Last updated
17 December 2015
Press Releases for
January, February & March 2011
30/03/11
The clocks have gone forward and the track and field
season has begun. Out in the States two of Blackheath & Bromley top athletes
have already been in action. At the Arizona State Invitational, Scott
Overall won his 1500 metre race in 3.49.05 a useful performance considering
he is in the middle of a solid block of training.
James Alaka has been struggling with injury over most
of the Winter and so missed the indoor season. He showed, however, at the
Stanford Invitational meeting that he will be a force to be reckoned with
this Summer as he timed 10.37 and 10.57 for the 100 metres.
While this is a promising start to the Summer it was a
big disappointment that the Club were unable to field Senior Mens and Womens
teams at the South Of England 12 and 6 stage road relays at Milton Keynes.
This means the men will not be able to compete in the National event in a
fortnights time in what would have been team manager Nick Gasson’s last race
in charge. The women can compete as there are no qualifying conditions.
Unable to compete as part of a team, a number of
athletes raced in other events around the South Of England. Andy Rayner
finished in 4th place in the B&Q Eastleigh 10km in a time of 31.08. Over 50
Keith Ewing was 33rd in 34.06 and Elaine Murty was the 9th woman to finish
in 91st place in a time of 36.08.
Second claim member Peter Tucker finished third in the
Paddock Wood Half Marathon in 69.47. Colin Norris set a new best of 73.27 in
7th and Justine Eastbury ran a second pb in two days as she clocked 97.19.
Ian Montgomery also ran a new best of 98.38 finishing in 428th and Neil
Roberts was 981st.
Helen Godsell is best known as a sprinter but she has
aspirations to run the marathon next year and as part of her preparations
she finished 82nd in the very hilly Selsdon Half Marathon in 2.01.09.
David Beadle was the Club’s first finisher in the
latest Bromley 5km park run at Norman Park. He was 16th in 19.55 with Ian
Taylor 22nd, Naomi Kingston 31st, Iain Swatton 42nd, Nigel Haffenden 72nd
and Chloe Haffenden 106th
Some of the Club’s youngest runners were selected to
compete in the South East Inter Counties at Reigate.
In the school year 8 race Charlotte Rhule finished in
8th place with Isobell Vowles 31st. For the boys Bailey Stickings was 10th.
Best placed of the day was Georgina Taylor who
finished in 4th place in the year 7 race with Jessica Keene 14th and Shannon
Riskey 18th. Charlie Davis was 30th in the boys race.
Much closer to home a varied cross section of the Club
competed in the Closing 5 Yacht Handicap race at Hayes. This was the last of
the nine Bennett Cup handicap races which have taken place over the Winter
months and positions going into the race were so close that a number of
athletes were still in with a chance of claiming the overall title.
It was 76 year Ron Chambers who was first to start and
he still led at the top of Fox Hill with a mile to the finish. Things didn’t
stay that way and he was swallowed up by the chasing pack with Annie
McDonough first to cross the line. Steve Hollingdale, who has twice won this
race in the past, was second and Ian Lindsey third.
Fastest individual of the day was 18 year old Phil
Sesemann in 29.21 with Glenn Turner second and Steve Cooper third. Quickest
woman was Jane Bradshaw in a new best for the course of 34.26 followed by
Jennie Butler second and Justine Eastbury, whose 39.11 was a massive new
best by two minutes.
With the individual places decided all attention moved
to the Handicap positions and as expected it proved a close run thing.
Overall winner was Mark Compton on 340 points just two clear of runner up
Steve Hollingdale who was a further seven points ahead of third placed David
Carton.
As usual the Club AGM took place in the evening after
the Closing Five and it was here that outgoing President Richard Coe
introduced his successor to the membership. New President for 2011-12 Denis
Lawrie was greeted with acclaim although he was not actually present as he
had arranged to be away on holiday in New Zealand long before he had been
asked to take on the role. A profile of the Denis appears on the Club
website.
After such an eventful weekend the Club was brought
back to earth with the very sad news that John Ashton died suddenly last
Friday at the age of 64. John was a former Club Secretary, official and all
round supporter of the Club and its activities.
The Club will be hosting a warm up meeting for young
athletes at Norman Park track on Saturday the 2nd of April. Events are for
under 17s, under 15s and under 13s (school years 6 and 7). Registration is
from 1pm with the first events taking place at 2pm. Full details can be
found on the Club website.
23/03/11
Allan Williams was Blackheath & Bromley’s most
successful athlete at the European Masters Indoor Championships in Gent,
Belgium. He won silver in the over 55s pole vault with a clearance of 3.90.
Pete Hamilton was the Club’s only other medallist as he picked up a bronze
team medal in the cross country. He finished 10th in the race and was also
10th back indoors in the 3000 metres with 11.04.51.
Ken Daniel just missed out in the over 60s 800
finishing in 4th place in 2.27.71. He also dipped under five minutes in the
1500 with 4.59.99 while in the over 50s Bill Foster was 9th in the 3000
metres in 9.59.52.
In the sprints Matt Richards was 8th in the over 35s
60 metres with 7.34, while Tom Phillips was 6th in the over 55s semi final
in 27.69.
Roger Michell was 17th in the over 60s 3000 walk in
17.05.06.
Prior to competing in Gent, Allan Williams
masterminded the Vault London competition at Sutton, an event for pole
vaulters organised by vaulters.
The results speak for themselves as of the 59 vaulters,
38 set seasons best or lifetime bests. Despite the effort of organising the
event Allan still found time to compete clearing 3.72.
Christina Moore was one of the athletes to set a new
best. The first year Senior cleared 3.52, the same height as Rachel Arnheim.
Similarly under 15 Helena Coleman improved to 2.42 and
promises to be a very valuable member of the Young Athletes teams this
Summer.
Outdoors a number of the Club’s youngsters were in
action at the English Schools Championships on a sunny, dry and fast terrain
at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. On what was the Inter-counties course in
reverse, the Club had a record eight girls running for Kent while Will
Mercer was in the Senior boys race representing Surrey. He placed a useful
144th.
Danielle Critchley was 88th in the Senior Girls race
in 16.40 with Amy Mitchell 150th and Michelle Fewster 162nd.
In the intermediate Girls race Kate Curran, on her
Kent debut, finished in 84th in a time of 14.22 with Saffron Salih 94th and
Amber Reed 98th, having worked her way through the field after being blocked
at the start. Just four seconds separated the three girls and this helped
the Kent team to finish in 6th place.
Lucy Sidey and Samantha Leighton both made their Kent
debuts in the Junior Girls race with Lucy finishing strongly to place 187th
with Samantha 242nd.
This week a number of Club members will compete in the
Schools Inter-Counties at Reigate for School Years 7 & 8 including Year 7 -
Georgina Taylor, Jessica Keene, Shannon Riskey, and Molly Dent and Year 8 -
Isobel Vowles and Charlotte Rhule(Surrey)
Glen Turner was the winner of the latest Wimbledon
Common 5km Parkrun finishing in a time of 17.20. First home for the Club in
the Bromley event was Steve Pairman in 4th place in 19.24 with David Beadle
16th, Rob Brown 23rd, Jessica Keene 24th, Barry Wetherilt 33rd, Ian Lindsay
43rd and Iain Swatton 48th.
On the roads Giles Clifford made a rare race
appearance when he finished 238th in the Reading Half Marathon in 83.34
Adrian Stocks was the Club’s first finisher at the
Hastings Half Marathon in a time of 90.54. Sarah Dowling was the Club’s
first female finisher in 208h with Graham Coates 243rd, Clare Drake 265th,
Andy Riches 373rd, Martin Venables 491st, John Fenwick 703rd, Glen Read
714th, Henry Hollingdale 953rd, Steve Hollingdale 1707th, Alan Pickering
3181st and Mike Cronin 3182nd.
This weekend will be another busy one for the Club
both athletically and administratively. Saturday afternoon sees the Closing
5 Yacht Handicap race which is the final race of the Bennett Cup Handicap
series which takes place over the Winter months. It promises to be a
thriller with a number of athletes in with a chance of becoming champion.
The Club AGM follows in the evening at which current
President Richard Coe will introduce his successor to the Membership.
On Sunday the Club will contest the South Of England
12 and 6 stage road relays at Milton Keynes, one of the most prestigious
events of the Winter season.
The Winter season is, therefore, almost over, and with
hardly a chance to catch breath, the track and field season has arrived. The
Club will be hosting a warm up meeting for young athletes at Norman Park
track on Saturday the 2nd of April. Events are for under 17s, under 15s and
under 13s (school years 6 and 7). Registration is from 1pm with the first
events taking place at 2pm. Full details can be found on the Club website.
16/03/11
Blackheath & Bromley’s women are Kent League
champions. They secured the Championship at the last match of the season at
Parkwood School, Swanley as the Club came away with three team trophies and
three individual awards.
