Press Releases for
July, August & September 2016
27/09/16
SEAAA Road
Relays at Bedford
Two great team
silver medals
On Sunday 25th
September the club were out in force with a teams representing every age
group.
The under 13
girls team finished with a brilliant 2nd place with Daniella
Harper bringing the team home on leg 1 in 14th place with a 10.49
split, followed by Maayan Radus running 10.46 and moving to the team up to 7th
with Ellie Dolby anchoring the team up to 2nd with 10.25 for one of the
fastest legs of the day.
Likewise the
under 15 ladies team finished an outstanding 2nd place with Amy
Miller running 10.21 for 12th on leg 1, Morgan Squibb running
9.49 and moving the team up to third and Lia Radus running an impressive
9.34 to bag the team silver medals.
The ladies under
17 team finished a credible 11th place with MillIe Smith opening
in 10.05 for 8th spot which was maintained by Amy Leach with a
10.19 leg and finished by Stephanie Taylor with 11.36.
The senior ladies
team were right in the mix with Jess Keene and Niamh Bridson Hubbard running
15.53 and 16.02 respectively to put the team in third position after two
legs, Sarah Belaon ran an 18.47 which saw the team slip slightly before
Carole Penlington ran a superb 17.13 leg to bring the team back up to a
great 7th place finish.
The under 13 boys
began in great style and were 2nd after the opening two legs with
great runs by Sam Reardon in 9.36 and Tom Brash 9.52, Max Gregson 10.25 and
Ben Campbell 10.18 both ran solidly to bring the team home again well inside
the top 10 in 6th place.
The under 15 boys
went even better with a great 4th place finish with Joseph
Georgiadis 8.56, Robert Suckling 9.43, Ben Gardner 9.22 and Peter Guy 9.19
all running well.
The under 17 boys
went well finishing in 14th place with Callum Myatt 17.21, Oscar
Hussey 15.42, Charlie Andrews 16.32 and Coleman Corry 17.14 all top
individual efforts for a very respectable placing.
The senior men
qualified for the national finals in two weeks time with a 14th
place finish, Phil Sesseman opened in 4th place in 17.31 only for
Will Fuller to clock 17.45 and briefly put BBHAC into the lead. With other
clubs loading the middle part of the race with their top runners we were not
able to maintain our position and Danny Brewer 20.00, Dan Kennedy 19.49,
Peter Tucker 19.54 and Andy Rayner 19.12 brought the team home for a well
earned 14th place and a place in the finals.
Nick Brooks
19/09/16
A great day in the history of the Club in the
Junior European Clubs Final
The Junior Blackheath & Bromley Women's team
representing Team GB finished 2nd behind the Turkish club Fenerbahce in
Spain, our best ever performance. We were so close to being European
Champions! A magnificent team effort.
Of the 19 events BBHAC finished with 7 golds, 4 silver
and a bronze in amassing 106.5 points just behind Istanbul’s Fenerbahce team
with 114.5. Having finished third in 2015 and second this year, lets hope
that elusive win can be achieved next year when BBHAC represents GB again.
So the ladies all performed brilliantly with 5 new
personal bests being set. Charmont Webster-Tape ran 11.84 to win the 100m
and Maya Bruney clocked 24.04 to win by a healthy margin, a pb but slightly
wind assisted. Katy Ann McDonald continued her fine form winning the 800m in
2.09.71, Jess Keene as last time won the 3000m in 9.45.00, while Isabella
Hilditch won the 100m hurdles in 14.55, and the ladies team won the 4 x 100m
relay in 46.80.
Other great efforts on the track came from Niamh
Bridson Hubbard who took second in the 1500m, the team also finished second
in the 4 x 400m relay. Yasmin Austridge ran 2 personal bests in finishing
4th in the 400m hurdles in 63.98, and also ran 11.28.53 for third place in
the rarely contested 3000 metre steeplechase.
To the field events and following on from Holly Mills
winning the long jump in 5.83m, Annie Davies took silver in the triple jump
with a leap of 11.85m and Victoria Wiltshire took second in the hammer with
47.03 and also set a pb in the shot. Carys Marsden also set a pb in the
javelin.
Other valuable points were picked up by Megan Walsh in
the 400m, Jamiyla Robinson-Pascal in the high jump, Pippa Croft in the pole
vault, and by Carys and Victoria who both doubled up in the field events.
