Last updated 31 July
2001
Press Releases for June
& July 2001
- If you want to find the latest results try Results!
- If you are after older results and gossip please
go to the Courier pages.
31 July 2001
The blistering heat could not stop athletes from
Blackheath Harriers, Bromley setting ten new personal bests at the latest match
in the Southern Premier Division of the National Junior League at Guildford.
The six and a half hour programme could not have begun
better as Quincy Belgrave marked his Junior League debut with a new best of
12.65 to take third place in the triple jump with Chris Daniel leaping a useful
11.31 in the B string. Belgrave also measured 6.31 in the long jump while also
in the field Alex Pope set a new best of 33.27 in the javelin and the Shelley
brothers Philip and Robin scored a hatful of points in the throws.
There was disappointment , however, for Karim Chester who
set a new Club Record in the under 17s hammer the previous week. Moving up in
weight he had difficulties with his technique and registered three no throws.
Some consolation was a new best in the discus.
On the track the heat militated against fast times so it
was encouraging that Ray Perkins in the 1500 and Peter Moreton in the 2,000
steeplechase ran faster than ever before. Neil Simpson timed a useful 50.9 for
3rd in the 400 while Bomene Barikor scored well in the 100 and 110 hurdles. Best
event was the 3000 metres with 5th and 2nd places courtesy of Andrew Rayner and
William Bolton.
Also of note was the performance of Andrew Johnson who
timed a promising 59.7 in this first race over the junior 400 hurdles and Dwayne
Bovell's 23.1 clocking for 4th in the B string 200 metres.
On the same day at Kingston, his sister Serita Solomon set
a new best of 14.0 in the 100 metres as she represented Kent in and under 13s
Inter County match. The previous Wednesday Emily Oliver added 2 centimetres to
her own Club Hammer Record with a throw of 37.11 in the Blackheath Club
Championships at Norman Park. On the track Scott McDonald took the 5,000 metre
title and Ken Daniel marked his return from the World Veterans Championships by
winning the Senior Mile title, albeit in a weak field.
Both have enjoyed success elsewhere in the last week.
McDonald was 4th in the Brading 10km in the Isle Of Wight in 34.54 and followed
this with a 3rd place in the Sri Chinmoy 10km at Battersea Park in 33.25. Daniel
was in action at the Tooting Open Meeting recording the second fastest 800 metre
time in the country by an over 50 this season. The 51 year enthused that there
was "more to come" after timing 2.06 with only friend and Clubmate Bob
Minting having run faster this year.
Elsewhere David Moulton finished 2nd in the 800 metres
while representing the South Of England in the Inter-Regional Under 23 match in
Derby timing a useful 1.52.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For Further details please contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
24 July 2001
For the second weekend running a member of Blackheath
Harriers, Bromley has returned from an international championship with a gold
medal. Dwayne Grant was part of the Great Britain team who struck gold in the
4x100 at the European Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy.
The time of 39.24 was a new Championhip record. He was
also an individual medallist with a bronze in the 200 metres in 20.92.
The Club's European Under 23 Champion over 100 metres,
Jonathan Barbour, was in action at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix. He
finished 4th in the 100 metres B race in 10.39. He received his reward for his
outstanding season when he was selected for the 4x100 metres in the Great
Britain team who travel to Edmonton, Canada for the World Championships which
start on August 3rd.
Sadly one person who will not be travelling with the squad
is Mark Steinle, Britain's number one over the marathon this year. He has had to
withdraw from the team because a persistent shin injury has prevented him doing
the training necessary to do himself justice at a major championship. He will
now target the New York marathon at the start of November and represents Britain
in the World Half Marathon Championships which take place at Bristol at the
start of October.
Competing at the Palace meant Barbour missed appearing in
the Athletics equivalent of the FA Cup Final the previous day at Bedford.
