Last updated 21
December 2004
Press Releases for
October, November & December 2004
21 December 2004
Blackheath and Bromley's walkers had a successful day
despite the bitterly cold weather at the Cambridge Harriers Winter League races
at Bexley. Junior International Robert Bain surprised himself in the 10km race
as not only did he finish in 2nd place but he also set a personal best for the
distance. A fast start saw Bain, Aldershot's Nick Silvester and Belgrave's
Andrew Goudie in close contention but they then spread out with Goudie leading
Bain 2nd and Silvester 3rd.
With about 3km to go Silvester drew level with Bain and
the two battled together for the next couple of kilometres before the B&B
youngster pulled away to take the runner up spot. His time of 48.51 means he
needs to improve by less than 2 minutes to gain selection for the Great Britain
team for the European Cup of race walking in Hungary, something he feels is
achievable given that he has had the recent lay off from training.
Second claim members Peter Hannell and Shaun Lightman
finished in 8th and 9th places. There was more success in the under 15 girls
2.5km race with Chelsea O'Rawe Hobbs winning in13.53 with Julia Stacey second in
14.42.
A thriving training group meets each Thursday at Norman
Park at 6pm under coach Peter Selby. Those interested in taking up the Sport are
very welcome to attend.
Indoors Tyrone Swaray showed that he is sharpening up for
the forthcoming championships as he timed 6.89 for the 60 metres at the Indoor
Meeting in Loughborough.
On the country Graham Coates was the Club's only
representative at the South Of The Thames Senior Championships at Wimbledon
Common.
14 December 2004
Andrew Rayner of Blackheath & Bromley completed a busy
couple of weeks of racing as he led Kent to victory in the under 23 race at the
South Of England Inter County cross country meeting at Stowe. He finished in 3rd
position while Jamie Atkinson was also part of the winning team placing 19th.
The previous weekend Rayner had finished in 13th place in
24.26 in the Portsmouth 5 mile road race while in the week building up to this
the Brunel University student was runner up in the London Colleges Cross County
League race at Hackney Marshes.
Atkinson has also been in road action recently placing
14th in the Nike 10km in 32.10 just two places behind Russell Bentley who ran
31.46.
Also at Stowe, Jennie Butler was 18th in a very good
standard Senior Women's race with Shavaun Henry 56th and 18th in the under 23
competition that was incorporated in the main race.
Katie Murray continued her good Winter form with 13th
place in the under 17 women's race while James Poole was 48th in the men's
contest.
Biggest representation from the Club came in the under 15
girls race. Rebecca Taylor was first home in 5th place with Amy Smith just 6
seconds behind in 7th. Hannah Garcia was 41st with fast improving Catherine
Chambers in 49th.
All four of the girls are coached by Andy Frankish, who
had seven athletes selected for the meeting, the most he's ever had in over 25
years of coaching. Rebecca Smith was 51st in the under 13 girls race despite
recent injury problems.
Meanwhile many of the Club's older runners were in action
in the Kent Veterans Championships at Tunbridge Wells. Most successful team was
the men's over 40's squad. Roy Smith won the individual bronze medal and with
Alan Camp 5th, Neil Ayrton 11th and Con Griffin 29th they picked up silver team
medals. Trevor Simmons was 31st.
With Ken Daniel struggling with a buttock injury it was
left to Graham Coates in 14th to lead home the over 50's team with Daniel 16th,
Jim Phelan 21st and Rob Brown 26th. They were 4th in the team race.
Most successful individual of the day was Mike Cronin who
won the over 60's race. However, the Club did not have enough athletes to finish
a team. Bridget Davey made her debut in these championships finishing 4th in the
women's over 35's race with Anne Cilia 15th. Annie McDonald was 4th and Helen
Godsell 8th in the over 45's race.
Amazingly Anne Cilia was in action just a short time
afterwards in the Club's Christmas 5 mile yacht handicap at Hayes.
The race sees the slowest in the field setting off first
and the quickest last with the first over the line at the close the winner.