Elsewhere the previous week Scott Overall ran in the
Great North Run half marathon in Newcastle and finished a commendable 9th in
64.39 and was the fourth British athlete to finish.
Nick Brooks
12/09/16
Adam Gemili breaks 20 seconds for
200m again in Diamond League
In the Diamond League finals in
Brussels Adam Gemili broke the 20 second barrier again in the 200m and in so
doing set a new pb and BBHAC club record of 19.97. It was the same time as
the winner, and more frustratingly he finished ahead of the French runner
Lamaitre who tantalisingly beat him to Olympic bronze in Rio.
Adam still ranks third on the UK all
time ranking list behind John Regis’s 19.87 which is now well within his
grasp.
Closer to home the annual Will
Bolton Relays took place at Sparrows Den where BBHAC played host to many
local teams. The club itself had many athletes on display both young and
old. The mens A team finished 4th behind three teams from Tonbridge, with
Phil Sesemann coming in first on leg one with a time of 13.10, and then
followed up by Andrew Rayner (13.59), Peter Tucker (14.13) and Danny Brewer
(14.33). These gave the runners 4th, 17th, 22nd and 25th fastest legs on the
day.
The B team finished a credible 8th
place with fine runs from Chris Tuck, Tom Desborough, Dan Kennedy and Dave
McKinlay, while other club teams finished 12th, 22nd, 24th, 32nd.
The ladies A team were dominant in
the ladies race winning by a margin of over 2 minutes from Tonbridge. Niam
Bridson Hubbard ran an opening leg of 14.50 which was second fastest on the
day, and this was backed up by Kelsey Fuss (17.01), Elaine Rayner (15.16)
and Jess Keene (15.19). BBHSC’s seond ladies team finished 4th with Amy
leach, Grace Scopes and Stephanie Taylor.
In the junior races the under 15
boys finished 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th while the under 13 boys fielded teams
which finished 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th. The young ladies teams competed with
even greater success as the under 13 girls took 1st and 2nd teams and the
under 15 girls 2nd and 5th placed teams.
Next weekend in pain the BBHAC under
20 ladies team will represent the UK in the European Clubs event in Spain
looking to go better than third place last year. This is a one competitor
per event match against the top club sides across Europe. The team has
already won the UK YDL and so has qualified for the same fixture again next
year wherever that may be.
Nothing else now on the fixture card
until 25th September for SEAA road relays for all age groups in Bedford.
Nick Brooks
5/09/16
Youth Development League – BBHAC
Excel yet Again to Win National final, and good Diamond league runs for Adam
and Dina
The BBHAC youngsters were in action
again at the weekend with the YDL Finals held at Bedford with the under 17s
and 20s competing on Sunday and the under 13s and 15s on Saturday.
In the senior match on Sunday BBHAC
won the title convincingly amassing 950 points, with Team Edinburgh second
on 839 and Shaftesbury third on 768.5. The team posted 24 A string wins, 6
silver medals and 12 bronze, and in the B string evens witnessed 18 wins, 11
seconds and 6 third place finishes. To top off such a magnificent team
performance the ladies team won their match event and have been selected to
represent the UK in the European club events meeting in September 2017,
while the men finished second but combined to win overall.
Man of the match performance came
from James Whiteaker who threw a league record in the javelin with a throw
of 72.41 winning by over 18 metres. Elsewhere in the under 20 mens events
there were great wins for James Habergham in the 1500m and Bailey Stickings
in the 400m hurdles. A string wins were harder to come by in the under 17
mens events but William Adedeye won the 100 hurdles and there were B string
wins for Nathan Sureshkumar (discus), Angus Harrington (javelin), Edward
Adams (long jump) and Ben Edozie (triple jump).
To the under 20 ladies team and
there were many notable victories with Charmont Webster Tape and Viv
Olatunji winning both legs of the 100m, while Maya Bruney and Parris Johnson
did the same in the 200m. Niamh Bridson Hubbard won the 800 and 3000 A
strings with Jess Keene winning the B string, the A string steeplechase, and
the B string 1500m while Katy Ann McDonald won the 1500 A string. Annie
Davies and Isabella Hilditch won both the sprint hurdles races, while
Carlotta Weitzel won the B string steeplechase and Jamiyla Robinson Pascal
won the B string long jump.