The Gold Cup is a knock out competition with only eight
teams making it through to the final. Blackheath put in some useful team effort
but with a heavy injury list had to settle for 7th place.
Best performance came from Tawanda Chiwira, the Club's
Zimbabwian Olympian from Plumstead. Putting recent injury problems behind him,
he won the 400 metres in 47.15 and ran useful legs in both relays.
Mensah Elliott took third in a blanket finish in the 110
hurdles timing 14.08 and then, despite a virus, contributed a leg in the 4x100.
While the Club may not have won they did boast the
greatest age range of any of the competing teams. 17 year old Jake Aust stepped
in at short notice to run the 400 hurdles while at the other end of the age
scale 67 year old Gordon Hickey, the UK over 65's record holder, was in action
in the shot.
Other good performances came from Lash Lashore who was 4th
in the 100, despite a stomach upset, and Roy Smith who set a personal best for
10,000 on the track with a time of 31.56.
He was in action again the following day at the Dartford
Half Marathon where he finished 2nd in 71.09 a performance that saw him win the
Kent championship title.
Backed up by Scott McDonald and Cliff Keene the Club took
the team race as well. Smith has recently won the Club 10,000 title for the 8th
successive year and also set a record of 15.21 on the Roy Parris Memorial 3 Mile
road course.
It was also a busy weekend for the Club's youngsters with
both the boys and girls in action in the final round of the McDonalds League.
The Boys confirmed their place in the Auxiliary Final at Birmingham in September
despite only finishing third in their match at Peterborough.
Outstanding performance of the day came from Karim Chester
who broke the Club hammer record for the 4th time this season launching the 5kg
implement to 60.52 metres. He also won the shot and discus and, with Paul
Barratt winning the B hammer, the team has scored maximum points in this event
in all five matches this season.
This seems set to continue in the future as the Tawanaee
brothers Amir and Alistair also scored maximum points in the B string event.
Other highlight in the field came from Quincy Belgrave who set bests of 6.44 and
12.05 in the long and triple jumps.
On the track best performances came in the under 17's
sprints where Dwayne Bovell and Sanjo Bangobe timed 23.2 and 23.3 in the 200
metres. In the same age group Andrew Johnson made a promising debut in the 400
hurdles with a win in 59.1. He was also 2nd in the 100 hurdles in 14.2 while
Chris Daniel set a new best of 54.2 in the 400 metres.
Also noteworthy was Danny Brewer's win in the 1500 in the
under 13 age group in 4.56.5.
At the girls match at Croydon, Rebecca Taylor received the
"Track athlete of the match" award for her 2.28.9 clocking in winning
the under 13's 800 metres. Her time was just outside the Club record as was
Florence Clark's 7.56 putt in the shot.
One record that was equalled however was in the 75 metres
where Serita Solomon ran 10.4 to finish 3rd in a blanket finish which saw the
top three all given the same time. Solomon also won the B hurdles in 12.4 with
Nina Akif taking the A event in 12.5 and the two combined with Emily Godley and
Sophie Robinson for a rousing victory in the 4x100 nearly 60 metres clear of the
field.
Their win was duplicated in the under 15's age group where
the team of Venita Akpofure, Clare Cooper, Joanna South and Harriet Robinson
capped a fine afternoons individual efforts with an emphatic win.
Akpofure and South both had double wins in the individual
sprints while Robinson and Cooper had double victories in the sprint hurdles and
long jump.
Spirited efforts from under 17's such as Abi Jacobs and
Candice Holmes, who was 2nd in the B hurdles despite falling, kept the team in
contention and helped to the Club achieving a fine 2nd place.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
17 July 2001
Athletes from Blackheath Harriers, Bromley have been in
medal winning form across the world in the last week. Pride of place went to
Jonathan Barbour who won the 100 metres at the European Under 23 Championships
in Amsterdam. His time of 10.26 left him over a tenth of a second clear of the
field. He followed with a sixth place in the 200 in 21.10 and was then part of
the Great Britain 4x100 team who missed out on gold medals by just 0.04 of a
second behind Poland.