Going into the last match the team placings could not
have been much closer with B&B, Medway & Maidstone, and Tonbridge all in
with the chance of winning the title.
It was Blackheath & Bromley who prevailed, however, as
three veterans Jennie Butler, Jane Bradshaw and Andrea Pickup finished 3rd,
4th, and 5th to secure first place, with youngster Danielle Critchley giving
a good account of herself in her first race for the Seniors in 13th place.
To add to the celebrations Jennie Butler was third
overall for the season and she was also the top veteran for the year winning
the Ron Hale Trophy. Co team manager Jane Bradshaw was second.
It was confirmed also that B&B had won the trophy for
the best overall club in the under 20, 17, 15 and 13 year female age groups.
They also won the most improved Trophy as well.
The men did not fare so well. Alex Bruce Littlewood
had been hoping to secure the individual title in his first year in the
Senior age group but he was unable to compete because of injury. Ross Braden
finished in 34th and James Donaldson 55th.
Part of the reason for the low turn out from the men
in the Kent League was because it clashed with the 100th Mob Match between
the Club and South London Harriers, and while the women were well placed to
win while the men were not.
Going into the Mob Match at Coulsdon the number of
victories stood at 52 to SLH and B&B’s 47. Blackheath & Bromley’s hopes of
winning did not look good as they were outnumbered 57 to 87 and so it proved
as scoring 54 a side the hosts scored 2235 to the visitors 3879.
The Club did, however, provide the individual winner
as Alex Gibbins timed 45.10 on the firm 7.5 mile course.
This meant he won the Club 7.5 mile Championship.
Winner of the womens event was Sarah Dowling with Clare Drake second and
Clare Parking third.
It was good to see Mark Steinle in action for the
Club. Britain’s fastest Marathon runner this century finished in 4th place
overall while Will Mercer was the Club’s best placed youngster in 13th
place.
The race incorporated the 8th of the 9 Bennett Cup
Handicap series of races which have been taking place over the Winter
months. Winner here was Carolyna Jones Baldock with Ian Lindsey second and
Joshua Dowling third.
With just one race left a large group of athletes are
still in with a chance of winning the title. Mark Compton has now edged into
a four point lead on 289, with Chris Pike second on 284 and Andy Lawes just
one point further back on 284. David Carton is on 283 and Past President
Anne Cilia has 282.
A total of 60 points are available to the winner of
each handicap race so the series is wide open.
The final race is the Closing 5 mile yacht handicap on
the 26th of March at Hayes which is followed in the evening by the Club AGM
at which the new President will be introduced to the Membership.
Keith Ewing was another who could not make the Mob
Match but for the best of reasons. He was competing in the British Masters
Cross Country Championships in Birmingham. He finished in 5th place in the
over 50s race.
On the roads Russell Bentley finished in 3rd place in
the Brockwell Park 5km park run
Kev May was first home in the Spitfire 20 in 10th
place in 2.06.49. Roy Priestley was 16th, Julie Reynolds 92nd, Peter Burford
93rd, Adrian Stocks 114th, Kate Pratten 148th , Justine Eastbury 197th and
Richard Griffin 214th.
9/03/11
Michael Skinner is getting a little tired of the name
Vernon. Two weeks ago he finished runner up in the English National Cross
Country Championships behind Stockport’s Steve Vernon. Last Saturday he had
to settle for second place again at the Inter Counties Championships at
Birmingham, which incorporated the Trial race for the World Cross Country
Championships and the McCain cross Challenge. This time he was beaten by
Aldershot’s Andy Vernon.
“The Vernon’s are starting to wind me up now!” joked
the 31 year old Blackheath & Bromley athlete. He gets on well with his
rivals and despite the disappointment of missing out on being Inter County
Champion it was, nevertheless, his highest ever placing in this event.
His reward for his efforts, apart from a drugs test,
is selection for the Great Britain team for the World Championships in Punto
Umbria in Spain at the end of the month. However, he has turned down the
opportunity to compete as he travels to Kenya for a months training prior to
the track season.
Further down the field Alex Bruce Littlewood finished
in 44th place the same position as Elaine Murty came in the Senior Womens
race.
Danielle Critchley was 62nd in the under 20 womens
race with Michelle Fewster 93rd and Phil Sesemann was 66th in the mens race.
Amber Reed was 62nd in the under 17 womens race and
Bailey Stickings was 194th in the under 13 boys race.
On the roads, Andy Rayner had a useful run in the
Silverstone Half Marathon finishing in third place in 69.21.
Closer to home the Christmas Yacht Handicap took
place, the race having been postponed in December due to the poor weather.
The Yacht race means that the slowest runner starts first and the fastest
last. In theory, if the Handicap is spot on, all the runners would finish
together, but this never happens.
It was the younger athletes who seemed to thrive with
Mel Kane first to finish with Will Mercer second and Clare Parkin third.
Will’s time of 33.30 was the quickest of the day
followed by Ross Braden (35.48) and Brendan McShane third in 36.19. Fastest
woman was Jane Bradshaw with 38.28 followed by Clare Parkin 39.53 and Mel
Kane 40.27.
The race incorporated the seventh of the nine race
Bennett Handicap Series and this years race is shaping up into one of the
closest for many years. Chris Pike now leads on 259 points with Andy Lawes
and Mark Compton joint second on 253. A further six runners have 240 points
or more and with 60 points up for grabs for a Handicap victory there is
everything to play for.
The next in the series is the Annual Mob Match against
South London Harriers at Coulsdon this Saturday the 12th of March, a fixture
with added spice as this is the 100th race between the two clubs.
Indoors the Club’s athletes enjoyed plenty of success
at the Kent Indoor Championships which were held at Lee Valley with the best
performance coming from Shaunagh Brown who set a new personal best of 15.21
to win the Senior Womens shot. It was a new Championship Best Performance.
The Club had a clean sweep in the pole vault with Liz
Hughes first in 3.80, Christina Moore second in 3.40 and Rachel Arnheim
third in 3.20. Hayley Nouch won both the long and triple jump titles while
for the men Ed Harrison won the 60 metre hurdles.
Allan Williams was second in the pole vault despite
being an over 55. He cleared 3.60 and Duayne Bovell also picked up silver in
the 60 metres with a time of 7.00.
In the under 20s age group Grace Sheppard set a new
best of 7.74 to win the 60 metres and Amara Llalemi Jacobs equalled the
Championship Record in the 200 metres winning in a time of 25.93. Krystal
Galley timed a very useful 58.01 in finishing runner up in the 400 metres.
In the field Anna Huggins took the pole vault title with a clearance of 2.90
and Ellie Duffy Penny was second in the shot with 8.18.
For the men Ben Parkin was second in the 400 in 51.40.
Fresh from her wins in the National Indoor
Championships the previous weekend, Dina Asher Smith continued her fine
Winter season with wins in both the under 17 womens 60 and 200 metre races.
Her time of 25.17 in the 200 equalled the Championship Best Performance.
Rachel Dickens was runner up in both races.
Jessica Jones took the 800 metres title in 2.26.69
just ahead of runner up Holly Fletcher.
Rhiannon Jones won silver in the 60 metre hurdles.
For the men Aaron Lloyd won the 60 metre hurdles in
8.48 as did Daniel Hollett in the shot in his first year in the age group
with a distance of 12.01, nine centimetres ahead of Louis Mascarenhas.
Second places also came for Harry Smith in the 400 and James Allen in the
long jump.
Three more wins came in the under 15 girls age group
as Sharai Williams claimed gold in the 60 metres with 8.13; Alex Wheelwright
won the high jump with a clearance of 1.55; and Shannon Cordell triumphed in
the long jump with a leap of 4.81. Silvers were won by Shannon Clarke in the
high jump, Yemisi Sofolarin (shot) and Helena Coleman (pole vault). Alex
Skipp won silver too in the boys 200 metres.
In the Middlesex Championships held at the same venue
Bomene Barikor won the 200 metres in 22.77.
At the Windsor open meeting Maya Bruney ran 8.14 in
the 60 metres.
2/03/11
Blackheath & Bromley athletes featured prominently at
the England Athletics Indoor Under 20 Championships at the National Indoor
Arena in Birmingham. There were not a large number in action but they won a
disproportionate number of medals with three gold, three silver and four
bronze.
Some impressive jumping in the Under 20 mens events
saw Joe Lawrence win the triple jump with a leap of 15.10 and Jonathan Ilori
take bronze with 14.86. Sarah Abrams won bronze in the long jump with a
distance of 5.72 and Jonathan set a new best of 6.57 in the mens event but
this was not good enough to win a medal.
On the track Kieran Daly was 7th in his 60 metres semi
final, having run 7.12 in his heat, and Megan Southwart timed 9.02 in the
heats of the 60 metre hurdles.