For the under 17 ladies events
Immanuela Aliu and Magda Cienciala both won the 100 and 200m A and B
strings, while Holly Mills and Olivia Richer won both 300m races giving
Blackheath a clean sweep of the sprints. Katy Ann MvcDonald ran again and
won the 800m, Holly Mills also competed again and won the 80 metre hurdles
and long jump A strings. Yasmin Austridge and Millie Smith took both strings
in the steeplechase, while in the field Victoria Wiltshire won the hammer,
Eloise Locke won the javelin, and Emma James won the B string shot. In the
pit Karrina Harris and Nicole Farmer won both triple jumps and back on the
track Catrina Murphy won the B string 300 metre hurdles.
To end the day on a high the under
17 ladies won the 4X100 relay and the under 20s won both the 4X100 and
4X400m relays.
The previous day the under 13 and 15
teams were in action and they finished a highly commendable third on 601.5
points but only just behind winners Southampton on 612 points and Team
Edinburgh on 608.5 points.
Myles Xavier and Nana Okwesa won
both the long jump events while there were B string wins for Henry Whichello
(100m), Robert Suckling (800m), Rico Cottell (sprint hurdles) and Tom Mills
in the javelin. In the under 13 boys match Jacob Byfield completed a great A
string double by winning the long jump and hurdles with Robert Murray
winning the shot, and in the B string events there were wins for Sam Reardon
(200m), Thomas Penlington (800m) and Oliver Robertson in the long jump.
On to the ladies events and wins
were extremely hard to come by as shown in the tight scoring, however Lia
Radus and Morgan Squibb ran superbly to win both legs of the under 15 1500m
race, and Kareena Galley won the B string shot. In the under 13 age group
Akeiyla Robinson-Pascal won the A string high jump and in doing so set a new
pb and a new under 13 club record with a leap of 1.54m, Amarissa Sibley won
the B string 1500m and Olivia English the B string 70m hurdles.
Last Friday Loughborough played host
to the Sainsburys UK Schools Games and BBHAC had 5 athletes in action each
of whom performed admirably. Holly Mills won the long jump with a leap of
6.00m, Yasmin Austridge won the steeplechase with 5.05.50, there were runner
up spots for Immanuela Aliu in the 200m and Eloise Locke in the javelin, and
Victoria Wiltshire threw near to her pb for 5th place in the javelin.
Late last week at the Diamond League in Zurich Adam Gemili ran his season
best in the 100m in 10.11 for 5th place, while Dina Asher smith continued
her fine form running 22.38 in the 200m for 4th place.
Nick Brooks
30/08/16
National Under
15 & 17 Champs
A good number of
club athletes participated in the English Athletic Champs at Bedford coming
away with 6 medals, 2 gold and 4 silver.
Katy Ann McDonald
continued her fine form winning the under 17 800m in 2.05.07 just missing
her pb, and Holly Mills leapt to 5.99m to win the under 17 ladies long jump.
Charmont Webster-Tape finished second in the under 17 ladies 100m in 11.87
and Eloise Locke took silver in the javelin with a throw of 43.20m and also
took ninth place in the shot put.
Pedro Gleadall
threw the javelin out to 58.09 for a massive new pb and a new under 15 club
record beating the former record by more than 4 metres and adding 7 metres
to his previous best. He also jumped 3.41 in the pole vault for 5th
place and another club under 15 record. William Adedeye took second in the
under 17 mens long jump with 6.96m and also 4th in the shot with
14.75m, Ben Sutton leapt 6.66m for a new pb and 4th in the long
jump.
Other great final
performances included Robert Suckling 7th in the under 15 mens
800m, Henry-James Cowie 6th in the under 17 mens 1500m
steeplechase with a pb of 4.36.15, while Pedro Gleadall took 4th
in the high jump with 1.80m the same height as second, and Rico Cottell came
8th with 1.72m.
Lia Radus ran a
4.42.18 for a new pb in qualifying for the 1500m final in the under 15 girls
and ran superbly for 4th in the final. Karrina Harris leapt
11.04m for 6th in the under 17 ladies triple jump while Victoria
Wiltshire threw 47.96m for 9th in the under 17 ladies hammer,
with James Lancaster throwing his hammer out to 57.09m for 6th in
the under 17 mens event.
Dina Asher Smith
is already back from Rio and continued her fine form by winning the 100m in
11.28 at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial event in Warsaw at the weekend.
