Last updated
27 June 2016
Press Releases for
January, February & March 2016
21/03/16
The World Indoor Athletic Championships were held in
Portland in Oregon and BBHAC had two athletes representing Great Britain.
Dina Asher Smith qualified for the 60 metre final with
a solid 7.12 in round one and going even faster with 7.11 for second in her
semi final only to withdraw from the final with a strained hamstring. This
was a major disappointment for Dina who had looked very good in qualifying.
BBHAC team mate Serita Solomon ran superbly in qualifying for the 60 metre
hurdles final with an 8.04 timing, but could not repeat it on the final
where she finished a highly commendable 7th in 8.29 to match her qualifying
seeding. This is a great sign for both athletes in Olympic year and we wish
Dina a speedy recovery.
In the Home Countries International Cross Country
event in Falkirk BBHACs Niamh Bridson Hubbard represented England in the
under 20 womens race and ran brilliantly for 9th place in 22.26 over the 6km
course, finishing less than a minute behind the winner. Niamh was part of
the England team that won the team prize.
Elsewhere and closer to home in Hayes, the BBHAC
Closing 5 mile championship held on another overcast day over a new 5 mile
course, which proved popular with the runners. This race, the last in the
Bennett Cup series, is run as a yacht handicap, the slowest starts first and
the quickest (according to the handicapper!) last. 41 runners this year
participated.
14 year old Angus Harrington was fastest in 29.45
followed by Gareth Evans 3 seconds in arrears and 16 year old Marco Arcuri
third in 30.08. Sarah Belaon was fastest lady runner on 24.07 with Amy Leach
second fastest in 35.43 and Amarisa Sibley third in 38.46 which was more
than enough to win the handicap race for the 10 year old.
On Saturday night the BBHAC club held its AGM where
new president Bill Foster was introduced for his one year term. Bill, a
Yorkshireman has been a club member for 35 years and was an international
marathon runner, he is now coaching in Loughborough but is determined to be
at as many of the club events as possible over the next 12 months.
At the Kent Indoor Athletic Champs at Lea Valley BBHAC
had an abundance of athletes competing in both the mens and womens events
across all age groups winning 19 gold medals, 15 silver medals and 7 bronze
medals while setting 16 personal bests so a great season lies ahead for many
of these athletes in 2016.
In the mens sprints Shamar Thomas Campbell won the 60m
under 20 event in 7.01, he also won the 200m in a pb of 22.53. Matthew
Knight won the under 17 race in a pb of 7.16 while Rico Cottell won the
under 15s in 7.58 also in a pb, with Oliver Briars 6th in 8.11 also with a
new pb. Parris Johnson won the womens under 20 race in 7.81. with Magda
Cienciala, Katie Woolcott and Mhairi Brooks 2nd, 3rd and 5th in 7,68, 7.94
and 8.06 respectively in the womens under 17 event. Sophia Harper ran 8.51
in qualifying.
Alex Skipp placed 3rd in the under 20 mens 200m in
22.70, Miles Xavier 2nd in the under 15 race in 25,4, while Samantha Brown
was 2nd in the senior womens race in 26.1, Isabella Hilditch won the under
20 event in 26.1 and Karina Harris finished 4th in 27.91 in the under 17
event.
In the 300 metres event which is only really contested
indoors these days Joseph Gbagbo won the under 15 mens race in 40.12, Grace
Scopes ran 44.05 for third in the under 17 womens event and Zoe Martial ran
47.14 for 2nd spot in the under 15 womens race.
In the 400m William Pope ran 52.85 for 3nd in the
under 20 mens race with Aleksander Wilisthire running a pb of 53.67 for 3rd,
while Ben Sutton also ran a pb of 53.00 in finishing 2nd in the under 17
event, and not to be left out Samantha Brown ran a pb of 58.66 for 2nd in
the senior womens race.
Jessica Jones (2.24.79) and Donelle Yapp (2.49.60)
placed first and second in the senior womens 800 metres, Kelsi Cornish
(2.25.89) won the under 17 womens event, and Benjaimin Gardiner (2.24.46)
won the under 15 mens race. At 1500m Charlie Davis won the under 20 mens
race in a pb of 4.28.49, Lewis Mills was 2nd on the under 17 event in
4.27.58, with Jessica Neal 2nd in the under 15 womens race in 5.07.35
followed by Lilly Tappenden in third in 5.14.68.