Handicapper Chris Haines called upon a lifetimes experience as a Professor of
Mathematics to ensure a close finish with Angela Cook hanging on to win by 10
seconds from John Turner with Ron Chambers hot on his heels in third.
The race attracted a wide range of standards and ages from
15 year old Alistair Cliff up to 77 year old Club Treasurer Peter Long.
Fastest man of the day was Mark Ellison with 32.57 with
Darryl Hilliar second (33.02) and Peter Burford third (34.06). Quickest woman
was Kate Pratten with 38.09 with Angela Cook second (38.37) and Clare Lodwig
third (39.53).
The Club's young walkers have been enjoying more success
on the roads recently. Holly Williams finished in 2nd place in her first ever
5km in the Christmas Cup Meeting at Monk Hill with a very promising time of
31.02.
In the men's race second claim members Peter Hannell and
Shaun Lightman finished in 5th and 6th places.
Meanwhile at the Enfield League meeting, Chelsea O'Rawe-Hobbs
won the under 13's one mile race in 8.18.
The rankings for the under 13 boys age group for the 2004
track and field season have just been published with Stephen Cavey topping the
800 metres with a time of 2.13.5. So impressed were Athletics Weekly that the
latest issue of the magazine features an interview with him. He is also 6th in
the 200 with 25.52 one place behind Elliott Cox who timed 25.35. Elliott is also
6th in the 100 metres with 12.40.
Daniel Duffin had an excellent Summer in the throws and he
is third ranked in the country in the javelin with 40.84, a distance which broke
the Club Record.
All three were at the Clubhouse last Saturday evening as
the Club paid tribute to many of the youngsters who helped the Club become Young
Athletes champions of the United Kingdom this Summer.
While the League recognises winners of each individual
event at the National Final, the members of the winning team do not all receive
a medal to acknowledge them as National Champions.
This is something the Club is rectifying by presenting a
medal to all the Club's athletes who competed in the Final at Birmingham and
also to all who competed in any of the five Area League matches that qualified
the team for the Final.
Just to qualify for a place in the Final was a major
achievement as it became clear over the course of the season that at least the
four strongest teams in the country all came from the South Of England, but only
two could qualify for the final. In one match the Club only won by two points
meaning that all those who performed made an important contribution to victory.
On hand to present the medals were two of the Club's
senior record holders. Great Britain International Liz Hughes was second in the
pole vault at the AAA's Championships and Olympic Trials earlier this year, the
Club's most successful athlete of that particular weekend. Tawanda Chiwira has
competed at two Olympic Games and two Commonwealth Games for Zimbabwe. He broke
the Club 400 metre record a couple of years ago, a record that had stood since
1958. Pressure of space meant that only medals for under 13s and under 15s could
presented with the remainder to be distributed in the coming weeks.
7 December 2004
Dave Taylor continued his extraordinary first year as a
veteran when he finished 5th in the Portsmouth 5 mile road race, one of the
biggest and highest standard road races of the Winter. The Blackheath & Bromley
man timed 23.53 one of the fastest in the country this year.
Outdoors Tim Dickinson had a useful run at the latest of
the Reebok Cross Challenge Series in Liverpool. Like Taylor he is a former
Southern Cross Country Champion and he finished in 10th place, a performance
which bodes well for the Senior Men's squad as they prepare for the Southern and
National Championships in the new year.
Indoors a number of athletes from the Club were in action
at the Open Meeting at Eton with some encouraging performances that bode well
for the rest of the Winter season.
Highlight of the day was a new Club Under 17 women's pole
vault record from Rachel Arnheim. She added 10 centimetres to her previous best
with a clearance of 2.90.
Training partner Lauren Blackie had to miss the vault
because of a wrist injury but she did clear 1.50 in the high jump as well as
setting a new best of 8.24 for the 60 metres.
Under 15 Aston Stockdale cleared 2.50 in the vault and he
too ran a 60 metre best of 7.84.
Winner of the 60 metres was Tyrone Swaray although his
7.03 was a little off his best in his first race since February. Behind him
there was a new best for Daniel Haque of 7.05 in second place, While David Torku
got 3rd in the final with 7.25 just outside the 7.23 best he set in the heat.
