second in
the under 15s age group in the Southern Championships.
There was more success at the South Of England Veterans
Cross Country Championships at Biggleswade where Jennie Butler won the silver
medal in the over 35s race. She timed 23.14 for the 6000 metre course.
The South Of England Inter Counties races took place at
the same venue and Will Mercer finished in 21st place in the under 15 boys race.
This means he has been selected to represent Surrey at the Inter Counties
Championships at Nottingham next month
Closer to home at Hayes the Club won the annual mob match
against Ranelagh Harriers. The Club were boosted by the presence of a number of
youngsters who figured most prominently. Second in the race was 15 year old
Hector Kurtyanek who negotiated the testing 7.5 mile course in 49.55. Portsmouth
undergraduate Alex Bruce Littlewood was 4th with Club President Tim Soutar in
5th. Other youngsters to feature included Robert Yates 13th, Sam Jackson 16th
and Greg Proctor 19th.
First woman for the Club to finish was Jane Bradshaw in an
excellent 14th place, with Julie Reynolds 28th and Sarah Dowling 32nd.
The race incorporated the latest round of the Bennett Cup
Handicap series which runs throughout the Winter. First here was Sam Jackson
with Dick Griffin second and Robert Yates third. Saturdays results caused some
seismic changes in the overall placings. After six of the nine races just five
points separates the top three with Mick Jones first on 231 followed by Mark
Ellison on 230 and Jane Bradshaw on 227. Another eight points separates the next
five athletes and a further five have over 200 points.
Ben Hopkins is the Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement
Award winner for January. Ben won the Under 17 mens’ 60 metre hurdles at the
South Of England Indoor Championships. He has been an important part of the
Club’s young athletes squad in recent years scoring numerous points for the team
in the hurdles and sprints.
Each month the Club selects one young person, in the 11 to
25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a
framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a
club project of the recipient's choice.
For those struggling to cope with the challenging weather
conditions, Past President Ken Daniel has a range of moon boots available for
purchase at competitive prices. Ken can be contacted at
kenneth.daniel@ntlworld.com
27/01/09
South Of England Championships, Hillingdon
The South Of England Cross Country Championships
remains one of the highlights of the Winter season and a good number of athletes
from Blackheath & Bromley were in action at the 2009 contest at Hillingdon,
albeit with a mixed set of results. While there was another good team
performance from the Senior women and some encouraging performances in the
younger age groups, the Senior Men had a disappointing afternoon.
Bryony Proctor continued her return to fitness finishing
25th in the Senior Womens' race in her first year in the age group. Veteran
Jennie Butler enjoyed the challenging conditions making light of the mud and
water to finish in 30th and another veteran Jane Bradshaw also ran well to
finish 54th. Julie Reynolds just pipped Sarah Dowling for the 4th scoring place
and they finished in 104th and 106th respectively. Captain Kate Pratten closed
in 154th with Anne Cilia 215th and Carolyna Jones Baldock 248th.This gave them a
very good 7th place in the team race.
The Senior Men have a rich tradition in this race
stretching back to their first appearance in 1884. After over 100 years of
fielding teams in every race they won the team title for the first time in 1986,
to begin a golden era which saw them win the title seven times in the 1990s and
provide four separate individual champions. Sadly at Hillingdon they failed to
finish a team for the third year in a row.
The one bright spot was the fine individual performance of
Andrew Conway. The St Marys University student bounced back from missing the
Kent Championships because of an achilles injury to have his best run on the
country to finish in 76th place. Alex Gibbins did not enjoy the conditions but
still finished a useful 105th while Roy Priestley closed in 290th and Richard
Hall 370th. Peter Tucker started well but had to pull out because of a severe
stitch.
Frank Kilama ran well in the under 20s race to finish in
40th place while Alex Bruce Littlewood’s injury strewn Winter meant he had to
settle for 61st place.
Highest placed athlete on the day was Jen Hamer. She
produced another good performance to finish 19th in the under 17 womens' race
with Chelsea Crouser 54th and Melody Kane 78th. Hector Kurtyanek was a useful
63rd in the mens' race.