Competing in Amsterdam meant he had to miss the World
Championship Trials in Birmingham where a number of his Club mates were in
action. Best placed here was Commonwealth Champion Julian Golding took fifth in
the 200, his season having been affected by a groin injury. Mensah Elliott was
just five hundredths of a second off a medal in the 110 hurdles but his time of
13.88 only earned him sixth place in a blanket finish.
Lash Lashore was the Club's other finalist finishing 8th
in the 100 metres in 10.62, while promising times in the heats came from Daniel
Plummer (10.79) and Gavin Neblett (10.97). Elsewhere Alloy Wilson (400); David
Moulton (800); Michael Skinner (1500); and Louisa Guthrie (100 and 200) did not
progress beyond the heats.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world some of the
Club's older members were chasing medals at the World Veteran Championships in
Sydney, Australia. Bob Minting was part of the Great Britain team who picked up
bronze in the final of the over 50's 4x400. Earlier he had set a new Club Record
of 2.05.02 in the finishing 5th in the 800 and was also 6th in the 400.
Bill Foster followed his bronze in the over 40's 5000 with
a 4th place in the 10,000 and Jim Day was also one place off a medal in the over
65's pole vault.
Ken Daniel ran a seasons best of 4.21.40 to finish 9th in
the over 50's 1500 metre final and Dennis Wallington was 12th in the over 50's
long jump.
There was further individual and team success at the
latest Southern Womens League Division Three match at Horsham where the Club
achieved its biggest points score of the season to maintain its promotion
challenge. In the Senior age group double wins were achieved by Katy Benneworth
and Abi Jacobs (100); Emily and Anita Oliver (discus); and Sandra Alaneme and
Anita Oliver (shot).
Emily Oliver also set a new best of 37.92 to win the
hammer and won the B javelin; and there were further victories for Katy Porter
(100 hurdles); and Alaneme (High jump).
The under 15 girls continue to excel with 12 out of 20
individual wins. Established team members Harriet Robinson and Clare Cooper both
had double wins in the 80 hurdles and long jump but equally encouraging were the
performances of new starlets such as Florence Clark who scored maximum points in
the B shot to add to her impressive 16.69 throw for 2nd place in the B discus.
Joanna South won the A competition with 20.44 while on the
track Venita Akpofure scored another win in the 100 metres and Bryony Proctor
ran an outstanding 5.12.8 for victory in the 1500.
The Boys have also been in good form recently in the Kent
Boys And Colts League. After 3 matches they head the under 13's, under 15's and
overall League tables.
10 July 2001
A last place in the latest match in the British Athletics
League Division One at Eton virtually guarantees that the Blackheath Harriers,
Bromley Senior Mens team will be relegated to Division Two for next season. With
the World Championship Trials just a week away, many of the top names in the
country and from abroad were in action for the top eight Clubs in the country
with three League records set.
Best performances for the Club came on the track. Lash
Lashore took 2nd in the 100 A string in 10.54 and was also runner up in the B
200 where he timed 22.0. New member Tawanda Chiwira, who represented Zimbabwe at
the Sydney Olympics, was 3rd in the B 100 before finishing 2nd to Iwan Thomas in
the 400. His time of 46.69 was a seasons best.
The sprint hurdles continue to be one of the Club's best
events with team captain Mensah Elliott 3rd in the A race in 13.97 and Mohammed
Sillah Frecklton a good 2nd in the B race.
There was a personal best of 3.54.43 for Daniel Ayrton in
the B1500 and a 4th and a 3rd in the long jump for Mark Awanah and Levi Edwards.
The Club's biggest weakness lies in the throws where a
long injury list led to a recall for 65 year old Gordon Hickey to the team. The
West Wickham granddad, who is the UK over 65 Record holder, could not have got
much stronger competition as he was pitched against America's Olympic Silver
medallist Adam Nelson in the shot. Not surprisingly Nelson won the event.