The under 13 girls rankings for the 2004 track and field
have just been published with many of the Club's athletes featuring.
On the track Rebecca Cook, who spent much of last Winter
running cross country, is equal 8th placed in the 75 metres with 10.1. Jessica
Saville is 20th on the 600 metre list with 1.48.9 and Amy DeMatos features in
both the 1200 and 1500 in 8th and 13th places with times of 3.54.3 and 5.00.87.
In the field events Jessica Matthews is equal 8th in the
high jump with 1.48 while Nenisha Nelson- Roberts is equal 15th despite only
being in the first year in the age group . To have one athlete ranked in an
event is good, to have two impressive, but to have three is remarkable. This is
the case in the discus with Estelle Patten 13th (21.92), Emma Brown 17th (21.44)
and Katherine Jones 20th (21.07) Highest ranked of all, however, is Helen
Silvester who places 7th in the javelin with 26.74 and given her performances
already with the under 15 implement she should be well placed when she moves up
an age group next year.
30 November 2004
Blackheath & Bromley had six individual winners at the
latest round of Kent League races at Danson Park. In addition they had three
team victories which is promising with the County Championships just six weeks
away.
Roy Smith was first home for the Club in the Senior Men’s
race in 12th place and was the first veteran to finish. For the women Jennie
Butler was third and with Miranda Pockitt 11th and Fran Green 13th the team
finished in third place.
In the under 20’s age group there were wins for Chris
Daniel in the Men’s race and Ella Fisher in the women’s. Cameron Bennett was
runner up in the men’s race with Rachel Chadwick 4th in the women’s.
Katy Murray took the under 17 women’s title and with
Bryony Proctor 6th and Debbie Shearing 7th they won the team race as well. The
men ran well to finish second led home by James Poole in 5th place. The next
three athletes had possibly their best ever runs for the Club with Danny Brewer
6th, Richard Daniel 13th and Jonathan Vintner 16th.
Men’s team Manager Tony D’Angelo was equally impressed
with Sam Simpson who was 9th in the under 15 boys race. Behind him Alex
Littlewood was 14th despite a mad dash to get to the start line after traffic
problems.
The girls dominated this age group with five finishers in
the top eight. Amy Smith won the race from Newstead Woods schoolmate Rebecca
Taylor. Impressively Catherine Chambers and Laura Kastoryano finished 4th and
5th with Hannah Garcia 8th.
The Club had both age group winners again in the under
13’s with Stephen Cavey first in the boys race and Amy DeMatos leading the girls
home. The boys secured the 2nd team place with Joe Harding 12th and Andrew
William 21st. The girls went one better with Danielle Critchley placing 4th and
Lucy Price 14th.
Members of the Club have been in action in other Leagues
recently. Former Southern Cross Country champion Tim Dickinson, who now lives in
the Wirral, guested in the latest of the Liverpool and District League races and
won the Senior Men’s competition by well over a minute.
Rory Byrne competed for his 2nd claim club Herne Hill
Harriers and finished 30th in the Surrey League at Wimbledon Common.
Student Eve Bugler was 9th for Keble College in the Oxford
University College Cuppers Races. As a first year she also competed for Oxford
in the Varsity Freshers track and field match at Cambridge finishing 2nd in the
800 metres in 2.25.2.
Rankings
The under 15 boys track and field rankings have just
been published and contain the outstanding performances of James Alaka and Joe
Stockton.
Alaka tops the 100 metres with 11.14 the 6th fastest ever
in this country in this age group. He is also second in the 200 with 22.54 and
11th in the 400 with 52.89.
Stockton heads the hammer rankings with 59.36 nearly two
metres further than the second ranked athlete with Richard Al Ameen 4th with
53.94. Stockton is also 18th in the discus with 36.66.
Coaching
The Club has been making changes to it’s coaching
programme recently and now offers a session at Norman Park for 9 and 10 year old
boys and girls at Norman Park on Monday evenings from 6pm to 7pm. The aim is to
give an introduction to the various track and field disciplines in a fun
environment. All are welcome.