Anastasia Davies won the under 20 womens 60 metres
hurdles in 9.00 and also the under 20 womens triple jump in 11.14m, while
Rico Cottell was our only high jump medallist in winning the under 15 mens
event with a leap of 1.80m and a new pb. Jackie Montgomery won the senior
womens pole vault with a vault of 2.60m, Eleanor Barrett vaulted 2.80 for a
pb and third in the under 15 event, while Frankie Scrivener and George Pope
placed first and second in the under 17 mens event in 3.20 and 2.40, with
the former setting a new pb.
Over to the pit Ben Sutton won silver in the under 17
mens long jump with a leap of 5.83m and a pb, Myles Xavier leapt 5.29 to win
the under 15 event, Sophia Harper leapt 4.42m for 4th and yet another pb in
the under 17 womens event, with Zoe Martial 3rd in 4.42m and Kamiyla
Robinson-Pascal 5th in 4.35m. Karina Harris jumped 10.62m for 3rd in the
under 17 womens triple jump and Joshua Gbagbo won gold in the under 15
triple jump with 11.30m.
Finally to the throwing events, Mark Cryer putt the
shot out to 10.27m for 4th in the senior mens event, Michael Burfoot won the
under 15 event in a pb of 10.86m, while Divine Oladipo and Eloise Locke both
won the under 20 and under 17 womens events respectively with putts of
12.09m and 12.88m.
Nick Brooks
7/03/16
Blackheath & Bromley Strong
Representation at England Schools XC Champs
On the indoor track both Dina Asher
Smith (60m) and Serita Solomon (60 m hurdles) have been selected to
represent Great Britain at the World Indoor Athletic Champs in Portland in
the US from March 17-20th.
There was little indoor action this
weekend but Serita did run in Jablonec nad Nisou in the Czech Republic where
she ran 8.13 for the 60m hurdles for 4th place in a high class
international field, having qualified earlier with a time of 8.02.
Elsewhere, England’s top school-age
athletes converged on Nottingham’s Wollaton Park for the 2016 English
Schools Cross Country Championship and with teams of 8 being selected by all
of England’s 45 counties the competition was always going to be first class
and so Blackheath and Bromley did well to have eighteen athletes
representing four different counties.
BBHAC only had one representative in
the junior boys age group but what an impact Rowan Fuss made. Running for
his school county of Surrey, Rowan powered around the 4.2 k testing course
coming a brilliant 5th place and in doing so won himself an England call up
for the home International race against Scotland, Ireland and Wales in two
weeks time. Rowan’s achievement is fantastic especially as he still has next
year in the junior boys age group.
The junior girls race had five BBHAC
young athletes competing and first home running for Kent was
Morgan Squibb in a terrific 17th place, Sophie Hoare running for London was
23rd and Jess Neal’s strong 41st place in Kent colours was great to see.
London Lia Radus was 53rd and Rosie Allen in her first English schools was
219th in the light blue of Kent.
Three counties were covered in
the intermediate boys race with Surrey’s Angus Harrington having a great
race in 89th with training partner Lewis Mills just behind in 92nd running
for Kent. Henry Cowie, running in the unfamiliar red vest of his school
county Somerset, was 228th.
The intermediate girls race was
dominated by Kent who comfortably won the team gold and included great runs
from Yasmin Austridge in 30th and Millie Smith in 72nd. Madalina Samoila
running for London separated the two Kent girls with a 42nd place finish.
The senior girls age group had six
BBHAC young athletes running, five for Kent and one, Els Housley, who ran
for London and finished 299th. The five BBHAC girls helped Kent secure team
gold and a fantastic run saw Niamh Bridson Hubbard finish an impressive 2nd
behind Kent team mate and international Sabrina Sinha but in front of the
newly crowned National Champion Niamh Brown from Surrey. School’s
international athlete Jess Keene ran a strong race moving through the field
over the 4.2k course finished a great 16th place with Kelsey Fuss high up
the order in 30th. Chloe Kibblewhite had a strong run finishing 135th as did
Joanna Clowes finishing 148th.