Meanwhile the Club's B and C teams both finished 3rd in
their Southern League Division 2 and 4 matches.
Many of the Clubs youngsters were in action in the English
Schools Championships in Exeter the so called "mini Olympics" which
features all the top athletes in the country. Karim Chester was the Club's only
medallist as he took bronze in the Senior Boys hammer with 57.77.
Best performance in the intermediate age group came from
Katy Benneworth who set a new best of 5.58 to finish 5th in the long jump.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world some of the
Club's older members are currently competing in the World Veterans Championships
in Australia. They have started well with Bill Foster winning bronze in the over
40s 5,000 in a seasons best of 14.52.52.
In the over 50s age group Bob Minting has qualified for
the Final of the 800 metes timing 2.06.26 in his semi final. Ken Daniel clocked
2.12.37 in the heat but will aim for greater things in the 1500. Peter Hannell
finished 12th in the over 55s 5km walk.
There was good news for the Club's girls team. They
thought that they had finished 2nd in last weeks McDonalds Young Athletics
League match at Hillingdon but when the official results were sent through
they found that they had won.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For further details please contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
3 July 2001
Blackheath Harriers, Bromley athletes Jonathan Barbour and
Dwayne Grant will represent Great Britain in their respective age groups in the
European Championships later this month following their performances at the
Norwich Union AAAs Under 20 and Under 23 Championships at Bedford. Barbour won
both the 100 and 200 in the under 23 age group and will double up in the
Europeans in two weeks time in Amsterdam. His time of 10.13 was another new
personal best, albeit wind assisted, and broke both his Club Record and his own
Championship Record set last year. He returned the next day to complete a double
victory in the sprints for the second year running winning the 200 metres in
20.8 two tenths inside World Indoor silver medallist Christian Malcolm's
previous Championship best.
Grant also set personal bests. He clocked 10.22 to claim
silver in the under 20s 100 metres to break the Club Junior Record and followed
the next day with a 20.4 to secure the 200 metre title. He will represent
Britain in the longer event in Grosetto in three weeks time as well as being
part of the 4x100 squad who will be attempting to add the European title to the
World title they won last year.
Here he may be joined by Mark Awanah who put a year of
niggling injuries behind him to snatch silver in the last round of the long jump
with a new personal best of 7.66. There was another long jump medal in the under
23 age group as Levi Edwards won bronze with 7.20; while Mohammed Sillah
Freckleton won silver in the 110 hurdles in 14.2.
Elsewhere in the under 23s David Moulton (800) and Michael
Skinner (1500) were just outside the medals in tight sprint finishes; Nange
Ursell set a seasons best of 53.3 in the 400 hurdles; and Alloy Wilson made the
final of the 400.
In the under 20s Joe Godsell set a new best of 50.5 in the
400. Just back from Portugal is Julian Golding who timed 20.85 over 200. The
Commonwealth Games champion was pleased with his time which gave him second
place and now looks forward to the World Championships Trials in Birmingham in
two weeks time.
Mensah Elliott was in action in the Inter Area match at
Birmingham. Representing the South, he won the 110 hurdles in a seasons best of
13.94
Many of the Club's stars of the future were in action at
Norman Park, Bromley where the boys team, with 34 personal bests, had a
comfortable victory in the latest round of the McDonalds Young Athletes League
to guarantee at least a place in the Auxilliary Final in September. Whether they
qualify for the Main Final will depend on the last match of the season at
Peterborough on July 22nd. In the under 17 age group Karim Chester warmed up for
this weekends English Schools Championships with a win in the hammer and, with
Paul Barrett first in the B string for the fourth match in a row, the Club has
scored maximum points in the event in all four matches. Fabian Collymore made a
rare excursion over 400 to win in 51.1; Ian Allerton ran a 49.9 split in the
4x400; and Ray Perkins had a useful victory in the 3000.