23 November 2004
Michael Skinner just missed out on selection for the Great
Britain team for the European Cross Country Championships. The 25 year old
Blackheath & Bromley athlete finished 6th in the Trial race at Parliament Hill
which was incorporated into the latest of the Reebok Cross Series that takes
place around Britain over the Winter months.
It was a very strong field with only the top three gaining
automatic selection. The remaining three places were at the discretion of the
selectors. Missing from Saturdays race were regular GB Internationals Chris
Thompson (Aldershot) and Karl Keska (Birchfield) and they got the nod over 5th
placed Glynn Tromans (Coventry) and Skinner.
Although he did not get picked, Skinner ran a good race
over the 10km course which consisted of 2 loops of 2km followed by another two
laps of 3km. A lead group of around a dozen athletes formed early on with
Skinner tucked in nicely, well positioned to cover any breaks.
Gradually the group began to reduce in numbers and towards
the end of the third lap the race really got underway as Windsor's Mo Farah
surged clear. The field strung out with Skinner in 4th, just behind Olympian
Keith Cullen. However in the later stages the Coventry duo of Matt Lole and
Tromans passed by. With a time of 30.31 there was just 11 seconds separating
Skinner from third placed Cullen.
Also in the race was Andrew Rayner. He had a fine run to
place 37th and had earlier had the satisfaction of seeing his girlfriend Lizzie
Hall of Herts Phoenix qualify for the GB junior team.
Jamie Atkinson finished in 89th and will soon be reaping
the benefit of this uninterrupted period of training and racing.
In the supporting races the best performance by the Club's
athletes came from Amy De Matos. She was an excellent 7th in the under 13 girls
race. Katie Gibbs was 75th in the under 15 girls, Debbie Shearing 49th and
Louise Smith 50th in the under 17 women's; and Shavaun Henry, representing
Birmingham University, 28th in the under 20 women's.
More of the girls were in action in an 8 match Inter
Counties match up at Coventry. Best performance here came from Amy Smith who was
2nd in the under 15s race. Hannah Garcia also ran well to place 19th. Lauren
Smith placed in the 30s Further success came in the under 13's race with
Danielle Critchley finishing in 4th place.
Skipping the Reebok meeting and turning down the
opportunity to represent England in the Home Countries Masters International, 40
year old Dave Taylor travelled to the South coast to totally demolish the field
in the Brighton 10km road race. He won in 30.12, one minute 41 seconds ahead of
2nd place, another remarkable performance. His achievements recently have been
recognised by Masters Athletics Monthly magazine who feature an in depth article
on him in it's December issue out this week. Visit the website at
www.mastersathletics.co.uk
Also on the roads, but in a different discipline, there
was a win for Chelsea O'Rawe-Hobbs in the under 13 girls one mile walk race
which took place alongside the Enfield 7 race.
Joe Godsell is better know as a 400 and 800 metre runner
but he recently set a best of 37.20 in the Epsom 10km to finish 8th overall, a
very creditable performance as he was wearing a Batman outfit at the time!
One of the Club's promising Junior Cross Country runners
put in a useful performance while competing for his University. David McKinlay
finished in 3rd place for the University Of East Anglia in the latest East
Anglian League match at Colchester.
At home at Hayes the first Mob Match of the season took
place against Orion Harriers. The value of these contests is that everybody
scores in the competition. The age of the Club's athletes ranged from 15 to 65
and the two Club's scored 48 a side.
Unfortunately for B & B, home advantage did not help and
the visitors from Chingford achieved a narrow victory. The race incorporated the
Club 7 and a half mile championships and winner of this and in the match against
Orion was Anthony Draper. He timed 47.33 with Alex Gibbins second and Ciaran
Osbourne third.
Jennie Butler was a comfortable winner of the Women's
Championship with Kate Pratten second and Annie McDonough third. The race also
featured the latest of the Bennett Cup Handicap contests and winner here was
Alison Jelly, with Mike Wade second and Martin Blunden third.
The previous evening the annual Maryon Wilson Swimming
Race took place at West Wickham baths and again there a large range of entrants
for this race over two lengths of the pool.