Dina Asher Smith was in outstanding form in the under
17 womens age group winning two gold medals. On the Saturday she took
victory in the 60 metres in 7.61 and she returned the following day to win
the 200 metres in 24.67. Both were new indoor bests and she is the second
quickest in the country in her age group this year in both events. She is
also the fourth fastest in the under 20 rankings for 200, quite an
achievement for a first year under 17.
It was a new best also for Rachel Dickens in the 300
metres as she came second in 39.28 and she too is the second quickest in her
event in the country. There was silver too for new second claim member Naomi
Lee who cleared 3.20 in the pole vault. For the men Anton Daly continued his
successful Winter by claiming bronze in the 60 metres in 7.13. Reuben Fakoya
timed 7.38 in the heats.
Maya Bruney was another athlete who won two medals.
She missed out on silver in the 60 metres by the thickness of a vest timing
8.00 for bronze the same time as the runner up. She was not to be denied in
the 200 metres, however, as she finished second in an impressive 25.95, the
second quickest in the country this year.
More National success came at the British Masters
Championships which took place at Lee Valley. Best performance again came
from Allan Williams who won the mens over 55 pole vault contest with a
clearance of 3.80, not as high as the British best he set last week, but,
nevertheless, another very good performance.
Ken Daniel was the Club’s other winner. He took the
over 60s 800 title in 2.26.64 to add to the bronze he won the previous day
in the 1500. In the same age group Peter Hamilton won silver in the 3000
metres while in the over 65s Peter Hannell was second in the 3000 metres
walk.
Busiest athlete of the weekend was Clem Leon who won
bronze medals in the high jump with a clearance of 1.50 and the triple jump
with a leap of 9.94. He was also 7th in the long jump.. On the track he won
the 200 metre B final and was runner up in the 400 and 60 B Finals, the
latter one place ahead of Tom Phillips.
Richard Holt ran 56.59 for second place in the over
35s B Final.
Christina Moore made the long journey to Glasgow to
compete in the Scottish Indoor Championships. She was rewarded for her
efforts with third place in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.20.
Closer to home at the Surrey Championships at Sutton
Emily Martin made a welcome return to long jumping winning the Senior womens
title with a leap of 5.59. Rachel Robinson was 4th in her heat of the under
20 womens 60 metres with a time of 8.22. Bruno Myszka Reder ran 8.23 in the
under 17 mens event. Tyrone Swaray ran 7.36 for the 60 metres at the
Loughborough Open Meeting
The Club enjoyed a narrow victory in the annual Mob
Match against Ranelagh Harriers. Scoring 39 a side they won with 1438 points
to the visitors 1655.
Andrew Rayner won the race over a testing muddy 7.5
mile course around West Wickham and Hayes. His time of 46.10 was very good
considering the conditions and he was backed up by Alex Gibbins in second
and Jamie Darling in 4th.
Fran Green had a fine run to finish as first woman.
She was 20th overall. Elaine Murty was 25th and Justine Eastbury 59th.
The race also included the latest round of the Bennett
Cup handicap series of races which are run over the Winter months. Winner
here was Fran Green with Elaine Murty second and Wilf Orton third. After six
of the nine races the positions couldn’t be much tighter. Chris Pike leads
with 218 points just one clear of Andy Lawes with Past President Anne Cilia
in third on 210. With Mark Compton and Steve Pairman both over 200 points
and a further 8 more athletes over 190 there is everything to play for with
three races remaining. A maximum of 60 points are available in each race so
the pack could still shuffle significantly. The next race in the series is
on Sunday the 6th of March, the Christmas Yacht handicap which was postponed
at the end of last year.
The Club have now won both Mob matches this Winter but
the third and final race will no doubt be the toughest as the Club travel to
Coulsdon for a historic match against South London Harriers. This will be
the 100th match between the two clubs and the current score of victories is
SLH 52 B&B 47.
Three athletes from the Club enjoyed success at the
McCain Inter City Challenge at Cardiff. Second claimer Ned Quiney may hail
from Croydon but the Loughborough student found himself competing for the
Cardiff Dragons. The peripatetic pole vaulter continued his fine indoor
season by setting a new best of 5.12 to finish in second place. In the
womens event, Liz Hughes, competing for the South London Sharks, finished in
4th place with a clearance of 3.66. Shaunagh Brown took third place in the
shot with a distance of 14.89.
Shaunagh is one of six members of the Club who have
received grants from the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund, a trust set up to
remember the former BBC commentator by supporting up and coming young
athletes. Other recipients are England 2010 100 metre champion Tremayne
Gilling; Andrew Jordon, Britain’s no 1 junior hammer thrower last year;
British Universities long jumper champion Jermaine Olasan; 400 metre runner
Dan Putnam, who was part of the Great Britain quartet that won bronze medals
in the 4x400 metres at the World Junior Championships; and fellow World
Championship athlete, long jumper Lorraine Ugen.
Joshua Dowling was the first athlete from the Club to
finish in Bromley 5km park run. He was one of a number of the Club’s younger
members in action finishing in 11th place in 21.52 with Jessica Keene 17th,
Shannon Riskey 21st, Isobel Vowles 48th, Charlie Short 58th and David Beadle
64th.
23/02/11
Michael Skinner produced one of the best cross country
performances by a Blackheath & Bromley male athlete for over 60 years when
he finished runner up in the Senior Mens National X country Championships at
Alton Towers last Saturday.
The Club has only ever had one winner of the event and
that is Sydney Wooderson, the former World Record Holder for the 800 metres,
880 yards, 1500 metres and Mile who, after winning the European 5000 metre
track title, went on to win the National Cross Country title in 1948.
Skinner’ previous best in the Nationals came three
years ago at the same venue when he finished 5th. He made his intentions for
this years event evident as he tucked in with the leaders early on. It soon
became clear that the race was going to be between himself and Stockport’s
Steve Vernon, as the two were quickly ahead of the chasing pack.
After one small lap and one large lap of the extremely
muddy course, Vernon surged clear. Skinner tried to get back but had to
settle for the silver medal on a course that was reduced to 10km from the
expected 12km because of Health & Safety issues. He timed 35.32 to Vernon’s
35.11.
Behind him there were some more fine performances.
Russell Bentley made a rare appearance on the country and finished in 48th.
With Andy Rayner 68th, Alex Gibbins 76th, Jack Swallow 134th and Ben Harding
228th the Club finished 8th in the team contest, the third Southern team to
finish and the top club from Kent.
There was plenty of strength in depth with David
McKinlay 233rd, Danny Brewer 280th, Roy Smith 536th, Richard Daniel 586th,
Brendan McShane 615th, David Griffin 695th, Richard Hall 734th and Gareth
Evans 918th..
Alex Bruce Littlewood had to pull out having not fully
recovered from recent illness, while Scott Overall was called up to pace the
5000 metres at the Aviva British Grand Prix and help Mo Farah break the
British record.
With athletes such as James Poole also unavailable the
result showed that the squad has the ability to be competitive against the
best in the country. It was a fitting result for Nick Gasson to end his
reign as team manager.
The Club also has a previous victor on the womens side
as Gillian Stacey won the event at Luton in 1993 and, while the Senior women
did not have an athlete challenging for an individual medal, they equalled
the mens achievement of finishing in 8th position.
Strong packing saw Elaine Murty lead the Club home in
51st place with Shavaun Henry 57th , Bryony Proctor 70th and joint team
manager Jennie Butler 99th. They were the 4th Southern team to finish and
the top Kent Team.
Again there was good support for the lead runners with
Jane Bradshaw 135th, Sarah Dowling 180th, Justine Eastbury 334th and Zoe
Wood 403rd. Like the men there are others in the squad such as Siobhan Budd,
who could not get back from France for this race, that give them the
firepower to be a presence in Championship races at all levels.
Encouragingly too for the future was that it was 8th
again for the Junior Women with some more outstanding packing. Danielle
Critchley led the squad home in 61st place just one place and six seconds
ahead of Michelle Fewster. Clare Parkin closed in 73rd and Melody Kane 76th.
Sadly the Club were unable to complete teams in any of
the other seven age groups, although this should not detract from the
achievements of those who were in action. Loughborough student Stephen Cavey
was 106th in the Junior mens race with Phil Sesemann 122nd and Ross Braden
138th.
Amber Reed was 51st in the under 17 womens race with
Catherine Brooks 197th and it was 51st again in the under 15 girls race
courtesy of Kate Curran. Bethony Frost finished in 120th. For the boys Will
Ruiz was 185th.
Bailey Stickings showed great promise in the under 13s
race as he finished in 77th while Remi Ulah was 238th. Shannon Riskey was
120th for the girls with Mary Guy 177th and Leah Everson 191st.