Next weekend is the National inter
counties cross country championship in Birmingham where 18 Blackheath and
Bromley HAC athletes will make up part of the strong Kent County team.
Nick Brooks
29/02/16
Busy Weekend for BBHAC Athletes
At the British Indoor Champs in Sheffield
BBHAC had several athletes on display with Dina Asher Smith taking second
place on the women’s 60 metres sprint in 7.15 behind Asha Philip.
Dan Putnam ran a 49.68 for 400m in the men’s
event but failed to progress while Rachel Dickens ran 55.46 in the ladies
400m qualifying. Joe Appiah ran 8.68 in the men’s 60 metres hurdles which
was a personal best, Jonathan Ilori finished 5th in the men’s
triple jump final with a leap of 15,54m, while Divine Oladipo who is only 17
years old finished 5th in the ladies shot put with 13.95m missing
her pb by 1 centimetre.
In a highly competitive men’s 3000 metres
Philip Sesemann ran an indoor pb of 8.08.99 for 6th place. Serita
Solomon ran well to finish second in the 60 metre women’s hurdles behind
Tiffany Porter, so giving BBHAC two well-earned national silver medals this
weekend.
The big Club event of the weekend was the
National Cross Country Championships which took place at Castle Donnington
in Leicestershire in good conditions although quite cold, windy and rather
muddy, English cross country at its best! With representatives in every race
there was plenty for the supporters to cheer with the highlights being team
gold medals for the under 13 girls with the under 17 women winning the
silver team medals plus a number of fine individual performances.
Last year the under 13 boys took third team place and this year they slipped
to eight but Rowan Fuss led them home in a fantastic second place for an
individual silver medal with Sam Reardon in 58th, Thomas
Penlington in 93rd and Justin Strover in 112th, while
in the under 13 girls race Morgan Squibb ran the race of her life to finish
in second place only four seconds behind the winner in a field of 449
athletes. Morgan finished 138th last year and this year led the
team to an amazing team victory supported by Ellie Dolby in 19th
place, Maayan Radus in 26th and Jessica Neal in 30th. Great
depth on display as the team was backed up by
Daniela Harper in 35th, Abigail Leeves 186th,
Emily Davis 215th and Olivia Berry 342nd.
In the under 15 girls race BBHAC finished in
a highly commendable 4th place overall with Sophie Hoare in 18th,
Yasmin Marghini 34th, Lia Radus 36th and Kelsi Cornish
45th, while in the under 15 boys event the club ran well for 12th
team with Angus Harrington 61st, Henry-James Cowie 80th,
Callum Myatt 106th and Joseph Georgiadis 155th.
Some extremely positive running from the
BBHAC quartet in the under 17 women’s race saw them finish with silver
medals with Kelsey Fuss finishing in 20th, with Jessica Keene 27th,
Yasmin Austridge just behind her in 30th place and Amy Leach 38th, with
further support from Carlotta Weitzel in 91st and Naomi Kingston
184th. The under 17 men’s team could not match this but finished
a credible 10th with Marco Arcuri 63rd, Lewis Mills 84th,
James Crawley 188th and Oscar Hussey 125th.
In the under 20 events BBHAC were well
placed with Niamh Bridson-Hubbard taking a great 6th place in the
women’s race supported by Leah Louise Everson in 78th and
Samantha Leighton in 81st for 5th team place, while
Will Fuller continued his excellent winter by finishing 6th in
the men’s race and only a minute down on the winner. Richard Webb was 84th.
It was not such a successful day for the
Senior Men which saw 1730 finishers. who had to settle for 22nd
team place with Danny Brewer 204th, Ross Braden 216th,
Alex Gibbins 286th. George Vacharopoulos 293rd, Dan Kennedy 335th,
and Peter Tucker was 348th.
This was the fourth year in a row that the
Senior Women did not complete a team. With Amber Reed 119th and
Jane Bradshaw was 237th in a field of 739 finishers.