Stephen Leach, another Dave Liston coached athlete, had a
win over the same distance in the under 15 age group while in the field there
was a double win in the javelin from Stuart Harvey and Daniel Murray.
Encouragingly there were promising debuts from Harry Zevla with a 10.98 putt in
the shot; and from Chris Perrin who timed 57.2 in the 400.
Alex Sims who showed impressive form in the under 13
sprints setting grade ones standards of 12.9 and 26.5; while there was another
personal best from Daniel Brewer who timed 5.06.8 for the 1500.
The girls were in action in their McDonalds match at
Hillingdon where a spirited team performance gave them second place just a
handful of points off winning.Two more Club Records fell as Rebecca Taylor timed
4.17.7 in the under 13s 1200 metres; while Venita Akpofure clocked 12.5 in the
under 15s 100 metres.
Numerous personal bests on the afternoon included Nam
Kibedi's 44.7 in the under 17s 300; and a 8.81 shot and 28.0 200 from Sandra
Alaneme. In the under 15s there was a double victory in the discus from Vicky
Thomas and Joanna South while in the under 13s intelligent running from Rachel
Stokes saw her time 2.55.8 in the 800 to build on her second place in the
previous weeks Darrick Wood race. There were also personal bests of 21.2 and
22.1 from Serita Solomon and Sophie Robinson in the 150 metres.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For further details please contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
26 June 2001
Jonathan Barbour won both the 100 and 200 metre races in
the Great Britain Under 23 International match against Spain at Liverpool at the
weekend. The windy conditions prevented any fast times but the double victory
will boost his confidence as he bids to defend his National Under 23 titles at
Bedford this weekend. If successful here he will be picked for the European
Under 23 Championships.
Also aiming for selection is Michael Skinner in the 1500.
He finished 4th in a tactical race at Liverpool with none of the field breaking
4 minutes.
There was more success for the Club at the National
Veteran Championships at Eton with the highlight being Bob Minting's new Club
record in the over 50s 800 where he won in 2.05.4. There were further wins from
Bill Foster (over 40's 5,000); Jim Day (over 65s pole vault); Peter Hannell
(over 55s walk) and Ken Daniel (over 50s 1500) and silver for Bill Clapham (over
70s 5,000) and bronze for Colin Brand (over 65's discus).
After his victory Daniel was straight into his car to get
back to support the Club's teams at Norman Park. The women faced a tough match
as they met the top two teams in their Southern League Division Three fixture
but a spirited team performance saw them defeat recent National Champions
Windsor and finish just a handful of points behind current leaders Belgrave.
Sam Singer (400), Katy Porter (100 hurdles), Abi Jacobs
(100) and Katy Benneworth (long jump) all had individual wins in the Senior age
group and they combined to set a new club record in the 4x100 of 49.6. It was
also a new Junior Club record as none of the quartet are actually yet seniors.
Benneworth's 5.46 leap in the long jump was a new personal
best and there was another in the under 15s age group from Harriet Robinson who
jumped over 5 metres for the first time despite the handicap of having her arm
in plaster.
Venita Akpofure (100 and 200), Clare Cooper (100),
Joanna South (200), Bryony Proctor (1500), and Caroline McQuillan (800) had
victories on the track while in the field there were wins for Clare Silvester
and Roxanne Hargreaves in the javelin; Clare Cooper (long jump), and Vicky
Thomas (shot putt).
The men's team were also 2nd in their match despite
winning virtually every track event. They dropped just 6 points out of a 100 but
weaknesses in some of the field events meant they finished 5 points down on
Kingston And Polytechnic.