Indoors, three Club members won gold medals at the
British University Indoor Championships at Sheffield with some sparkling
performances. Serita Solomon ( Middlesex University) ran a seasons best of
8.40 to win an exciting 60 metre hurdles final in the same time as the
runner up. This is the 7th fastest in the country this year.
Jermaine Olasan (Brunel) continued his excellent
Winter season as he won the long jump with a leap of 7.28, just six
centimetres off the his indoor best which ranks him 6th in Britain at
present.
Second claimer Ned Quiney (Loughborough) set a new
personal best in the pole vault as he cleared 5.10 to finish first equal.
Sam Brown (Sussex) was 9th with a clearance of 4 metres.
Plenty of other Club members were in action. Anike
Shand Whittingham (East London) was 5th in the womens 60 metres final while
Jermaine Alexander (Birmingham), Dan Putnam (Loughborough), Funmi Sobodu
(Canterbury Christ Church) , Emily Martin (St Mary’s) and Megan Southwart
(Bath) were in action in the heats and semis of either or both of the 60 and
200 metre events
Back in the field Lauren Blackie (Wolverhampton)
finished 7th in the triple jump with 11.52, having leapt 11.64 in her heat,
and Christina Moore (Kent) was 8th in the pole vault.
Allan Williams was in sensational form at the Southern
Counties Veterans Association Championships at Lee Valley as he twice broke
the British record for the over 55s pole vault. He went over 3.81 to break
the previous record by 1 centimetre. Normally he would have stopped here but
feeling in good shape, and wanting to get into the habit of clearing 3.80 on
a regular basis, he then soared over 3.91 to improve the record by a further
10 centimetres. These were the 32nd and 33rd times he has broken a British
record.
This is his best clearance since 2006 and one which
would beat many senior age group athletes. He puts this rejuvenation down
to, among other things, completing a solid block of training, finding a
little time to train away from the group he coaches; and using a new
customised 13ft/195 pole. His performance gives him great confidence as he
continues his build up to the European Indoor Masters Championships in
Ghent, Belgium in mid March.
There was plenty of other success for the Club’s
athletes headed by Clem Leon who struck gold in both the high jump and
triple jump in the over 55s age group with performances of 1.50 and 10.17.
He also won silver in the 400 metres with 64..4 and bronze in the long jump
with a leap of 4.43 and was 4th in the 200 and 5th in the 60 metres.
Keith Ewing ran as a guest in the over 50s 800 and won
in another impressive time of 2.09.7. Rob Brown won silver in both the over
60s 200 and 400 metre races in 29.1 and 66.5 while Tom Phillips won bronze
in the over 55s 200 metres in 27.5.
First year Under 15 Maya Bruney travelled to
Birmingham to compete in the Midland Counties Open Meeting and enjoyed
victories in both her sprint races. She won the 60 metres in 8.23 and 200
metres in 26.34.
Graham Coates was the Club’s first finisher in the
latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He was 11th in 21.23 while David
Beadle was 56th. Regular Parkrunner Iain Swatton ventured further afield and
finished in 655th at the Brighton Half Marathon.. John Fenwick was the 4th
over 60 to finish in 870th with Chris Pike 893rd and Andy Riches 1108th.
Gabriel Ibitoye was in excellent form at the
Sportshall Regional Final at Burgess Hill winning three gold medals. He won
the shot putt with an impressive distance of 12.42 and also won the 4 lap
race and the 8 lap paarlauf with Ashford’s Daniel Steadman.
Reece McCarthy just missed out on a bronze medal in
the shot finishing in 4th place with 9.21.
In the under 15 age group Samantha Leighton was 6th in
the vertical jump, while Alex Wheelwright and Shannon Cordell were also part
of the Kent team.
16/02/11
Shauangh Brown came away from the European Indoor
trials at Sheffield with a silver medal in the shot putt. The Blackheath &
Bromley threw an indoor best of 14.91 beating Great Britain’s World and
European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis in the process.
The 20 year old was delighted to win a National Senior
medal and another young senior Jermaine Olasan just missed a medal as he
finished in 4th place in the long jump. Like Shaunagh he achieved a new
indoor best, his distance of 7.34 being achieved in the last round of the
contest.
Yet another 20 year old Serita Solomon had a very
useful weekend. She was 6th in the 60 metre hurdles in 8.56 having won her
heat in 8.54. Under 20 Megan Southwart ran 8.99 in her heat.
Another under 20 Joe Lawrence finished in 5th place in
the triple jump with an indoor best of 14.90.
Second claim member Ned Quiney had a good leap of 4.96
in the pole vault, a height that gave him 12th equal position in his first
National championship in the senior age group.
Fellow first year Senior and Loughborough student Dan
Putnam ran 49.09 in the heats of the 400 metres.
More indoor success came at Lee Valley where the
British Masters Pentathlon took place along with the Eastern vets and Vets
AC championships.
Clem Leon was runner up in the over 55s pentathlon
with 3200 points achieving 11.44 in the 60 metre hurdles, 4.68 (long jump),
8.17 (shot putt), 1.47 (high jump) and 3.35.69 (1000 metres).
Best performance in the Vets AC championships came
from Keith Ewing who won the over 50s 800 metres in an impressive time of
2.08.56, seven seconds clear of Cambridge Harriers Ray Daniel.
Peter Hamilton won the over 60s race in 2.37.70 but he
had to settle for bronze in the 1500 metres one place but 22 seconds behind
Ken Daniel who timed 5.08.06.
Gordon Hickey was runner up in the over 70s shot putt
with a throw of 10.05.
Outdoors Alex Bruce Littlewood won the Senior Mens
race at the Kent League fixture at Swanley an event which was postponed
before Christmas because of the poor weather took. This means with one race
left he heads the overall individual placings. With Ross Braden 32nd,
Richard Daniel 38th and Brendan McShane 50th the Club came 4th in the team
race. James Donaldson was 83rd.
The Senior women also have one match to go although
they did not have a race at Swanley. The final meeting will be a keenly
fought affair with three clubs capable of winning the League title. B&B
currently enjoy a narrow lead from Medway and Maidstone, and Tonbridge.
The meeting at Swanley was, however, the last of the
Winter for the younger age groups and there was both success on the day and
in the overall positions for the season. The Club enjoyed a clean sweep in
the under 20 womens race with victory for Mel Kane with Clare Parkin second
and Danielle Critchley third. Michelle Fewster was 5th and this secured both
team victory on the day and in the overall contest. Danielle was the
individual champion.
Will Mercer was 5th in the under 17 mens race and this
ensured that he was runner up for the season. Chris Miles who was 8th on the
day came 4th. For the women Hope Stenning was 7th and Catherine Brooks 9th.
Although they did not complete a team on this occasion, they did finish
third for the season.
Kate Curran led them home the under 15 girls team in
4th place with Lucy Sidey 5th, Samantha Leighton 10th, Sonia Woolhouse 12th,
Isobel Jackson 15th and Holly Fletcher 19th. They were second in the team
race and second overall for the season.
The boys were fourth with first scorer Richard Webb
13th followed by William Fuller 14th, Alex Punnett 18th, Josh Dowling 22nd
and Thomas Desborough 23rd.
There was an excellent turn out in the under 13 girls
race. First home was Georgina Taylor in second place thus securing herself
the overall title for the season. Charlotte Rhule was 5th, Jessica Keen 9th,
Shannon Riskey 11th, Leah Everson 17th, Mary Guy 18th, Isobel Vowles 24th,
Elizabeth Ibidunni 26th and Molly Dent 27th. They won the team race on the
day and the team title for the season.
Charlie Davis had another good run for the under 13
boys team finishing in third place with Bradley Stickings 5th. Bradley was
second overall individual for the season.
Dave Taylor was 11th in the Surrey League Division One
race at Putney Vale running for his second claim club Herne Hill and Jack
Swallow finished in the same position while representing Birmingham
University at the Birmingham League Division One race at Rugby..
Some of these athletes had been competing in the South
East Inter County Schools races at Reading the previous weekend. Danielle
Critchley was 20th in the Senior Girls race while Will Mercer was 35th in
the boys contest.
Amber Reed took 22nd place in the Intermediate Girls
race with Bethany Frost 55th. First home in the Junior Girls race was Lucy
Sidey in 39th place with Charlotte Rhule 57th and Samantha Leighton 76th
while Richard Webb was 70th in the boys race.
On the roads athletes from the Club were in action at
a number of events. Adrian Stocks headed the B&B challenge at the Sidcup 10
finishing in 52nd place in 64.26. Gerald Sterling was 64th and Julie
Reynolds was the Club’s first female finisher in 67.54. Chris Pike was 98th,
Justine Eastbury 108th, Martin Blunden 112th, Barry Wetherilt 128th and
Sally Haffenden 167th.
Steve Pairman was the Club’s first finisher in the
latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He finished in 5th place in 19.48
with Rob Brown 19th, David Carton 21st, Iain Swatton 34th and Stephen
Hollingdale 58th.