Nick Brooks
22/02/16
Blackheath & Bromley HAC Weekly
Roundup
It was a good weekend for the
athletes of Blackheath & Bromley at the Sainsbury’s UK Indoor Championships
at Glasgow. Dina Asher Smith ran an impressive heat in the 60 metres running
7.17 but ran disappointingly by her own high standards finished 6th in 7.25
in the final. Serita Solomon competed in the 60 metres hurdles and although
a little down on her pb finished 7th in 8.23, while in the men 60 metres
Adam Gemili ran well for 4th place in 6.62 and just a little shy of his pb
but showing great signs of recovery.
Rachel Dickens ran well for 6th in
the 400 metres final in 56.12 having qualified earlier with a run of 55.34.
Elsewhere at the BUCs Championships
in Sheffield, Mark Cryer excelled himself with a pb and a jump of 7.17
metres for third place in the long jump while Reece Young took 4th in the 60
metre hurdles in8.39 and Philip Sesemann finished 2nd in the BUCS 3000
metres in a near pb of 8.11.63
Jahisha Thomas produced a ran of
8.46 in the 60 metre hurdles in South Bend Indiana in the U.S. in a college
meeting and is ranked in the UK top 10.
Out on the country BBHAC only
fielded 29 athletes for the annual Mob Match against Ranelagh at Richmond
Park in a field of 104 runners. The Club were well outnumbered by the hosts.
The result was that Ranelagh won with a massive margin 1310 points to B&Bs
421.
Dan Kennedy was first home for the
Club in 9th place with 56 tear old Nick Kinsey 19th and Chris Tuck 20th.
First lady from the Club was Sarah Belaon in 38th.
The race incorporated the latest
round of the Bennett Cup, the handicap series which takes place over the
Winter months. Currently Steve Pairman leads on 372 points from Sarah Belaon
on 363. Iain Swatton won the Handicap and Nick Kinsey took the Harry Sheer
Trophy for the first over 50-year-old to finish.
On the walking front several BBHAC
members represented Surrey Walking Club at the weekend, with Shaun Lightman
taking 13th place in the Enfield League, with David Hoben in 18th. Indoors
on the track Peter Hannell finished 4th in the SCVAC & VAC Indoor Champs 3km
Walk at the Lee Valley Stadium.
Nick Brooks
15/02/16
Blackheath
finishes Kent League in style
BBHAC fielded a
good line up in both the Womens and Mens race as the Kent league came to
its’ conclusion at Foots Cray Meadows.
Niamh Bridson-Hubbard
won the ladies race by almost a minute in 18.14 with our own Carole
Penlington in second followed by Sarah Belaon in 7th to easily
win the team race on the day. Backed up by Melody Kane in 16th,
Jennifer Neal in 21st and Jessica Jones in 29th
Blackheath also won the overall league title by a single point from Paddock
Wood, so well done to all these ladies.
In addition to
this BBHAC won the League Prize for best womens club across all age groups
In the mens race
Danny Brewer in 7th closely followed by Ross Braden in 8th,
Alex Gibbons 15th and Peter Tucker 15th secured 2nd
team spot on the day and also 2nd place overall in the league
behind Tonbridge. The team were back up by Daniel Kennedy in 19th,
Chris Tuck 43rd, Richard Byford 65th, Steve Pairman 82nd
and Andy Lawes 98th.
Although the
younger age groups had already completed their league action last month,
Rowan Fuss won the under 13 boys league, Ellie Dolby the under 13 girls
league with Jessica Neal third, while in the under 17 ladies BBHAC managed a
clean sweep with Jessica Keen winning, Yasmin Austridge in second and Amy
Leach third, with Charlotte Rhule second in the under 20 ladies league.
Elsewhere Marco Arcuri secured third place overall in the under 17 mens
league.
Nick Brooks
1/02/16
Gemili back to winning ways in
60 metres
Blackheaths Adam Gemili who ran a
9.97 100m in 2015 and then injured his hamstring and missed the the rest of
the 2015 season hit the comeback trail this weekend at the Welsh
Championships winning the 60 metres in 6.59 from local rival James Dasaolu.
This now puts Gemili on top of the UK rankings and moved him up on the all
time list from 50th to 15th place with clearly yet more to come.