Elsewhere Toby
Olubi won both the 100m and 200m in 10.87w and 22.49 at the London Inter
Club Challenge match.
Next weekend in
Bedford the finals of the National Youth Development League takes place for
all our junior age groups where our expectations run high.
Nick Brooks
22/08/16
Olympic medal
and Southern League 2E Winners
The Olympics in
Rio saw two BBHAC athletes in action with Dina Asher Smith taking a
fantastic 5th place in the 200m in a season best of 22.31 and a
great effort for the 20 year old. In the mens 200 final and up against Usain
Bolt, 22 year old Adam Gemili ran superbly in finishing 4th and
only 3/1000s of a second from the bronze medal and beating some great
athletes. These two outstanding performances exceeded all expectations and
although they may not have won individual medals with age on their side
Tokyo 2020 will be the next target.
Adam anchored the
GB team to 6th place in the final of the 4x100m relay again
behind Bolt’s Jamaica team, and Dina ran the tight third leg to ensure that
GB came home with a bronze medal and new UK record in the womens 4x100m
relay.
The men and
womens team were in action at Norman Park in the final league match of the
season where victory would have won the league and secured promotion. Not
only did the team achieve that but they won emphatically by scoring 262
points to second place Phoenix’s 192.5 points with both sides gaining
promotion to League 1 for next season. It was great to see so many of our
athletes in action and in many cases taking on several events. At the time
of writing no individual results are available.
At a
representative international match in Manchester the club had 5 athletes in
action with Katy Ann McDonald the pick of the athletes when winning the 800m
in a new club under 17 record of 2.05.03. Divine Oladipo took third place in
both the shot and the discus, Joe Fuggle 6th in the 400m hurdles,
Holly Mills 2nd in the long jump and Jonathan Ilori 6th
in the triple jump.
A junior SEAAA
Inter Counties match at Oxford saw 9 club athletes representing their
counties with the highlight being a win for Lia Radus in the under ladies
1500m, Bailey Stickings finished second in the mens under 20 400m hurdles,
while in the under 15s mens events Robert Suckling finished 4th
in the 800m, Caelen Raju 3rd in the sprint hurdles, Rico Cottell
3rd in the high jump, Pedro Gleadall 3rd in the pole vault and
the javelin with a mighty throw of 51.14m, Myles Xavier 4th in
the long jump, Michael Burfoot 7th in the shot, while daisy
Dowling took 7th in thr laides under 15 javelin.
The final BBHAC
Open Meeting saw many athletes from many clubs chasing down new personal and
season bests. The many BBHAC athletes competing managed 44 new pbs and 4
seasons best between them with the top performances coming from Reon Gowan-Wade
with a 7.01m long jump and a welcome return to the sport, a 49.21 400m and
new by Adrien Coulibaly, Michael Damoah running 11.52 in the 100m also for a
new pb, likewise Rico Cottell with his 23.96 in the 200m, and 13 year old
Morgan Squibb running great new 800m pb with 2.20.13 and teenager James
Lancaster throwing a new pb of 41.90 in the under 17 discus.
Midweek at
the BMC and Cambridge H Open Meeting there were three great new pbs for
Kelsi Cornish in the 800m with 2.17.63, while just behind her Ellie Dolby
set a new under 13 800 record with 2.20.20 beating a 14 year old mark having
had a near miss at this same record two days earlier, and Oscar Hussey
lowered his best 800m to 2.04.71. Angus Harrington also ran well with a
1.59.65 performance but unfortunately just missed out on his pb.Nick Brooks
15/08/16
Southern Under 15s and 17s Championships at
Ashford.
These championships saw almost 20 young BBHAC athletes
on show as they continue their build up to the YDL Finals next month, with
eleven top 3 finishes including two gold, four silver and five bronze
medals, plus a host of finalists.
In the under 17 ladies events Eloise Locke continued
her winning ways by winning both the shot putt (12.99m) and javelin (41.85m)
for a fantastic double, Karrina Harris jumped 11.29m for second in the
triple jump with Victoria Wiltshire achieving 3rd in the hammer with 50.02m.
In the under 15 ladies Hannah Macaulay took second in the shot putt (12.20m)
and for good measure finished 4th in the discus, while Daisy Dowling threw
the javelin 33.81m for a well deserved second place.