Alison Jelly was 318th in the Deal Half Marathon
9/02/11
Blackheath & Bromley’s Tremayne Gilling was selected
to be part of an England squad who travelled to compete in the Indoor
Classic Meeting in Vienna. He finished in second place in both of his 60
metre races in times of 6.79 and 6.82.
More good news has come for the reigning England
Senior 100 metre champion as he has been chosen as one of 10 sprinters to be
part of the SPAR sprints programme. The scheme gives support, both financial
and coaching, to ten up and coming young athletes between the ages of 17 and
20. More details of this support can be found in this weeks edition of
Athletics Weekly
Also featured in this issue is Clubmate Lorraine Ugen
who appears in the magazines Rising Stars section.
Scott Overall’s hectic racing schedule took to him to
Germany last weekend and onto the indoor circuit competing in the Sparkassen
Cup in Stuttgart. He went into the 3000 metre race without having done much
speedwork and soon realised he was in for a tough time. The race was to be
set up to be run at 7.30 pace, considerably quicker than his personal best.
It was a case of having to hang on to the pace.
The first three finished in under 7.30 and with each
lap only 200 metres Scott was actually lapped. He finished in 7th place in a
time of 8.05.46. So it wasn’t quite as good as he’d been hoping but he
commented “It’s better to be lapped in this race than be Fernando Torres
starting at Stamford Bridge!”
Also indoors a number of athletes travelled to the
Midlands to compete in the Birmingham Games. Great Britain International
Dwayne Grant ran 6.86 in the 60 metres while GB Junior International Dan
Putnam recorded 7.12. Dan returned in the 200 metres where he ran 22.35.
Jermaine Alexander clocked 22.99 while under 20 Frederica Foster ran a very
useful 25.89 in the 200 to add to her 57.09 in the 400. Her 400 time is in
fact the third fastest by a Junior athlete this Winter.
Luke Smallwood was in good form in the 400. He missed
a lot of Summer through injury but showed he hasn’t lost too much as he ran
48.31, the 7th quickest time in the country this year. Megan Southwart ran
8.85 in the 60 metre hurdles, the 8th fastest in the UK this year by a
Junior.
At the McCain City Challenge in Sheffield three
members competed for the London South Sharks. Best performance came from
Serita Solomon who won the 60 metre hurdles in 8.58. Shaunagh Brown was 2nd
in the shot putt with a distance of 14.68 while Liz Hughes was 6th in the
pole vault with a clearance of 3.60.
Outdoors on the country Jack Swallow, who is studying
at Birmingham University, was 12th in the B race at the British Universities
Championships at Birmingham. Steve Cavey, representing Loughborough was
81st.
On the roads Elaine Murty made a big breakthrough at
the Chichester 10km as she took more than a minute off her personal best for
the distance. She finished 68th overall in 35.39 and was the 4th woman to
finish. Maz Turner was 1448th.
Christmas came late for second claim member Peter
Tucker. He won the rescheduled Swanley Christmas Caper which had been
cancelled in December in a time of 22.37. He followed this with 5th place in
the Watford Half Marathon in 71.20. Gareth Evans was 90th in 85.16.
The Club held it’s annual Punch Bowl Night last Friday
night and this may have been the reason for the low turn out for the Bromley
Parkrun 5km the following morning at Norman Park. The theme of the evening
had been “Minorities” and Steve Hollingdale was the minority the next
morning as he was the only Club member to finish. He was 56th. Ian Taylor
was 3rd in the Lloyd Park event while Peter Hamilton was 4th in the race in
Greenwich Park.
Russell Bentley has also been in action recently. He
finished in third place in the Box Hill Fell race in 50.27 and followed this
with second place in the Brockwell Park 5km park run.
2/02/11
Scott Overall continued his 2011 racing tour at the
Cross Internacional de San Sebastian in Spain. In another quality field the
Blackheath & Bromley athlete was once again pitted against European Cross
Country champion Sergiy Lebid who was third with the race won by Kenyan
Kiprono Menjin in a time of 31.06. Scott finished in 5th place in 31.43.
Also on the International scene Serita Solomon was
selected to represent England in the International indoor meeting in
Bratislava. She won both of her 60 metre hurdle races with times of 8.55 and
8.63.
Jonathan Ilori was chosen to be part of an England
Under 20 squad which competed in the Celtic Cup in Cardiff. Obviously
inspired he set a new personal best of 14.96 in the triple jump.
There were no medals, individual or team, for the
Blackheath & Bromley at the South Of England Cross Country Championships
which were staged in freezing conditions at Parliament Hill Fields. Given
that the South Of England covers 19 different counties, finishing in the top
three would have been a fine achievement and the highest team placings of
the day came form the Senior Women and the under 15 girls who both finished
in 8th place.
Leading the Seniors was Shavaun Henry who after a good
start did slip back a little. She was, however, rewarded with 35th place,
her highest finish in these Championships. Likewise Fran Green who looked
strong throughout the race closing in 41st position. Siobhan Budd flew over
from her French base to finish in 55th and joint team manager Jane Bradshaw
completed the scoring quartet in 77th place.
With Sarah Dowling 149th, Kate Pratten 186th and
Justine Eastbury 237th plus others in the wings the squad will be looking
forward to the National Championships at Alton Towers in three weeks time.
The Senior Men first won the Southern title 25 years
ago and have won it seven times since, providing five individual winners in
the process. They were some way from this last Saturday but there are signs
of the nucleus of a squad that has the potential to recapture former
glories.
Highlight here was the performance of Alex Bruce
Littlewood, who in his first year in the Senior age group, ran a well paced
race to finish in an impressive 21st place, the highest position of any
athlete from the Club at these Championships in the race with the largest
number of competitors. He looks forward to the British Universities
Championships this weekend.
Like a fine wine Alex Gibbins just gets better with
age and the 34 year old gained his highest ever placing at the event as he
closed in 42nd place. Andy Rayner made a late decision to run, having missed
much training through injury and came a highly creditable 48th place. Danny
Brewer took 137th, Glen Turner 208th and Jean Philip Delon 214th to secure
13th place in the team race. With Jamie Darling 225th, Roy Priestley 344th,
Brendan McShane 449th, Richard Hall 517th, Chris Pike 520th and Andrew Lawes
594th the Club were 9th in the 12 to score contest but missed out on winning
the Camden Cup, awarded to the first Kent team to finish 12 athletes.
Mel Kane was the Clubs first athlete to finish in the
under 20 womens race in 38th and in a fine example of packing Michelle
Fewster was 39th and Danielle Critchley 40th. Unfortunately they lacked a
fourth runner to score a team. Had they had another athlete they would have
won bronze medals as only two clubs in total managed to field four runners.
There were no full teams for the Club either in the
under 20 mens race where Steve Cavey was 61st and Ross Braden 76th, nor in
the under 17s age group where Amber Reed had a good race to finish 30th for
the women and Will Mercer came 63rd and Tom Greenhill 163rd for the men.
Over the next couple of years their number will
hopefully be boosted by the talented and enthusiastic under 15s squad. As
already mentioned the girls, along with the Senior women, were the best
placed team of the day for the Club. They were led home by Saffron Salih who
was 38th with Kate Curran 59th, Lucy Sidey73rd and Greta Sharp 73rd with
able backing from Bethony Frost 100th , Anna Myers 112th and Isobel Jackson
149th.
Will Ruiz was first for the boys in 135th place with
Will Fuller 187th, Richard Webb 204th, Josh Dowliing 223rd and Thomas
Desborough 236th. This gave them 32nd in the team race.
The under 13 girls were 14th in the team contest with
Jessica Keene first home in 39th followed by Shannon Riskey in 67th, Mary
Guy 117th, Leah Everson 152nd and Molly Dent 192nd.
For the boys Bailey Stickings was 40th and Charlie
Davis 100th.
Indoors many of the Club’s athletes were in action at
the London Indoor Games at Lee Valley with some useful performances. Dwayne
Grant made a rare appearance over the 200 metres and, despite nearly going
out his lane on the bend he managed to dip inside 22 seconds with 21.98.
Also in the Senior mens age group Dan Putnam ran 49.36 in the 400 while in
the field Jermaine Olasan leapt 7.15 in the long jump and over 55 Allan
Williams cleared 3.65 in the vault. There were plenty of runners in the 60
metres with the quickest being Duayne Bovell who clocked 7.04 ahead of
Bomene Barikor, Alloy Wilson, Koliya Witter-Dercruz and Michael Todd.
For the women Lorraine Ugen ran 7.67 in the 60, just
four hundredths outside her best and Katrina Cosby timed 9.52 in the 60
metre hurdles. Rachel Arnheim was third in the pole vault with 3.45 and
Christine Moore was fourth with 3.40.