Elsewhere on the country at the
South of England Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields in
north London, BBHAC fielded strong teams in all age groups with the most
outstanding performance coming from Rowan Fuss who finished second in the
under 13 boys race and only 4 seconds behind the winner. He led the team to
10th place backed up by Sam Reardon in 27th and Thomas
Penlington in 111th.
In the under 13 girls race the team
performed brilliantly for 4th place with Ellie Dolby 12th,
Morgan Squibb 18th, Rosie Allan 39th and Jessica Neal
53rd out of a field of 268 athletes.
In the under 15 age groups the
ladies team finished 15th with the highlight being a great run
from Mille Smith in 14th place, with the boys team finishing 11th
with Angus Harrington in 48th the club’s top finisher.
At under 17 level the club finished
in an outstanding 2nd place behind Aldershot with Jess Keene in
15th, Yasmin Austridge 18th, Kelsey Fuss in 21st
and Amy Leach in 35th which builds on the bronze medal some of
these ladies won last year as under 15s. In the mens race the club only
fielded 3 athletes with Marco Arcuri first man home in 35th
place. At the under 20 level BBHAC fielded a single athlete in each event
with international Niamh Bridson-Hubbard running strongly for 9th
place, with Tom Desborough finishing in 69th place in the mens under 20
race.
To round it
off the senior mens race which had over a 1,000 finishers saw the club
finish a credible 9th place with Alex Bruce-Littlewood returning
to form with a 34th place (not as good as his 4th
place last year !!) backed up messrs Taylor, Brewer, Braden, Gibbins and
Rayner. The 4 scoring ladies in the senior event were Carole Penlington in
56th, Amber Reed in 68th, Sarah Belaon in 108th
and Jenny Neal in 236 who claimed 18th team spot.Nick Brooks
18/01/16
BBHAC Open
10km Race 17th January 2016
BBHAC hosted
their open 10Km race which incorporated a mob match against both Beckenham
RRC and Croydon Striders. The runners had to endure a light dusting of snow
which had fallen overnight.
BBHAC won both
mob matches, scoring 45 a side against Beckenham winning 1920 to 2297
points, and scoring 33 a side against Croydon Striders and winning 700 to
1810 points.
Many youngsters
were on display which helped BBHAC greatly with Marco Arcuri aged 16 winning
the race with he same time as the runner up Mark Lally from Beckenham in
40.30. He was well backed up by Luca Ercolani in 4th place, Chris
Tuck in 6th, Bryan Donnelly 8th and 14 year old
Coleman Corry in 9th. Next home for BBHAC in 12th
place overall and first lady to finish was 16 year old Jessica Keene who
continues her magnificent cross country season. 15 year olds Amy Leach and
Yasmin Austridge were the next BBHAC ladies home in 26th and 35th
place respectively.
On the BBHAC
winter handicap after 5 events things are very close with Steve Pairman
leading on 230 points closely followed by Nic Corry and David Beadle on 226
points, and in 4th place Graham Coates on 225 so all to run for.
Next Sunday sees
BBHAC host the annual mob match against South London Harriers at Hayes.
Nick Brooks
11/01/16
Blackheath and Bromleys own Dina Asher-Smith appeared
on BBC’s Question of Sport this week. It is a great mark of respect for
Britain’s female fastest sprinter of all time. Dina is the second club
member to appear on QoS as Adam Gemili also appeared on the show some time
ago.
On the country and indoors on the track 2016 has begun
in winning ways for Blackheath and Bromley young athletes as Will Fuller
winning his first GB International vest running in Edinburgh while
Blackheath youngsters picked up team medals in all age groups.
Brands Hatch was this years venue for the Kent County
Cross Country Championships and the weather was more than appropriate with
cold rain and blustery winds. The course, despite being in one field, was
long, had hills, long lush grass, mud and was challenging.
The U13 girls typically started the days action in
winning ways, comfortably taking the team title and retaining the trophy for
another year. Morgan Squibb paced her race well to finish a strong 2nd
followed by a determined run from Ellie Dolby in 3rd and an equally
determined run from Rosie Allen finishing 5th. Jess Neal, only 3 seconds
back line in 6th, followed by a great 11th place for Daniella Harper, Niamh
Milmo was 21st, Abigail Leeves 22nd, Emilie Davis 33rd and Olivia Berry
completed the squad in 34th.