Joe Godsell was a winner in the 400 metres and, simulating
Championship conditions, he was in action again the following day for the Junior
Mens team in their Southern Premier Division match at Bedford. His 4th in the
800 and 2nd in the B 400 helped the team achieve a solid 5th place in a Division
that contains the top 8 teams in the whole of the South Of England. Best
performances came from Mark Awanah who won the long jump with a leap of 6.68;
and from Karim Chester who reached a Grade One standard of 52.59 in the hammer
in his first competition with the junior implement.
Meanwhile there was a clean sweep for the Club at the
Darrick Wood 10km as, fresh from defeating former London Marathon winner Hugh
Jones over 5,000 metres the previous day, Roy Smith won in 34 minutes 7 seconds
with Dan Ayrton second and Peter Tucker third.
The Summer Supper on the Saturday night gave the Club the
opportunity to make presentations to three members who have each been at the
Club for 50 years. Former Olympian John Herring, Brian Stone and Terry Sullivan
received their awards at a sell out function with former World 10,000 metre
record holder Dave Bedford as guest of honour.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.
For further details contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
19 June 2001
Dwayne Grant ran the fastest time in the world by a junior
athlete when he timed 20.64 for the 200 metres in the International meeting at
Mannheim in Germany. This represented an improvement of nearly three tenths of a
second by the 18 year old from Penge and was a new Blackheath Harriers, Bromley
Junior Club Record.
He was quite shocked at the time he ran." I didn't
think it was that fast. It just felt like a normal run" said the Blackheath
junior team captain. To add to his celebrations he also set a new best in the
100 metres of 10.47 and now looks forward to the National Championships in two
weeks time and then the European Junior Championships.
Former holder of the Club Junior 200 record, Julian
Golding, was in action at the South Of England Senior Championships at Haringey.
The reigning Commonwealth champion showed that he is recovering from a recent
groin injury as he won the 200 metres in 21.18. This meant a double celebration
for his coach Mike McFarlane who was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday
Honours for his services to Athletics and the Duke Of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
Mensah Elliott was also in outstanding form as he won his
third successive 110 hurdles title. The Blackheath captain timed 14.10 for
victory after coping well with the pressure of there being three false starts.
There was some disappointment though as he has had to turn down an invitation to
compete in Estonia this week as he has been unable to get the time off work.
Elsewhere Lash Lashore took bronze in the 100 metres
timing 10.91 despite the difficult conditions and a hamstring injury which
continues to restrict his training. David Moulton finished 6th in a tactical 800
metres race while Mohammed Sillah Freckleton and Nange Ursell made the finals of
the 110 hurdles and the 400 hurdles.
There was a sensational 4x400 metres at the Kent Veterans
League match at Dartford on Friday night as the Blackheath over 50s team took
over 10 seconds off the British record. Doug Cocker started with a 58.0 split
handing to Dennis Wallington who timed 60.4. Spritely Ken Daniel contributed a
59.1 leg before Bob Minting rounded off proceedings with an outstanding 53.9
clocking. The Club also won the match.
At the other end of the age scale a number of the Club's
youngsters were in action at the County Under 13 Championships at Norman Park.
Amongst the highlights here were wins in the 800 metres for Rebeca Taylor in a
new best of 2.31 and for Alex Al-Ameen in the boys 75 metre hurdles in 14.0.
Al-Ameen was also 4th in the 100 and 6th in the 200. There was also a busy day
for Serita Solomon in her first year in the age group. She finished 4th in the
100, 5th in the high jump and 8th in the long jump. Robert D'Angelo was 5th in
the 800 and there were other good efforts from Scott Huggins (100, 200 and long
jump) and Claire Mc Namara (800).
Blackheath athletes will again be on International duty
this weekend at the Norwich Union Under 23 match between Great Britain and Spain
in Liverpool. Michael Skinner is selected for the 1500 metres with Jonathan
Barbour set to go in the sprints. Meanwhile at Eton, many of the Club's leading
veterans will be in action at the National Championships as they put the
finishing touches to their preparations for the World Championships in Australia
in July. The Club welcomes new members of all ages and standards. For further
details please call Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
12 JUNE 2001
On an outstanding weekends athletics Blackheath Harriers,
Bromley qualified for the National Gold Cup Final; virtually secured two League
Championship titles; and saw many of its athletes achieve personal bests
including two Club Records.