In the under 20s age group the best performance came
from second claimer Joe Lawrence who leapt 14.31 in the triple jump and
another second claimer Hannah Edwards timed a useful 2.17.74 in the 800
metres. More solid performances came in the sprints from Grace Sheppard,
Rachel Robinson, Ainsley Campbell, Craig Morten, Chelsea Crouser, Amara
Lalemi Jacobs, Kieran Daly, and Megan Southwart, who was also in action in
the sprint hurdles. Anna Huggins cleared 2.90 in the pole vault.
Gabriel Ibitoye enjoyed an outstanding day at the
recent Kent Sportshall Championships at Tonbridge with wins in the under 13s
Vertical Jump, shot, and the 2 lap and 4 lap races. His distance of 11.51 in
the shot was a new Championship Record. Team mate Reece McCarthy was runner
up in the shot, standing long jump and standing triple jump.
Isabelle Jones enjoyed two second places in the girls
competition in the shot and 2 lap race, and more seconds came in the under
15 girls from Alex Wheelwright in the vertical jump, standing long jump and
standing triple jump; and from Samantha Leighton in the speed bounce and 6
lap race. Winner of the 6 lap race was Holly Fletcher who was also third in
the speed bounce. Shannon Cordell was third in the 4 lap race.
Deborah Ibitoye had a busy day in the under 17s age
group winning both the vertical jump and the shot and finishing second in
the standing long jump and 2 lap race.
Two athletes from the Club received trophies at the
Southern Counties Vets AC 2010 Awards ceremony in London last week. Using
the age related tables, Colin Brand won the award for the best male
performance in any throws events in any age group at a Vets AC Championships
for his performance in the over 70s shot. Ken Daniel was judged the best
male over all age groups in middle distance events from 800 to 3000 metres.
25/01/11
A number of Blackheath & Bromley’s top athletes have
been in action at meetings at home and abroad, indoors and outdoors.
Scott Overall travelled to Spain to compete in the
Elgoibar cross country event. In a novel excursion from the norm, the race
actually started on a track with the first 500 metres run on tartan Again
Scott was pitted against a high class field with Kenya’s Leonard Komon
winning and European Cross Country champion Sergey Lebid in third. Scott was
11th but was a little disappointed to be beaten by two athletes who he had
finished ahead of the previous weekend.
Nevertheless, it was not a bad run and he returns to
Spain next Sunday to race in San Sebastian.
Like Scott, Michael Skinner was in action as part of
an England representative team. He ran at the McCain UK Cross Challenge in
Antrim. He was the second Englishman to finish as he came in 8th place
timing 27.10 for the 9km course.
Closer to home Will Mercer was 10th in the Senior Boys
race at the Surrey Schools Cross Country Championships at Reigate. This
means he will represent the Surrey at the Inter Counties match at Reading.
Likewise Charlotte Rhule who was 9th in the under 15
girls race. Elizabeth Ibidunni was 27th in the under 13s race.
Indoors Dwayne Grant claimed two victories in his 60
metre races at the Open Meeting at Loughborough with times of 6.89 and 6.94.
Jermaine Alexander ran 7.15 and 7.18 in his races.
At the first day of the London Games at Lee Valley a
number of the Club’s athletes enjoyed victories. In the under 17’s age group
James Allen bounced back from the disappointment of three no jumps at the
previous weekends Southern Championships by winning the long jump with a
leap of 6.05.
For the girls wins came from Dina Asher Smith (200
metres in 25.00), Rachel Dickens (300 in 40.48) and Jessica Jones (800 in
2.27.71).
Dina’s time is the fastest in the country this year
while Rachel’s performance is the third best.
Reuben Faloya, Ishmail Smith John, Harry Smith, Aaron
Lloyd, Georgina Middleton, and Charlotte Colegate all recorded some useful
performances in their respective events.
Highlight in the under 15s age group came from Maya
Bruney with two wins in her 60 metres races, both in 8.05, and also in the
200 in 26.34. Her 60 metre time is the third quickest in the country this
year while her 200 ranks her second.
More good sprinting came from Vivien Olatunji, Sharai
Williams and Oshuwa Ogbeta.
18/01/11
Tremayne Gilling opened his Winter campaign in fine
style at the South Of England Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. The 20
year of Blackheath & Bromley athlete stormed to victory in the Senior Mens
60 metres final equalling his personal best of 6.76. This is the second
fastest time by a British athlete this year and the England outdoor 100
metre champion will now no doubt have his sights set on the European Indoor
qualifying time of 6.65.
He was one of half a dozen athletes from the Club who
struck gold in these Championships. Shaunagh Brown also finds herself number
two in the country after she threw 14.71 to win the shot putt, regaining the
title she won two years ago.
After finishing runner up the previous two years Liz
Hughes won the Senior womens pole vault title with a clearance of 3.70.
Remarkably it is 10 years since the Club record holder last won the title, a
bitter sweet victory then as, after her winning height, she missed the mat
on her next effort and injured her achilles.
In the younger age groups Jonathan Ilori won the under
20s triple jump with a new personal best of 14.92 which is the furthest by
anyone in this age group in the country this year.
Also top in the country in their age groups are Rachel
Dickens who timed 25.11 to win the under 17 womens 200 metres; and a
rejuvenated Anton Daly who won the under 17 mens 60 metres by the thickness
of his Club vest in 7.12, the same time as the runner up.
There were plenty of other good performances and
medals across the age groups. Serita Solomon finished runner up in the 60
metre hurdles for the second year in a row, her time of 8.54 being less than
a tenth of a second outside her best. Silver too went to second claimer
Emily Martin in the 200 metres but Lorraine Ugen had to settle for 4th in
the 60 metres in 7.65, just two hundredths of a second outside her personal
best.
Rachel Arnheim was 5th in the pole vault with a
clearance of 3.50, the same height as Christina Moore who was 7th on
countback. This was a new best for Christina in her first year in the Senior
age group.
For the men there was a pleasing turn out in the 60
metres where, as well as Tremayne’s win, Dwayne Grant finished in 6th place,
having run 6.86 in his heat; and Jermaine Alexander, Bomene Barikor, Duayne
Bovell, Alloy Wilson and Danny Doyley all produced useful clockings.
More success in the pole vault came in the under 20s
age group as Anna Huggins cleared 2.80 to win the bronze medal. Again there
was a good turn out of sprinters with Jonathan Pettet, Amara Lalaemi Jacobs,
Frederica Foster, Kieran Daly, Rachel Robinson, Megan Southwart and Ellis
Zorro all in action, with many of them making the semi finals of their
respective events.
Dina Asher Smith won the silver medal in the under 17
womens 60 metres in 7.72, a strong effort in her first year in the age
group. Georgina Middleton was 6th in the 60 metres the day after claiming
5th in the 200, while Charlotte Colegate showed the Club has strength in
depth timing 8.53 in the 60 metre heats. For the men Josh Oyedele ran 25.24
in the 200 metre heats.
It was a good day also for the sprint hurdlers as both
Rhiannon Jones and Aaron Lloyd came away with bronze medals and personal
bests. Rhiannon equalled her best in her heat; improved a hundredth in her
semi; before running 9.11 for third in the final. Aaron enjoyed similar
progress getting quicker each round to clinch bronze with 8.54.
Maya Bruney could not have been much closer to a gold
medal. She won silver in the under 15 girls 60 metres in one of the races of
the Championships. Maya’s 8.08 was the same time as the winner and just one
hundredth of a second quicker than the third placer.
In the field Alex Wheelwright was 4th and Shannon
Clarke equal 6th in the high jump with clearances of 1.45 and 1.40.
Up in the North West Ned Quiney cleared 4.52 in the
Vault Manchester competition while coach Allan Williams, an over 55 cleared
3.72.
Outdoors Scott Overall and Mike Skinner were in action
at the IAAF Permit Meeting at Seville in Spain. It was a high class field
which included last years World Cross Country Champion Joseph Ebuyaso. Such
was the quality, European Cross Country Champion Sergiy Lebid could only
finish in 12th place. Scott finished in 16th , happier with his race than
the previous weekend in Edinburgh, while Mike closed in 19th.
Closer to home Alex Bruce Littlewood had what he
described as an “average” run as he finished in 5th place in the Surrey
League at Ham while representing his second claim club Hercules Wimbledon.
At the Birmingham League fixture at Coventry,
Birmingham University student Jack Swallow finished in 26th place while at
the Metropolitan League at Alexandra Palace, second claimer Peter Tucker was
23rd representing the Metropolitan Police.
The Club held its Open 10km at Hayes which
incorporated it’s own Masters championships, an inter Club match against
Beckenham Road Runners; and the latest Bennett Cup Handicap race.