First again was Nick Bunclark with Simon White 2nd and
Darryl Hilliar third. Winner of the handicap competition was Bill Clapham who at
the age of 73 improved 8 seconds on last year. Second was Mike Martineau with
David Johnson third.
Rankings
The publishing of the under 15 girls rankings is a
reminder of just how successful the Club was in 2004. Of course as a team the
Young Athletes were unsurpassed and became National Champions. The rankings show
just how good they are as individuals.
Shaunagh Brown is number one in the discus with her throw
of 37.19. This is over a metre clear of second place. She is also 10th in the
shot putt with 11.01.
Also top of an event is Lauren Blackie. She heads the
triple jump with her leap of 10.64 from the indoor season. This is the first
time the event has been ranked and Lauren is number one on the all time list.
She is also 8th in the pole vault with 2.60 and 20th in the long jump with
5.26, an event in which she is the South Of England champion.
Serita Solomon's time of 11.21 in the 75 metre hurdles is
the equal fastest in the country this year the same as that of Ashley Helsby of
Liverpool. These were both achieved at the English Schools final with Helsby
given the gold medal. Serita also has the equal fastest hand timed 100 in the
country with 12.4.
Rebecca Taylor is 4th ranked at 800 metres with her 2.12.5
just ahead of former World Champion Liz McColgan's daughter Eilish. In another
year Rebecca could have been higher but this was only the second time in 26
years that 5 girls have bettered 2.13. Rebecca is also 14th in the 1500.
Best event for the Club is the pole vault where, as well
as Lauren Blackie, Rachel Arnheim and Emily Godly are joint 6th, both having
cleared 2.80 to set both Club under 15 and under 17 records.
The other athlete ranked is Amarah Taitt who emigrated
towards the end of the season. She is 22nd in the discus with 28.80.
Coaching
The Club has been making changes to it's coaching
programme and is now able to offer sessions for 9 and 10 year olds at Norman
park track between 6 and 7pm on a Monday evening. The aim is to provide an
introduction to the various track and field disciplines in a fun environment.
New athletes are always very welcome and just need to turn up on the night.
16 November 2004
Cross Country/Road racing
Michael Skinner travels to Parliament Hill this
weekend for the Great Britain Trials for the European Cross Country
Championships which are incorporated in the latest of the Reebok Cross Challenge
races. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete will be looking to celebrate his 25th
birthday a day early by winning a place in the British team.
Certainly he is in the form to achieve this. He won the
first of the Reebok series up in Falkirk at the start of October beating two of
lasts years British team. Then at the National Cross Country Relays he timed the
second fastest leg of the day ahead of many of his rivals this Saturday.
One of his Cross Country relay team mates, Russell Bentley
travelled to Bristol to take part in the British Milers Club 4km Cross Country
races. The meeting again attracted some of the best runners in the country and
the 23 year old finished 8th in 12.22. In the women's race Bella Clayton was
20th in 16.08.
There was a good turn out of Senior Women from the Club at
the Margate International races. Jennie Butler was the first home for the Club
over the 5.5km course finishing in 13th place in 20.25. Miranda Porritt was 19th
with 21.13 and Fran Green 27th in 22.30. With Kate Pratten 29th Annie McDonough
35th, Anne Cilia 51st and Alison Jelly 59th they featured highly in the various
team competitions.
They were 5th overall in the team race behind an England
team and also one from the Eastern Counties. Annie, Anne and Alison came 3rd in
the over 40's team race and Miranda, Annie and Anne were 4th over 35's team.
Veteran Roy Smith was 34th in the men's race.
Many of the Club's youngsters travelled to Brighton to
take part in the Phoenix Road races, although some did not make the start line
because of problems on the motorway.
Best result of the day came in the under 13's age group
where Stephen Cavey won the race in 6.40 just one second outside the course
record of Clubmate Michael Thorpe. William Andrew was a good 5th in 7.36.
Thorpe was in action in the under 15's where he was 8th.