In the mens under 17 age group James Lancaster threw
the hammer out to 57.59m for third, and in the under 15 boys events Robert
Suckling took 3rd in the 800, a busy Pedro Gleadall took 2nd in the pole
vault (3.30m), and 4th in both the high jump and javelin throw, and looks
like a decathlete in the making. Meanwhile Michael Burfoot took two great
bronze medals in the shot (12.92m) and the discus (39.27m).
Other finalists included Yasmin Austridge and Kelsi
Cornish claiming 4th spot in the 800m and 1500m respectively in the under 17
ladies, Kate Purser claimed 7th place in the 300m hurdles. In the under 15
ladies 1500m Morgan Squibb ran a fantastic 4.45.69 for 5th and Zoe Austridge
jumped 2.40m for 8th in the pole vault.
In the under 15 boys events Caelan Raju ran 12.20m in
the 80m hurdles for 7th place, and in the under 17 mens events George Pope
took 7th in the pole vault with 3.40m and Oscar Hussey finished 8th in the
800m.
Next up the Southern League mens and womens match at
Bromley’s Norman Park on Saturday 20th August where promotion is very much
within reach.
Nick Brooks
8/08/16
Final League Action for both men
and womens teams
So the final UK Womens League Division
1 league match in Manchester for the ladies team. To say the team was
'injury ravaged' hardly covers it, but BBHAC ladies team covered all but one
of the events (including a high jump from our physio, Grace) and, with every
one getting stuck in, we made sure of the 3rd place we needed to secure the
league title. On the day the team finished third on 189 points behind
Cardiff and Woodford but did enough to ensure the league title was won and
promotion back to the top flight was achieved. A final 625 points tally
ahead of Woodford gained these two sides promotion where BBHAC will be up
against the likes of Shaftesbury, Birchfield, and Liverpool next season
Highlights from the day were A string
wins for Montell Douglas (100) and Divine Oladipo (shot and discus) and B
strings Niamh Bridson Hubbard (1500), Clare Elms (3000) and Sarah McLellan
(400H). 2nd places in A for Kelly Grant (1500) and Niamh (3000) and B for
Issie Hilditch (200m) and Annie Davies (100H). Valuable 3rds from, A, Maya
Bruney (200), Kelly Grant (800), Becky McLinden (400H) and Annie Davies(TJ)
and B for Modupe Shokunbi (100), Krystal Galley (400) and Anna Barnett
(discus) and 4x400 (Krystal, Sarah, Yimika Adewakun and Niamh). Athletes of
the match - track: Niamh Bridson Hubbard - Field: Divine Oladipo.
Big congratulations to the ladies team
for winning the league title and gaining more silverware, let’s hope one of
our other team members can bring us something back from Rio too!!
And to the final British Athletics
League Division 1 match for the mens team at a sun drenched Basingstoke
arena. Like the ladies team the side was very depleted due to injury and
athletes being unavailable and despite finishing 7th the scoring
was very close and although it meant that BBHAC never really challenged on
the day for promotion, relegation was also a long way off. To end the season
in third place is a great achievement behind Thames Valley and Southampton
who were both promoted to what is a tough premiership.
On the track Toby Olubi ran
brilliantly for 3rd in the A string 100m and 4th in
the 200m, while Luke Smallwood made a welcome return to the team for his
first run of the season and secured 3rd place in the A string
400m with a club leading performance of 48.54, and for good measure ran in
both relays. Teenager Will Fuller ran well in a slow but competitive B
string 800m for 3rd and chased hard for third in the A string
3000m later on. Jack Messenger easily won the 400m hurdles B string.
To the field events with Jonathan
Ilori and Robert Sutherland winning both the triple jump events, Jonathan
then taking second in the A string long jump and also running a leg in the
sprint relay, while Mark Cryer leapt well to win the B string long jump.
Alex Pope and Steve Timmins again kept the club afloat in the throwing
events picking up useful points as they both competed in the hammer, shot
and discus, while Alex also threw the javelin. To cap things off it was
great to see pole vaulter Scott Huggins in a club vest as he finished second
in the A string pole vault with a jump of 4.80m, the same height as the
winner.
Nick Brooks
1/08/16
At the CAU Inter
Counties event at Bedford, BBHAC had several athletes on display
representing their respective counties in both track and field events. There
were some outstanding sprinting events including the fastest by a Briton
this year over 100m with 9.96 for Joel Fearon of Birchfield.