Amber Reed had a tough time as she lost a shoe early on in
the under 15 girls race. She finished with a cut foot in 28th place, a brave
effort from one of the Club's most promising athletes. With Rachel Robinson in
149th, and good packing from Hope Stenning, Ella Self and Lauren Heria in 159th,
161st and 163rd, the team finished 22nd.
For the boys Will Mercer had his best run of the Winter
finishing in 42nd place. Oliver Taylor and Greg Proctor were 83rd and 84th and
Sam Jackson completed the scoring in 100th place. Adam Willis and Tom Greenhill
provided good back up in 145th and 185th to help the team to 12th place.
There were some promising runs in the under 13s age group.
For the girls Georgina Kennedy finished in 50th place with Izzy Jackson 131st
and Sonia Woolhouse 201st. Will Ruiz led the boys home in 83rd place with
Richard Webb 98th, Alex Punnett 129th, Tom Desborough 187th and Oliver Sims
216th.
Inter City Challenge and other indoors
Scott Huggins won the pole vault at the Inter City
Challenge semi final at Lee Valley. Competing for London North for who, he
qualifies by virtue of being a student at Brunel, he cleared 5.01 metres, an
indoor seasons best and a performance that ranks him 4th in the country this
year. Lorraine Ugen was also in winning form, despite still being a junior,
taking the long jump with a leap of 5.73. This ranks her as 5th Under 20 in the
country this year. Shaunagh Brown is easily the number one junior in the country
this year, and fourth in the Senior listings, but she had to settle for second
place in the shot putt. She nevertheless threw a very good 14.00 just four
centimetres off her seasons best. Lauren Blackie faced some strong competition
in triple jump finishing in 4th place with a distance of 11.5
There was a welcome return to action for Dominic Parsons
at the Bath Indoor Open Meeting. Injuries have hampered him for a couple of
years but he bounced back by clocking 7.06 for the 60 metres on two occasions.
Dartford Les Witton 10 Mile Road Race and more
Peter Tucker was in winning form the previous
weekend. Having won the Club Open 10km Cross Country on the Saturday he
triumphed again on the roads in the Dartford Les Witton 10 Mile race. On a new
course, fast times were made difficult by the hills and wind. Nevertheless
Tucker showed that his has good strength as he reeled in last years winner
Crispian Bloomfield to win in 53.37.
Second man from the Club to finish was Len Crowder in 58th
with third finisher Fran Green in 110th. Darryl Hilliar was 127th, Dave King
192nd, Nick Bunclark 225th, Adrian Stocks 247th, Paul Carter 260th, Trevor
Delahoy 316th, Kate Jones 380th and Justine Eastbury 405th. Gary Cook was in
action at the Canterbury 10 finishing in 41st in 65.22.
20/01/09
It has been a busy few days for athletes from Blackheath &
Bromley both outdoors and indoors. Scott Overall and Mike Skinner have both been
racing abroad. Last weekend Scott was in action at the Muguerza Cross Country
meeting at Elgoibar in Spain. In a high class field he was the first European
athlete to finish closing in 7th in a race won by Ayel Abshero of Ethiopia.
Scott's time for the 10.796km course was a very useful 32.40, the same as the
6th placed athlete.
This weekend both he and Mike were in Spain as they
competed in the Italica International Cross Country meeting. Again the standard
was very high with Scott 16th in 32.16 and Mike 22nd in 32.52.
A good number of athletes from the Club were in action at
the South Of England Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. They added another
eight gold medals to the three they won last year exceeding the bumper ten they
won at last years championships.
Scott Huggins got the weekend off on a high as he cleared
4 metres 90 centimetres to win the pole vault in his first year as a Senior. It
was good news too for Nick Moore. The opening height was 3.80 which is higher
than his best. Like Scott, a first year senior, he soared over but could not
improve on his new personal best, finishing in 5th place. The other Senior
winner was Shaunagh Brown. Still a junior she putt the shot 14.04 to win the
competition by over a metre and a half.