Rowan Fuss confirmed his dominance of the U13 boys age
group with a seemingly easy run that saw him 200m clear of the field and
earns him the right to keep the county trophy for another year.
Sam Reardon had a great run high up the field, but had
to pull out half way through the race. Justin Strover looked strong
finishing 10th with Thomas Penlington in 17th and Eddie Sellar in 21st
completing the scoring four and picking up team bronze for their efforts. A
great effort from Ethan Kitteridge in 23rd and Jake Leng in 27th and Charles
Winton in 35th backed the team up well.
Next up were the U15 girls and their performances were
good enough to collect team silver. Kelsi Cornish speed off from the gun in
a brave determined fashion and she maintained her great pace earning a
fantastic individual bronze, Millie Smith ran a strong 6th with Lily
Tappenden 13th, Stephanie Taylor 14th, Imogen Meers 17th and Isabelle Bridge
19th.
The best turn out of the day was from the U15 boys
sporting eleven athletes. Angus Harrington, finally crossing the line in a
very respectable 4th place having led the race. Joe Georgiadis finished 9th,
Robert Suckling 19th and Coleman Corry 21st, securing silver medals in the
team competition. George Pope in 31st, Cameron Swatton in 33rd, Ben Gardiner
in 39th, Leo Braden in 42nd and Seb Large in 44th.
The U17 girls retained their county team trophy and
won the individual trophy in style as Jess Keene perfectly paced her race to
go one better than last year, beating a distinguished field and winning the
race by 15 seconds. Amy Leech had a great run finishing a solid 5th with
Yasmin Austridge in 7th completing the scoring trio who collected the team
trophy. Strong runs saw Genny Allen cross the line in 9th, Lottie Weitzel
10th, Joanna Clowes 12th, Chloe Kibblewhite 20th and Mary Guy 21st.
Marco Arcuri led the U17 boys home having had a great
run finishing a fine 7th with Joss Barber just behind in 8th, with Lewis
Mills in 19th and Charlie Davis 26th and James Crawley completed the 35th.
These collective results earned the team a bronze medal.
Sam Leighton was our only representative in the U20
age group and represented us well finishing 6th in the U20 girls race.
First home in the Senior Mens race was Danny Brewer
who finished in 26th place. With Ross Braden 27th, Gareth Evans 41st,
Georges Vacharopoulos 51st, Fintan Parkinson 55th and Daniel Kennedy 58th.
The Club finished in 5th place in the team race, complemented by 6 other
team runners enabling the club to finish the in the 12 a side race in 5th
place too.
First home in the Senior womens race was Carole
Penlington in 6th, and with Amber Reed 8th and Sarah Belaon the team
finished third. In the six to score race the club finished a credible second
with great runs from Lisa May in 32nd, Jessica Jones in 38th and Danielle
Critchley in 39th.
It may be only the first week of 2016 but the Club has
the fastest male and female 60 metre runners in the country so far this year
with Serita Solomon leading the 60m womens lists with the 7.54 she timed at
the Metaswitch Games at Lee Valley and 16 year old Anastasia Davies leads
the triple jump rankings with a jump of 11.43.
These good performances promise much for the indoor
season and then the Summer ahead and the Club’s strength in youngsters track
and field was emphasized by the 2015 rankings published recently in
Athletics Weekly.
In the womens events Dina Asher Smith is British
number one in the 100 and 200 with 10.99 and 22.07 which are both British
records. Lorraine Ugen ranked 7th and Montell Douglas 10th in the 100
metres, with Lorraine also ranked 3rd in the long jump with 6.92m. In the
200 metres Shannon Hylton ranked 5th with 22.94 while twin sister Cheriece
ranked 13th. In the field events Chioma Matthews ranked 3rd in the triple
jump with Shaunagh Brown 4th in the shot, 7th in the discus and 7th in the
hammer.
In the mens events Adam Gemili ranked second in the
100m with 9.97 despite a very short season due to injury, while Scott
Overall heads the marathon rankings with his 2.11.24 Berlin marathon
performance.
Nick Brooks/Paul Austridge