On the track
there was a bronze medal for Montell Douglas in the 100m in 11.55, and
teenager Katy Ann McDonald ran well for 5th place in the 800m and
only just behind her pb in 2.06.76. Kelly Grant took 12th in the
1500m final while in the men’s track events Joe Fuggle finished 8th
in the 400m hurdles.
In the field
events there was a fantastic third place and new personal best for Matthew
Blandford with 55.68m in the discus, Mark Cryer finished 12th in
the long jump and Christina Moore 11th in the ladies’ pole vault.
Meanwhile Hendon
played host to the London Inter Club Challenge where Ishmael Smith John ran
2 new pbs in the 100m and 200m with 11.12 and 22.27 (windy), while teenager
Kyron Morgan ran a new pb in the 100m with 11.97. 14 years old Elise Swatton
jumped 2.20m for new pb in the pole vault while at the other end of the
spectrum 73 year old former Olympian Shaun Lightman competed in the 10,000m
walk with a new seasons best of 31.37.45 for 10th place.
Finally, there
was an under 13 inter county match at Kingston where BBHAC had a handful of
athletes on display. The pick of the day was Jacob Byfield winning the 75m
hurdles in a new pb of 12.17, backed up with third place in the long jump
with yet another pb of 5.05m. Robert Murray was only just pipped in the shot
and threw 10.72m, while Akeiyla Robinson Pascal took third in the girls’
long jump with 4.80m and Samuel Reardon threw 31.53 for a new pb in the
javelin securing himself 5th place.
Next weekend sees
the mens senior team in action on Saturday at the final BAL League Division
1 match at Basingstoke where they could mathematically win promotion or be
relegated, but currently sitting in 3rd place of the 8 teams. On
Sunday the ladies team are in action in Manchester in their final national
league match where they hope to win promotion back to the elite and top
league. They too currently sit third of eight but only a point behind the
top 2 with only 2 teams promoted.
Nick Brooks
25/07/16
Busy week for
BBHAC athletes
Many BBHAC
athletes were on display this week across Europe and some outstanding
performances were delivered as athletes start approaching their peak fitness
and performance levels.
At the IAAF
Diamond League held at the London Anniversary Games Adam Gemili came up
against Usain Bolt and although he was unable to beat Bolt on the night he
finished a fantastic third in the 200m in 20.07 for a seasons best. The
following day Adam ran the second leg in the GB 4X100 relay which they won
in 37.78 for a world leading performance meaning that an Olympic medal is a
strong possibility if they can stay fit and get the baton round.
In the 100m Dina
Asher Smith ran a seasons best in the 100m in 11.07 in qualifying and then
ran 11.09 for 4th in the final into a headwind which meant a real
attack on her 10.99 pb will have to wait for another day. Dina also ran in
the ladies 4X100m relay where the team set a new British record of 41.81 and
they too have a shot at an Olympic medal.
James Whiteaker
was representing GB&NI in the World under 20 Champs in Bydgoszcz in Poland
where he launched the javelin out to 72.51m and automatic qualification for
the final and in so doing setting a new club under 20 record. In the final
James was unable to repeat his heroics and had to settle for 13th
in 65.39m but a great effort to make a world final.
At the BMC event
in Oxford 19-year-old Will Fuller set a new under 20 club record in the
5000m with a run of 14.23.02 clipping three hundredths off Mark Steinle’s
record which has stood since 1993. Next up must be Julian Spooner’s 1500m
record which is even older and stands from 1979 ! His 5000m performance
ranks Will 4th in this age group in the UK.
Elsewhere 13-year-old Morgan Squibb
finished 2nd in the Under 15 European Biathlon Championships in Setubal,
Portugal at the weekend. Having qualified sixth in her heat to qualify for
the final the following day in the event which consists of an 800m run (on
road), then transition into the sea for a 100m swim followed by a further
transition and another 800m run (on road). In the final she finished second
six seconds behind the winner also from GB, and the podium was completed by
a third GB runner so GB won the team gold. As a result she is likely to be
selected for the World Championships which take place in Florida, USA in
October. Morgan has a further year in the same age-group.
The previous week it is also reported
that Holly Mills who is a higher claim athlete with BBHAC won the European
Youth (under 18s) long jump with a leap of 6.12m which is way short of her
best but it was into a 2.5m headwind and earned her a much deserved gold
medal on count back.