More Senior medals came in the womens pole vault where Liz
Hughes and Rachel Arnheim finished 2nd and 3rd both clearing 3.50.
Elsewhere Vicki Cole was 4th in the 200 in 25.52 and James
Alaka was 5th in the mens’ race in 22.01 and would have gone quicker had he not
been drawn in the inside lane. Lewis Ely was 8th in the high jump with 1.85 as
was Lauren Blackie in the triple jump with a leap of 11.38.
James Alaka and Danny Doyley ran 6.95 and 6.97 in the 60
metres while in the womens’s races Amy Godsell and Vicki Cole achieved times of
7.79 and 7.8.
Shaunagh Brown not only won the Senior shot, she won the
Junior competition as well with a distance of 13.90, a new Championship Best
Performance. The Club’s Junior women field eventers had a remarkable couple of
days winning four of the five gold medals and gaining silver and bronze in the
other. Given that the South Of England covers 19 separate counties this was a
notable achievement.
First year Junior Jessica Matthews took the high jump
title with a clearance of 1.65 and Christina Moore won the pole vault with 3.20.
Lorraine Ugen leapt 5.79 to take long jump gold and also came 5th in the 60
metres. Isobel Ivy took silver in the triple jump with 10.97 and Jessica
Matthews picked up her second medal of the weekend as she claimed third place
with 10.81.
There was gold though in the mens’ triple jump as Kola
Adedoyin won with a leap of 14.56. Dan Putnam followed his gold in last weeks
400 with silver in the 200 with 22.02.
Second Claimer Tremayne Gilling took 4th in the 60 metres
and produced a hugely consistent series of times running between 6.97 and 6.92
on four occasions. Megan Southwart was 6th in the 60 metre hurdles in 9.3;
Jermaine Olason 7th in the long jump with 6.13 and Jermaine Alexander clocked
23.13 in the 200.
Second claimer Mary Ihere ran a very swift 25.46 in the
200 metres but unfortunately was disqualified in the final.
Ben Hopkins stormed to victory in the under 17s 60 metre
hurdles winning in 8.53 in a close finish. Like Dan Putnam, Tom Bensted followed
last weeks victory in the 400 with silver in the 200. He ran 22.72 while
Jonathan Pettet timed 24.44 in his heat.
It was silver too for Anna Huggins in the pole vault. She
set a new best of 3 metres and finished equal second.
There was more success in the under 15s age group. Amber
Reed, fresh from winning the Kent Schools Cross Country title the day before,
had a comfortable win in the 1500 metres as astonishingly there were no other
starters. Nevertheless she clocked a very useful 5.10.10.
There was a good turn out in the under 15 girls long jump
with Dina Asher Smith third with 4.65; Frances Read 5th (4.57), Jessica Moore
6th (4.46) and Georgina Middleton 13th (4.19).
Dina also picked up bronze in the 200 metres in a new best
of 26.32 and 6th in the 60 metres 8.15 which meant she picked up three medals
from the Championships in total. Rachel Dickens timed excellent 8.20 in the semi
with Georgina Middleton running 8.39 in the heats. Georgina ran 28.46 in the
200.
Rhiannon Jones enjoyed a successful championships.
Although she did not win a medal she made a big improvement to finish 4th in the
60 metre hurdles, improving her best to 9.68.
A number of the Clubs youngsters were in action at the
County Schools Cross Country Championships as they bid for places in the English
Schools Championships later in the year. At the Kents at Mote Park, Maidstone,
Jen Hamer enjoyed a fine win in the Senior Girls race with Amy DeMatos 8th and
Hannah Garcia 9th. Frank Kilama was third in the boys race with Callum Fraser
13th.
Hector Kurtyanek was 8th in the Intermediate boys race
giving him a place in the Southern Inter County Schools Cross Country event at
Croydon on the 7th of February. Greg Proctor finished in 16th. Chelsea Crouser
had a good run in the girls race to place 9th with Amy Mitchell 18th.