Under 20 Phil Sesemann took the individual honours
winning the race by nine seconds from Beckenham’s Chris Minns. Glen Turner
was fourth and Nick Kinsey 5th . The match against Beckenham was a close
affair and, with the teams scoring 38 a side, B&B won with 1366 points to
the visitors 1563, not a big margin in Mob Match terms.
First woman from the Club to finish was Jennie Butler
who was 20th overall with Jane Bradshaw 25th and Fran Green 26th.
Youngsters who contributed to the victory were Ross
Braden in 11th , Will Mercer 28th, Clare Parkin 52nd and Mel Kane 59th
Nick Kinsey, although an over 50, won the Club’s over
40 title which gave Mark Watling the over 50s crown with Graham Coates
winning the over 60s.
Jennie Butler was also the first over 35 to finish
with Past President Anne Cilia winning the over 45s and sprinter Helen
Godsell gaining valuable endurance work in winning the over 55s.
Winner of the Bennett handicap race was Fran Green
with Chris Gentle second and Phil Sesemann third.
This was the 5th race in the Bennett Cup series and
with four matches to go the leading positions are as tight as Ken Daniel’s
wallet. Jane Bradshaw and Sarah Elmquist head the pack with 195 points with
Chris Pike just one point behind in third.
Anne Cilia is nicely positioned just five points
behind in fourth and, with a further 17 athletes over 150 points, and 60
points available at each of the remaining matches, there is still everything
to play for. The next race in the series is on February 26th , the home Mob
Match against Ranelagh Harriers, so there is plenty of time for the leading
contenders to up their training in an effort to beat the handicapper.
Many of the Club’s youngsters ran in the Kent Schools
Championships at Swanley Park in an effort to gain selection for the English
Schools Championships at Nottingham on the 19th of March. The first three in
each race (except year 7) are automatically chosen with the remainder picked
after the Schools Inter Counties on the 5th of February.
The Senior Girls race over 4,100 metres saw four Club
members make the top ten led home by Danielle Critchley who was 2nd, with
Krystal Galley 5th, Amy Mitchell 7th and Michelle Fewster 8th.
It was silver too for Kate Curran in the Intermediate
Girls race followed by Saffron Salih (5th), Bethany Frost (8th), Jessica
Jones (13th) and Hope Stenning (18th). For the boys Will Ruiz was 19th and
Tom Greenhill 27th.
No individual medals in the Junior age group, but some
good packing helped the Bromley squad to team gold in the girls race.
Highest placer was Lucy Sidey who was 4th with Samantha Leighton 6th, Janae
Galley 8th, Anna Myers 13th, Isobell Vowles 16th, Leah Everson 30th and
Louise Davison 48th.
Richard Webb was first home for the boys in 19th just
a second ahead of 20th placed William Fuller. Bailey Stickings was 25th,
Joshua Dowling 40th and Thomas Desborough 47th.
Greatest individual successes of the day came in the
year 7 races where Georgina Taylor and Charlie Davis won the girls and boys
races. The girls were third in the team race with Jessica Keene 5th, Shannon
Riskey 6th, Natalie Falshaw 16th and Molly Dent 18th.
Blackheath & Bromley caters for all ages, abilities
and disciplines. For further information on your particular interest please
e-mail enquiries@bandbhac.org.uk
Alternatively leave details on the Club answer phone service on 020 8462
3115.
11/01/11
Two athletes from Blackheath & Bromley were in action
at the BUPA International Edinburgh International at Holyrood Park. Scott
Overall was part of the Great Britain team who took on the USA; a Europe
select squad; and a GB Under 23 team over an 8km course; while Mike Skinner
was in action in the short course race over 4.2km.
It was not one of Scott’s better runs as he struggled
to get a rhythm on the mud and snow. He finished in 20th place, and was 7th
finisher for the squad. They came third in the team race.. He travels to
Seville in Spain next weekend where he expects a fast, firm and hopefully
sunny course which should mean he will fare better.
Mike finished in 8th place in the short course race in
a time of 13.39.
Closer to home the Kent County Cross Championships
took place at Wilmington with the Club represented in each of the 10 age
groups. They were rewarded with seven sets of team medals of various colours
and five individual ones.
Pride of place went to the Senior women who won both
the three and six to score competitions. Former champion Bryony Proctor had
to settle for silver behind Dulwich super vet Clare Elms who won gold at the
age of 46. Behind these Elaine Murty was 4th and Shavaun Henry 6th to secure
team gold. Fran Green also made the top 10 finishing in 9th place and with
joint team manager Jane Bradshaw 14th and Sarah Belaon 16th the Club won the
six to score as well. In fact if Fran, Jane and Sarah had been allowed to
score as a team they would have finished third in the three to score. Kate
Pratten was 38th and Cath Messent 65th.
Alex Bruce Littlewood, in his first year in the Senior
age group, was 7th in the mens race, probably lower than he would have
liked, but still a reasonable result in a strong field. Alex Gibbins had a
good run to place 11th and with Colin Norris 31st, David McKinlay 56th ,
Jamie Darling 61st and Roy Priestley 80th the Club were 5th in the team
contest.
Brendan McShane (100th), Richard Hall (121st), Andy
Lawes (129th), Adrian Stocks (133rd), David Griffin (136th) and Chris Pike
(151st) closed to give the Club 5th also in the 12 to score race.
In the under 20s age group the men won silver medals
thanks to the efforts of Phil Sesemann in 5th, Stephen Cavey 11th and Ross
Braden 17th. While the women did not have a team they did come away with two
individual medals as Michelle Fewster was second and Danielle Critchley
third.
Similarly, in the under 17s age group Amber Reed, the
Club’s sole female representative, was third. For the men the quartet of
Robert Yates (20th), Christopher Miles (22nd), Tom Greenhill (27th) and Jake
Wade (30th) were 4th in the team race.
More medals came in the under 15s age group. The boys
squad of Josh Dowling (15th), William Ruiz (16th), Henry Chong (22nd),
William Fuller (27th), Richard Webb (28th) and Thomas Westborough (32nd)
picked up bronze medals.
The performance of the girls under 15s and under 13s
showed just how important it is to have a good squad of runners and not
simply rely on the first three runners home. In the under 15s Kate Curran
won individual bronze and Saffron Salih was 6th and Lucy Sidey 8th. However,
Tonbridge had runners in 2nd and 4th place. The team gold would be decided
on where their third runner finished. Step forward Bethany Frost and
Samantha Leighton who come in 10th and 11th place and so pushed Tonbridge’s
third runner down to 12th place thus securing the Club gold medals in the
three to score team race by one point. Without the efforts of Bethany and
Samantha it would have been silver. More good runs came from Sonia Woolhouse
in 13th , Isobel Jackson 18th and Holly Fletcher 22nd.
Likewise, in the under 13s age group. Georgina Taylor
won the bronze medal and Charlotte Rhule was 6th and Jessica Keene 8th.
However, Invicta East Kent had placed runners in 2nd and 5th. Where would
their third scorer finish? Not in 9th as Shannon Riskey held off the Invicta
girl who was 10th. This meant both Clubs had scored 17 points but Blackheath
& Bromley won the team title as they had the highest placed third finisher.
Mary Guy followed close behind in 15th.
More success came for the boys as Bailey Stickings
finished 8th, Charlie Davis 15th, Thomas Powell 20th and Tom Mason 31st to
secure bronze medals.
At the Surrey Championships at Lloyd Park over 45 Dave
Taylor was part of the Herne Hill team who won team gold. Dave, who is a
second claim member of that club, finished in 17th place.
Amy Mitchell was 13th in the under 20s race; Clare
Parkin 11th in the under 17 women and Will Mercer 15th in the under 17 men.
The Sussex Championships took place at Brighton where
Jack Swallow finished 7th in the Senior Mens race. Martin Airey was 42nd.
The indoor season is now getting into full swing and
Blackheath & Bromley athletes picked up their first medals of the campaign
at the South of England Championships at Lee Valley.
Most of the events will be contested next weekend but
such are the number of entries that a small number were brought forward to
this weekend.
Best event for the Club was the under 17 womens 300
metres where Dina Asher Smith and Rachel Dickens won silver and bronze
medals.
Both won their heats, Rachel in 41.2 and Dina in 42.8
before the two met in the semi final. Here Dina won in 42.7 with Rachel
second in 42.8.
The final was the 6th quickest ever. Luton’s Sabrina
Bakare won in 39.41 while Dina timed 40.31 and Rachel 40.90..
The Club’s other medallist was also in this age group
as Jessica Jones finished in third place in the 1500 metres in a time of
2.23..95.
Dan Putnam and Luke Smallwood both won their heats of
the 400 metres. Dan ran 50.56 before getting down to 49.02 in the semi. He
decided to withdraw from the final and it was a similar story for Luke. He
ran 50.40 in his heat but having been ill the day before he decided to pull
out of the semi.