Finally, the UK Youth Development League
saw our men and women from the under 17 and under 20 age groups in action at
Eton where they combined to win the match and secure a place in the YDL
final in Bedford on September 4th. BBHAC won comfortably with 780
points from Windsor on 628.5 and Reading on 624.5.
Altogether the club athletes won 50 of
the A and B string events, with the under 17 ladies winning 19 events, the
under 20 ladies 12 events, the under 17 men 10 events and the under 20 men 5
events, plus the whole team won 4 of the 8 relays.
Notable performances in the under 17
ladies were a double for Kelsi Cornish in the A string 1500/3000m, Holly
Mills winning both A string hurdles races and Kate Purser both B strings,
Eloise Locke winning both the shot and javelin. Charmont Webster-Tape won
the A string 100m, Immanuela Aliu the 200m, Megan Walsh the 300m, Yasmin
Austridge the 800m, Karrina Harris the triple jump and Antonia Alapafuja the
high jump.
In the under 20 ladies’ events there
were good wins for Katy Ann McDonald in the 1500m, Maya Bruney in the 200m,
Annie Davies in the triple jump, Isabella Hilditch in the sprint hurdles and
as usual a shot and discus double by Divine Oladipo.
For the under 17 men Edward Adams had a
busy afternoon winning the B string sprint hurdles, and the B string 400m
hurdles, he also won the B string javelin. In the A string hurdles there
were wins for William Adeyeye (100m) and Henry-James Cowie (400m), James
Lancaster won the hammer and Elliott Thorne won the long jump. In the under
20 men’s event Shamar Thomas-Campbell won the 100m, Joss Barber the
steeplechase, Dele Aledese the discus and Elliott Thorne the triple jump.
Nick Brooks
11/07/16
Busy week for many BBHAC athletes
At the European Athletics
Championships held in Amsterdam BBHAC had three athletes representing GB &
NI.
Dina Asher Smith ran superbly
getting out fast from the blocks and never seriously challenged to win the
200m metres and her first major senior title. The time of 22.37 was a
seasons best and sets her up well for Rio next month. Dina also ran the
second leg of the 4x100 relay where the team finished second to a Dafne
Schippers inspired Dutch team.
Adam Gemili was also on the men’s
team and clearly saving himself for the individual events in Rio, however he
ran the second leg for the victorious national team winning the 4x100m relay
from France. Serita Solomon was also representing the nation in the 100m
hurdles but failed to get past the qualifying rounds despite running close
to a seasons best. Well done to all three BBHAC athletes.
Many of the club’s young athletes
were competing at the English Schools Championships which were held at
Gateshead again. This is pretty much as seen as the Olympics for teenagers
and is a where many international athletes begin their track and field
careers. Again it proved to be a highly successful weekend for the Club’s
athletes with five individual golds, five silver, three bronze medals.
In the Senior age group Niamh
Bridson Hubbard won the 3000 metres in 9.43.10 with Jessica Keene 5th while
second claim members Jacob Veerapen won the senior triple jump with a leap
of 14.74m and Elliott Thorne the long jump with 6.77m, Joe Fuggle won the
400m hurdles from our own Bailey Stickings clocking 53.72 to 53.93.
Another second claim member Charmont
Webster-Tape won silver in the senor 100m in 12.08 having won the
intermediate crown last year, with Immanuela Aliu third and Magda Cienciala
6th while Jazz Crawford took 2nd in the 200m just as she did last year with
a fine run of 24.98, and James Whiteaker continued his fine form with a
runner spot in the javelin with a throw of 68.17m, and Sophie Dowson leapt
3.70m for second in the senior pole vault.
Divine Oladipo was a class apart in
the winning the senior discus with a throw of 43.77m having won the shot
last year, while Annie Davies took bronze in the senior girls triple jump
and Katie Ann McDonald just as last year won bronze in the inter 800m.
Other notable performances came from
Shamar Thomas Campbell with a 10.75 clocking and new pb in qualifying for
the 100m, Dele Aladese 4th in the senior discus, Ben Sutton took 6th in the
inter long jump, Adeniyke Adeniran 8th in the inter 200m. James Lancaster
7th in the inter boys hammer, and William Adeyeye 9th in the shot put.