As stated earlier Amber Reed enhanced her growing
reputation with a win in the Junior Girls race 17 seconds clear of the runner
up. Hannah Cook had a good run in 16th with Hope Stenning 28th, Jessica Jones
31st, Ella Self 32nd, Holly Fletcher 36th and Mollie Miller 41st.
Adam Willis was first home in the Junior Boys race in 14th
with Bradley Taylor 29th.
In the year 7 races Georgina Kennedy was 2nd in the girls
race and Richard Webb 5th and Daniel Waller 54th in the boys.
At the Surrey Championships at Reigate Will Mercer was
14th in the Intermediate Boys race so gaining selection for the Inter Counties
race in February with Sam Jackson 21st.
Closer to home there was a good turn out for the Club Open
10km Cross Country race at Hayes which incorporates the Club Masters
Championships.
Peter Tucker won the testing open race in 35.59 with Alex
Gibbins second in 36.15.
Jane Bradshaw continued her excellent form this Winter by
winning the women’s race in 42.56 with just one second separating second and
third placers Julie Reynolds and Sarah Dowling. Jane was also winner of the over
35s age group with Sarah Dowling second and Justine Eastbury third. Angela Cook
was first over 45 followed by Anne Cilia.
Club President Tim Soutar won the mens’ over 40 race with
Gary Cook second and Steve Pairman third. Graham Coates took the over 50s title
with Andy Lawes second and Chris Pike third.
Trevor Delahoy was first over 60 followed by Tony Pontifex
and Drew Grace while Ron Chambers won the over 70s race.
The race also incorporated the latest round of the Bennett
Cup Handicap series of races. First in this was Trevor Delahoy followed by Kate
Pratten and Sarah Dowling. After 5 events Tony Pontifex leads with 204 points
from Gareth Evans on 194 and Julie Reynolds on 188. With four events still to go
and 240 points up for grabs the event is still wide open.
13/01/09
Great Edinburgh Cross Country
Mike Skinner figured prominently in the 4km short
course race at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country meeting last Saturday. The
Blackheath and Bromley athlete was well placed in the pack for the first two
thirds of the race which featured many of Britain's top middle distance runners.
From here he made a surge to try and break the field but while some fell off the
pace fellow Internationals Andy Baddeley and Steve Vernon did not.
Baddeley, a training partner of Skinner, went on to win
and Skinner was reeled back in the closing stages to finish in 5th place. He now
plans to travel to Australia to train for a month.
Kent Championships
The race in Edinburgh meant that Skinner had to
miss the Kent County Cross Championships at Detling Showground. Freezing
conditions on a location which is one of the highest points in the County made
it a challenging day for the athletes but the Club, nevertheless, had some good
results.
Bryony Proctor won the Senior Womens race last year
despite being an under 20 but this year had to settle for the runners up spot.
This was a good run considering she has missed much of the Winter through
injury. With the ever improving Jane Bradshaw in 10th and Sarah Downing 14th the
Club won silver medals in the 3 to score contest.
This was achieved despite the absence of athletes such as
Jennie Butler, Siobhan Budd, Elaine Murty, Shavaun Henry and Fran Green and they
went one better in the 6 to score event where with Julie Reynolds 16th, Rosie
Ferguson 19th and Lisa Page 27th they won gold medals.
Loughborough student James Poole had a fine run in the
Senior Mens race to finish in 5th place and with Peter Tucker 10th and Alex
Gibbins 11th team medals were a possibility. Unfortunately the remaining three
scorers were a lot further down the field and they finished 4th.
In the under 20 age group new member Frank Kilama, who has
joined the Club from Bexley AC, finished in 4th place while Cambridge University
student Alistair Cliff was 23rd. Last years champion Alex Bruce Littlewood was
unable to defend his title because of injury.
Jen Hamer led the under 17 womens’ team to silver medals.
She finished in 8th place with Chelsea Crouser 12th and Melody Kane 14th.
Hector Kurtyanek was first home for the men in 9th place
but with Jonathan Halls the only other Club member in 27th they did not complete
a team.