Ben Parkin made the semi finals of the under 20s 400
running 52.73 in his heat, however, a time of 53.73 was not enough to make
the final. Second claimer Hannah Edwards finished 5th in the women’s final
with a time of 60.82 while Rachel Robinson timed 65.29 in her heat. Craig
Morten was 5th in his heat of the 800.
The weekend also incorporated the Pentathlon
Championships and the Club was represented in the under 15s age group by
Shannon Clarke. She finished in 13th place overall with a points score of
1906 achieved in the 800 (3.00.06), 60 metre hurdles (11.47), high jump
(1.42), long jump (3.73), and shot putt (6.40).
Over at the open meeting at Windsor, Bomene Barikor
celebrated recently becoming a father by setting a new best of 6.94 in the
60 metres. Under 20 Ainsley Campbell was a model of consistency running 7.34
twice.
Back outdoors athletes from the Club featured in four
of the various Parkruns which take place weekly around the country. Russell
Bentley was second in the event at Brockwell Park as was Glen Turner at
Wimbledon Common. At Finsbury Park, Andy Rayner ran round in 12th place.
Biggest turn out of Club members came in the local
event at Norman Park, Bromley. Andy Tucker led the Club home in 6th place
with Steve Pairman 7th, Barry Wetherilt 20th, David Carton 21st and John
Leeson 39th.
Blackheath & Bromley caters for all ages, abilities
and disciplines. For further information on your particular interest please
e-mail enquiries@bandbhac.org.uk
Alternatively leave details on the Club answer phone service on 020 8462
3115.
4/01/11
Despite the Christmas and New Year festivities
athletes from Blackheath & Bromley have still been in competitive action and
training hard for the forthcoming Outdoor and Indoor Winter Championships.
Michael Skinner warmed up for his weekends BUPA Edinburgh International
with a win in the Bushy Park park run in a time of 15.07.
Alex Bruce Littlewood was a runaway winner of the Hercules Wimbledon/Lauriston
5 miles multi-terrain race on Wimbledon Common on Saturday. On an accurate 5
mile course, he broke Kevin Quinn's course record by 30 seconds, with a time
of 25.10, 40 seconds clear of runner up Kieran White. This is a personal
best for 5 miles and was a fine time considering the difficult underfoot
conditions and the fact he was running in road shoes.
Shavaun Henry finished 48th overall at the Brooks Serpentine
New Years Day 10km at Hyde Park. She was actually the 4th woman
to finish and her time was a useful 38.37. Peter Rogers was 118th
and Trevor Simmons 138th.
Steve Pairman was the Club’s first finisher in the latest Bromley 5km
park run at Norman Park finishing 7th in a time of 19.43 with
Joshua Dowling 13th, Robert Brown 14th, Barry
Wetherilt 16th, David Carton 20th, Iain Swatton 22nd,
John Leeson 30th and Shannon Riskey 34th.
Others opted for the warmer climate of the Indoor Arena at Lee Valley
where the Metaswitch Indoor Games were held. They were rewarded with some
useful performances.
In the Senior age groups Duayne Bovell opened his season with a time of
7.03 in the 60 metres while Alloy Wilson, who is better known as a 400 metre
runner, timed 7.21. Duayne’s sister Serita Solomon ran 7.79.
There were a number of personal bests in the under 20s age group from
Grace Sheppard (7.95), Amara Lalemi Jacobs (8.09), Rachel Robinson (8.51)
and triple jumper Jonathan Ilori (7.35).
Rachel was also in action in the 400 where she timed 67.42 while under 17
Holly Fletcher ran 64.95.
Bath University student Megan Southwart, who is still an under 20, ran
9.11 in the 60 metre hurdles.
In the field coach Allan Williams and some of his Team Polestar training
group opened their indoor season in the pole vault. Highest was under 20
Mark Longhurst who cleared 4.15. Allan went over 3.65 while Rachel Arnheim
cleared 3.35 and Christina Moore 3.25.
With just a year and a half before the 2012 Olympics many of the Clubs
seniors feature in the 2010 UK track and field rankings which have recently
been published by Athletics Weekly magazine.
For the men the highest placed athlete is James Alaka who is 5th
in the 200 for the 20.71 he ran while at college in the States. He is also
16th in the 100 and is one of four sprinters who feature. England
champion Tremayne Gilling is 8th in the 100 metres with 10..25
and 40th in the 200 with 21.45.
Dwayne Grant, who went to the 2004 Olympics as part of the 4x100 squad,
is 20th in the 200 with 21.12 and 23rd in the 100 with
10.42. Femi Owolade would also have made the lists with his 21.41 for the
200 metres but is excluded as he qualifies to represent Nigeria.
Dan Putnam is 41st in the 400 metres with 47.77, a good
placing for an under 20.
Scott Overall and Mike Skinner feature prominently in the middle distance
events despite both having their seasons disrupted by injury. Scott is 6th
in the 3000 metres with the 7.50.66, which he ran indoors, and he is also 8th
in the 5000 metres with 13.47.09.
Mike is 6th in the 10,000 metres with 28.58.43; 22nd
in the 3000; and 27th in the 5000.
Alex Bruce Littlewood did not run as many 3000 steeplechases as previous
years but he still ranked 22nd with 9.10.82. Ed Harrison was 26th
in the 400 hurdles and, in his first year over going over the senior
heights, he placed 47th in the 110 hurdles. Taiwo Sodeyi would
have made the lists but like Femi Owolade is registered as a foreign
athlete.
In the field the Club’s best event was the pole vault with Scott Huggins
13th with a clearance of 5.10; under 20 and second claimer Ned
Quiney 18th (5.00) and another under 20 Mark Longhurst 36th
(4.61). Yet another under 20 Jermaine Olasan was also ranked 13th
in the long jump with a leap of 7.53 and he can count himself unlucky not to
have been selected for the World Junior Championships. Second claimer Joe
Lawrence is 43rd with the 7.19 leap which helped the Club’s Under
20s become National Champions in the Junior League Final last September
Joe is also 19th in his main event, the triple jump, with a
leap of 15.11 with Jonathan Ilori 31st (14..84) and Sam Bobb 49th
(14.43).
Number one Junior Hammer thrower Andrew Jordon is also 22nd in
the Senior list with his throw of 60.18 and Craig Baker and Alex Pope are
ranked 27th and 34th in the decathlon.
The Club had four athletes ranked in the top ten in the field events on
the womens side led by second claimer Sophie Hitchon in the Hammer. The
World Junior Champion set a British Junior record with a throw of 66.01.
Shaunagh Brown is 6th in the shot with 15.32 and 8th
in the discus with 48.09 as well as 42nd in the Hammer while
there is further strength in the throws with under 20s Sam Milner and Sabine
Efiannayi 20th and 21st respectively in the discus and
shot; Rachel Blackie 37th in the hammer; and Christine Lawrence
45th in the javelin.
Best performance in the jumps is from Lorraine Ugen who is 6th
in the long jump with a leap of 6.35 with Sarah Abrams 43rd.
Sarah is also 30th in the triple jump with Lauren Blackie 43rd
and Sarah is also joint 34th in the high jump with Phillipa
Wilson, both having leapt 1.72.
Three athletes feature in the pole vault with Rachel Arnheim 22nd
with a clearance of 3.70; Liz Hughes 26th and Christina Moore 48th.
Highest ranked on the track is Montell Douglas. The British record holder
for the 100 metres missed half the season with injury and so is 5th
in her main event with a time of 11.40 with Anike Shand Whittingham 32nd
and Amy Godsell. Amy is also 35th in the 200 with under 15 Dina
Asher Smith 42nd.
In the 400 metres Savannah Echel Thompson is 28th and
Frederica Foster 41st.
Katrina Cosby is the top Junior in the country over the 400 hurdles and
her 59.71 places her 12th in the Senior rankings as well, with
yet another junior, Megan Southwart 21st with 61.46 and Katie
Murray 29th with 62.37.
Serita Solomon is 13th in the 100 hurdles with 13.82 despite
having her season disrupted by injury.
In the middle distance Shavaun Henry is 20th in the
steeplechase with 11.16.96 with under 17 Jessica Jones 32nd;
Bryony Proctor 42nd in the 5000 metres; and Elaine Murty 50th
in the 1500.
At the other end of the age range Maya Bruney features in five events in
the under 13s age group. Her best event is third place in the 200 metres
with a time of 26.4. She is also 4th in both the 150 metres and
long jump with performances of 19.31 and 4.89. She is 6th in the
75 and 100 metres with 10.0 and 12.9..
For the boys Gabriel Ibitoye is ranked in three events. He is 6th
in the shot putt with his Club Record throw of 11.41. All throwers need
speed in the circle and Gabriel has shown this in abundance as he is also 11th
in the 100 metres with 12.54 and 16th in the 200 metres in 25.87.
Kyle Wicking also has a 16th place ranking with his 1.50
clearance in the high jump.