The Senior Men qualified for the Gold Cup Final after a
close Semi Final match at Eton. It was a real team effort with team captain
Mensah Elliott leading by example as he won the 110 hurdles in 14.3 seconds,
just a couple of hours after landing at Heathrow following a flight from Moscow
where he had been representing England in a triangular International against
Ireland and Russia. Despite not having any sleep in the previous 24 hours, he
then set a seasons best in the shot and was also part of the 4x100 team who
placed 2nd.
Other wins came from "Lash" Lashore(100),
Michael Champion(200), Michael Skinner(800), Martin Airey(1500) and Marvin
Bramble(triple jump) but every member of the squad had a part to play. For
example, Alan Fairbairn made a rare appearance for the first team in the hammer
and rose to the occasion as his throw of 33.00 metres was his furthest for
eighteen years. The team now look forward to the National Final at Bedford on
the 21st of July.
The previous evening Airey had timed 3.49.55 for 1500 at
the Nike BMC races at Watford while in the AAAs 10,000 metres and World
Championship Trial at the same venue Dave Taylor finished 11th in 29.22.22.
Many of the Clubs stars of the future were in action in
the Kent County Schools Championships at Erith Stadium. Undoubtedly the
performance of the day came from Sandra Alaneme who smashed the Championship
record in the Intermediate Girls triple jump in only her second ever
competition. The Langley Park schoolgirl leapt 11.42 a distance that would have
ranked her 6th in the country in the Under 17's age group last year and broke
both the Club Under 17 and Under 20 records.
Karim Chester has already broken the Under 17's hammer
record three times this year and he was a comfortable winner of the hammer.
Other winners include Ian Allerton(400), Andrew Johnson(100 hurdles) and Katy
Benneworth (long jump).
There was more success the following day at the Kent
Womens League as the team won by over 100 points and look to have secured the
division title despite there being still one match to go. Louisa Guthrie was in
fine form in the Senior age group as she won the 100, 200 and triple jump while
Cath Messent won both the 2km walk and the 3000 as well as scoring vital points
in the 1500.
The second Club Record of the weekend came in the Under
17s shot where Anita Oliver putt 8.83 to add to her 28.49 personal best in the
discus. Other good throws performances came from Clare Silvester in the under
15s javelin with 19.52; Sarah Crosley 18.85 in the under 13s discus and Emma
Mason 19.83 in the under 13s javelin.
Further victories included Abi Jacobs in the under 17s
triple jump with a leap of 9.03; Serita Solomon in the under 13s 75 metres; and
Rebecca Taylor in the under 13's 1000 metres with a personal best of 3.20.8.
Meanwhile the boys were in action at the latest Kent Boys
And Colts League match at Tonbridge. They won the under 13's but were 2nd in the
under 15s compettiton. They nevertheless still head the League and look set to
win the title for the 19th successive season.
Numerous winners included Daniel Casey in the under 13s
800 in a new best of 2.25.9 and a double victory in the shot for the Al-Ameen
brothers Alex and Richard in the shot. A string of personal bests in the under
15's age group included Adam Berry (80Hurdles), Tom Beech (3000), Tom Lewis
(200), Richard Daniel (800) and Amier Tawanaee (discus).
All these performances would no doubt have been a joy to
Past President Bill Lake who sadly passed away at the end last week after a long
illness. He was a former Secretary of the Club and had been a member since 1946
offering sterling service both as an athlete and an official.
The Club welcomes new members of all ages. For further
details please contact Dave Liston on 01322 663504.