Among the senior ladies Jamilya
Robinson-Pascal finished 8th in the long jump and Isabella Hilditch 7th in
the 100m hurdles, while in the intermediate age group Yasmin Austridge was
unable to repeat her win of last year in the 1500m steeplechase but ran well
for 4th, Eloise Locke took 4th in the shot put and Victoria Wiltshire 8th in
the hammer. Rounding off in the junior age group there was a fine
performance by Ellie Barrett for 8th in the pole vault.
The senior second team were on duty
at the Sweatshop Southern League Division 2 match at Croydon Arena where
they won comfortably in the men’s and women’s match from Croydon and
Ipswich. This sets up an intriguing battle at the final match at Bromley on
August 20th when three of the league’s top 4 sides compete against each
other. A solid team effort keeps BBHAC atop of the league with promotion
clearly in their own hands. A mixture of youth and experience and the
willingness to take part in multi events especially non specialist events
was the order of the day with Christina Moore (hurdles, high jump, discus,
pole vault etc.) and Gareth Evans (3000m and steeplechase) performing above
the call of duty and Toby Olubi busy in both sprints and both relays. Solid
wins by Carole Penlington in the 5000m and both ladies relay teams were
other highlights of the day while also seeing a fine javelin display from
Ipswich’s UK javelin champion who threw in excess of 71m.
Nick Brooks
4/07/16
League Match
Success for both men and women’s teams
On Saturday BBHAC
hosted the men’s National League Division 1 Match at Norman Park and despite
brilliant sunshine and several downpours this did not dampen the team spirit
as the team went onto claim 2nd place behind Thames Valley
scoring 302 points to TVH’s 355. Blackheath are now third in the league
while TVH secured promotion to the top flight while a great team effort at
the last match followed by a Southampton collapse could see BBHAC gain an
unlikely promotion.
On the track Phil
Sesemann ran superbly in both the 800m and 1500m controlling both races from
the front to win in 1.52.93 and 3.54.72, while teenagers James Habergham and
Will Fuller both won the B string 800 and 1500m races comfortably. Kieran
Daly returned to club action and won the 100m in 10.54 with Toby Olubi 2nd
in the B string, and teenager Ocean Schwartz ran brilliantly in lane 8 to
set a new pb of 48.67 on the 400m B string event, while Dan Putnam returned
to action in the A string event although not quite back to best form, while
Shamar Thomas-Campbell ran a near pb with 22.19 in the 200m.
In the field
events Jonathan Ilori took 2nd place in both the triple jump and
long jump and Robert Sutherland won the B string triple jump. Lewis Church
set a new pb in the javelin with a throw of 48.29m for 5th place,
while Steve Timmins competed in three field events and Alex Pope in 4
events, Alex winning the B string shot and 2nd in the B string
hammer, while Steve threw 46.34m in the hammer and is now confident of
breaking the 50m barrier. Mark Cryer showed us his decathlon skills by
competing in both hurdles events where he set a new pb in the 400m event,
and also competed in the long jump and the 4x400 relay.
The final league
match is at Basingstoke on August 6th.
At Lee Valley on
Sunday the ladies senior team competed in the UK Womens Athletic League
Division 1 match and after finishing a very close second in the first match
went on to win this match with room to spare. BBHAC amassed 220.5 points
with Bristol 2nd on 213 points, despite not a fielding any
athletes in the sprint hurdles or the steeplechase events. BBHAC now tops
the league by one match point.
On the track
teenager Niamh Bridson Hubbard continued her fine form and won the A string
1500m in a great new pb of 4.23.55 pulling her up to 5th in the
UK rankings, while Clare Elms ran brilliantly for 2nd in the
3000m and set a new club V50 record of 10.10.77 taking almost 7 seconds of
her own record. The ladies also won the 4x100m relay with a time of 46.96.
Rachel Dickens ran a solid 24.68 for 2nd in the 200m, and Viv
Olatunji ran well for 2nd in both the B string 100m and 200m
events.
Even more success
in the field events where Divine Oladipo (13.95m) and Shaunagh Brown
(13.42m) won both the A and B string shot, Shaunagh won the A string discus
with 48.06m while Divine won the B string with 46.60m and both ladies
competed in the hammer for good measure taking 3rd and 2nd
respectively. To round off the field event success Chioma Matthews won the A
string triple jump with a leap of 12.93m and Zara Asante won the B string
with a jump of 12.35m.
The final league
match in on August 7th in Manchester.
So all in all a
highly successful weekend for the BBHAC athletic teams.
Nick Brooks