Best individual performance of the day came from Amber
Reed in the Under 15 girls race. Amber has been improving almost by the week and
she stepped up another gear to win the County title by nine seconds. With Hannah
Cook and Rachel Robinson both having good runs in 10th and 11th they took silver
medals in the team race.
The boys finished in 4th place missing out on medals by
the narrowest of margins. They had the same points score as third placed Medway
& Maidstone but missed out as their fourth scorer finished one place behind
M&M’s 4th man. Oliver Taylor was first home in 8th with Sam Jackson 15th , Greg
Proctor 19th and Robert Yates 23rd.
Janae Galley came a good 7th in the under 13 girls race
and with Holly Fletcher 18th and Sonia Woolhouse 23rd they were 5th in the team
race. Good back up came from Izzy Jackson in 25th The boys were fourth, led home
by William Ruiz in 11th with Richard Webb 15th and Alex Punnett 16th. There was
good strength in depth here with Thomas Desborough 38th, Daniel Waller 42nd,
Louis Parkinson 44th and Oliver Sims 48th.
England Athletics Combined Events Championships
Bomene Barikor returned to competition after a
long break to finish 16th in the England Athletics Combined Events Championships
in Sheffield. There were some promising performances from the one time fitness
instructor and music artist Sniper E who is now training to be a science
teacher. He was 5th quickest in the opening event the 60 metres where he timed
7.24 and after leaping 6.53 in the long jump he was 6th. He did not fare so well
in the shot where he putt 9.20 but he rallied with a 1.92 clearance in the high
jump to finish the first day in 11th place out of 30 starters.
The second day started with the 60 metre hurdles in which
he timed 10.48 and he followed with a 2.95 clearance in the pole vault. This
left him in 20th place but he rallied in the final event the 1000 metres, his
time of 2.47.03 being the second quickest of the day. This left him in 16th
place, a very satisfactory effort.
South Of England Championships, Lee Valley
While the bulk of the South Of England Indoor
Championships take place this coming weekend, because of the long timetable a
few events were brought forward a week to ease congestion. It proved a fairly
successful day for the Club, although there were some athletes who neglected to
enter.
Dan Putnam enjoyed his first Championship in the under 20
age group. He cruised through his heat and semi final of the 400 metres with
winning times of 51.50 and 50.12. He stepped up a gear for the final winning in
49.27 over a second clear of the runner up. Alex Blair ran a useful 52.37 in his
heat but could not replicate this in his semi final.
In the womens’ race there was an emphatic victory for
second claimer Savannah Echel Thompson. She broke the Championship best
performance in the semi final of the 400 with 57.29 and bettered it again to win
the final in 56.77. Sarah McLellan ran 61.57 in her heat and 62.07 in her semi
final.
It was gold again in the under 17 age group where Tom
Bensted was in equally convincing form. He won his heat and semi final with
times of 51.51 and 51.42 and then won the final by over a second and a half in
50.17, a time that would have won him silver in the under 20 race. Ben Parkin
ran 53.34 in his heat and improved to 52.55 in his semi, while Jonathan Pettet
ran 53.69 and 55.90.
Rachel Robinson qualified for the semi of the 300 metres
by running 47.32 in her heat, but Sian Duffy who ran 46.34 in her heat did not
get through. Three athletes from the Club qualified for the final of the Under
15 girls 300 metres with Dina Asher Smith picking up silver in 42.62. It took a
Championship Best Performance to beat her. Jessica Moore was 4th in 45.14 and
Holly Fletcher 6th in 46.85, exactly the same time as her heat.
Brunel Indoor Sprints and Jumps Meetings
Across London a number of the Club’s athletes were
in action at the Brunel Sprints and Jumps meeting. Scott Huggins opened his 2009
campaign with a winning performance in the pole vault. He cleared 4.90 and his
sister Anna went over 2.80 in the under 17 womens competition. Lewis Ely cleared
1.85 in the high jump.
On the track Fabian Collymore timed 6.89 in his heat of
the 60 metres and Amy Godsell ran a seasons best of 7.77. New second claim
junior member Tremayne Gilling opened his season with a promising 6.97, after an
injury strewn 2008. Jermaine Alexander timed 7.25 and 7.26.