5 June 2001
Outstanding sprinting and spirited efforts by an
enthusiastic homegrown team could not prevent Blackheath Harriers, Bromley
finishing in last place in the second British Athletics League Division One
match of the season at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium. The result means the Club
are favourites to take one of the two relegation places from the eight team
division which contains the top track and field teams in Great Britain.
Southern Under 20 100 and 200 metre champion Dwayne Grant
excelled again running a personal best, albeit wind assisted, of 10.45 as he
finished 2nd to World Junior champion Mark Lewis Francis in the 100 metres. He
went one better in the 200 diving across the line to win in 20.90 sustaining a
plethora of cuts and bruises in the process.
A lightning start from Lash Lashore in the B 100 race gave
him enough distance on his rivals to allow him to hang on for victory in 10.57,
as the lack of training due to injury caught up with him in the latter stages.
Team captain Mensah Elliott timed 13.98 for the 2nd week running as he placed
3rd in the sprint hurdles and Southern Indoor Champion Mohammed Sillah
Freckleton was pleased with his 14.61 for 4th place in the B race, despite
smacking a number of barriers.
Elsewhere on the track Michael Skinner scored a battling
3rd in the 1500 following his 5th place in the 800 and looks set to dip inside
the European Under 23 qualifying time in the very near future. Fellow under 23
Nange Ursell timed a promising 54.31 in his first 400 hurdles race of the season
and there were useful debuts from Chris Hogg (3000 steeplechase) and Neil
Simpson (400).
In the field the best performance undoubtedly came from
Levi Edwards as he became the first ever Blackheath athlete to win a long jump
competition in Division One of the National League. His leap of 7.17 was just
four centimetres clear of 2nd place as a mere 11 centimetres separated the top
four athletes. Under 20 Mark Awanah set a best of 14.27 in the triple jump. The
throws proved the Clubs major weakness as, with five first choice athletes
unavailablle through injury, the scorers placed last in both A and B strings in
all four disciplines.
One of the Clubs up and coming throwers had a field day in
the latest round of the McDonalds Young Athletes League at Deangate. Karim
Chester has already broken the Under 17s hammer record three times this year
and, as well as winning his main event, he also set a new best of 13.19 to win
the shot and score maximum points in the discus.
Paul Barrett set a new best of 37.61 in the B hammer; and
there were good wins from Dan Ryan, who timed 2.02.1 in the 800, and from Andrew
Johnson in the 100 hurdles.
For the under 15s Dane Prince set a new best of 12.2 in
the 100 and Adam Berry turned his hand to pole vaulting to clear 1.70 in his
first competition.
Alex Sims reaped an immmediate return on his investment in
a pair of track spikes as he achieved a Grade One performance in the under 13s
100 metres. He clocked 12.9 and also timed 27.6 in the 200. There was also a
welcome return to competition for Daniel Casey as he ran 2.26.7 in the 800.
Elsewhere in the Southern Mens League, the B team finished
4th in their Division Two match at Stevenage, while the C team had a resounding
victory in their Division Four East match at Norman Park.
Three Club members have received call ups for forthcoming
international matches. Mensah Elliott travels to Moscow this weekend to
represent England in a triangular match against Ireland and Russia. Dwayne Grant
is part of the Great Britain Junior team who compete in Mannheim, Germany in two
weeks time; and Chris Hogg represents Great Britain in the duathlon in the
European Championships in Portugal at the start of July.
Over 170 boys and girls from school year 6 and above
recently attended a Blackheath Harriers, Bromley coaching day at Norman Park.
Coaching was provided in a range of track and field events and catered for both
novice and experienced athlete alike and all attendees received a free
commemorative t-shirt. The day is just one part of the Club's Development
Programme aimed at nurturing youngsters from novices through to Senior Athletes.
Under 11s wishing to take up the sport are invited to
attend the Club's Wednesday Night Coaching sessions from 6.30 at Norman Park.
For further details about the Club please contact Dave Liston on 01322 663 504.