100 Marathon Club, Marathon and AGM.
Back outdoors a quite unique event took place at
Norman Park recently when the 100 Marathon Club held a marathon to coincide with
its AGM. This is a unique club of some 187 members who have all completed at
least 100 marathons and eight of these are members of Blackheath & Bromley.
There are also a couple more in the wings waiting to complete their hundredth
event. The race started and finished on the hallowed Norman Park track and the
event was completed by some 75 registered runners with the race being run to
sponsor the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The course was 5 laps starting on the track and then down
Hayes Lane to Bromley Common, right at Bromley College, then through the woods
and Hayes farm to arrive at Hayes then down Hayes Lane to Norman Park, a full
lap of the park and then back on to the track. The course was marshalled and lap
counted by volunteers of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC, Bromley Vets AC and
Orpington Road Runners all standing around for some 7 hours in temperatures of
-3 centigrade.
The race was completed by 1430 hrs with the handicap
fastest time of 3 hrs 0min 02 secs which is excellent for this mixed terrain
course with plenty of " twists and turns " and underfoot frozen ground.
Four Club members took part, John Turner, Dave Lewis, Ray
Bennett and Nigel Webb. The AGM followed which did not take quite as long as the
race.
Stanley Wooderson
All this recent activity would no doubt have
impressed Stanley Wooderson who sadly passed away over the Christmas period.
Stanley was, of course, the younger brother of Sydney, the former World Record
Holder for the mile and half mile in the 1930s. He was part of the handicap
races in which his brother broke these records and was a Life Member of the
Club.
6/01/09
A large number of athletes from Blackheath & Bromley
warmed up for the forthcoming Indoor Championships by competing at the Data
Connection Open Meeting at Lee Valley with a number achieving qualifying
standards for National events.
In the Senior age group Fabian Collymore timed a very
useful 6.81 for the 60 metres comfortably inside the National entry standard of
6.90 and the fastest in the country so far this year. Equalling the
qualification standard for the European Trials was Amy Godsell who won her heat
in 7.80 the tenth fastest in the country in 2009. Vickie Cole ran 7.90 in an
earlier round and Daniel Haque 7.09.
A number of the younger athletes also achieved marks which
qualified them to compete in the National Championships. In the 60 metres in the
under 20 age group Dan Putnam clocked 7.07 and Jermaine Alexander 7.10 in their
respective races.
Just missing out on the standard for the National
Championships was new member Megan Southwart who recently joined the Club from
Tonbridge. She ran a useful 9.55 in the 60 metre hurdles just 5 hundredths of a
second shy of the qualification mark.
In the under 17's Dominic Coelho (7.44), Ellis Zorro
(7.47), Abs Jolaoso (7.55) and Kieran Daly (7.57) all dipped under the 7.60
qualifying standard with Jonathan Pettett just outside with 7.61. There was some
fine sprinting in the under 15s age group with Dina Asher Smith running four
tenths inside the 60 metres qualification for the National Indoors with 8.10.
Rachel Dickens (8.27) and Georgina Middleton (8.34) also dipped inside the
qualification while Charlotte Colgate was just one hundredth of a second outside
with 8.51.
Further afield Lauren Blackie was in action in the
Midlands Indoor Open Meeting at Alexander Stadium and won the triple jump with a
leap of 11.66. She also long jumped 5.33.
Michael Skinner started his 2009 campaign with a low key
outing at the Bushy Park 5km time trial. However, a number of the country’s top
runners also took part and the Great Britain International had to settle for
third place in a race won by training partner Andy Baddeley, Britain’s number
one 1500 metre runner last year.
Jen Hamer is the Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award
Winner for the month of December. Jen has enjoyed a fine start to her Athletics
career and was recently crowned the Kent Cross Country League Under 17 Champion
for 2008. She also won the Holly Run in Reigate by a huge margin last month. She
has been a virtual ever present for the Club in 2008 over track, cross country
and road.
Each month the clubs selects one young person, in the 11
to 25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a
framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a
club project of the recipient's choice.