First home though on his debut for the Club was Alex Littlewood. He finished in
6th place and with Sam Simpson in 9th the Club had three in the top 10.
James Poole was 6th in a very competitive under 17's race
with Richard Daniel 11th and Richard Davies 12th.
A number of Club members competed in the Stevenage
Marathon with David Lewis the first home in 89th place in 3.49.42. He was
followed by Dave King (99th), Ray Bennett (105th), Dick Griffin (123rd), Brian
Smith (124th) and Colin Poole (181st)
Rankings
The track and field rankings for the under 17 men has
recently been published with athletes from the Club featuring in many events.
Highest placed is Stuart Harvey who lies 3rd in the
javelin with 64.69. Elsewhere in the field events Alistair Tawanaee is 6th in
the Hammer with 58.53 and 12th in the discus with 44.38 and Scottish
International Scott Huggins and Adam Berry are both 20th equal in the pole vault
having cleared 3.60.
On the track English Schools International Daniel Haque
places 10th in the 200 with 22.22 and 15th in the 100 metres with 11.09. Dominic
Parsons is 12th in the 400 with 49.89. This was run indoors early in the year
and had he not spent most of the Summer injured he would surely have gone
faster.
The Club is in the process of making changes to its
coaching programme. The first is that there is now training at Norman Park on
Monday evenings between 6 and 7 for 9 and 10 year olds. The aim of these
sessions is to give youngsters a broad introduction to the various track and
field events in a fun environment. Anyone wishing to attend just needs to turn
up at the track at 6pm and report to John Blackie.
9 November 2004
Blackheath & Bromley's Senior Men gave further warning
that they are re-emerging as one of the very strongest running squads in the
country when they finished 5th in the ECCA National Cross Country Relays at
Mansfield out of 150 teams.
What was just as pleasing as gaining 5th place was that
this was a young team with an average age of 23 and three of the quartet were in
the under 17 squads that won the National Cross Country Championships in the
late 1990s. In fact the three of them Michael Skinner, Andrew Rayner and Russell
Bentley are all former pupils of Langley Park School for Boys. Skinner and
Bentley are both now teaching assistants while fourth member of the quartet
Barry Stephenson is also a teacher having moved into the area after finishing
his degree at Loughborough.
On a highly competitive opening stage Bentley was soon to
the front of the lead group before the pack began to split. He eventually
finished in 16th place but his time of 15.39 meant the Club were just half a
minute down on the leaders.
It was ideally set up for Michael Skinner. He tore through
the field moving the Club into a 10 second lead by the end of his leg. His time
of 14.42 proved to be the 2nd fastest of the day and shows he will be
challenging for a place in the Great Britain team at the European Cross Country
Trials in a couple of weeks time.
Stephenson ran a good leg three (16.05) but slipped back
to 5th place. Andrew Rayner made a brave effort to get the team into the medals
and got up to third at one point on the last stage. However, He was then passed
by two others and went back to 5th with a time of 15.58.
Team Manager Nick Gasson was delighted with the teams
performance and with the current strength in depth of the squad is looking
forward to the County, Southern and National Cross Country Championships in the
new Year and the 12 stage road relays in the Spring.
The women's team were not at full strength but still
finished 49th out of the 75 teams that finished.
Kate Pratten brought them in 67th on the opening stage
with 12.56 before Miranda Porritt sliced through the field to reach 53rd with a
time of 12.05. Clare Lodwig surprised herself on the final stage by moving the
team up another 4 places and timing 13.09.
Dave Taylor did not compete at Mansfield but he was in
outstanding form on the roads. The 40 year old won the Barns Green Half Marathon
by nearly three and a half minutes with a time of 66.45.
Under 20 Shavaun Henry was 20th in the Junior race at the
recent Birmingham Cross Challenge race and when she is down from Birmingham
University for the County Championships in January the team should be looking
for medals as Ella Fisher and Rachel Chadwick showed good form by finishing 2nd
and 4th in the latest Kent League fixture at Capstone Park.
All the younger girls teams gained top three placings.
Katie Murray was 6th in the under 17 girls race leading team team mates Debbie
Shearing and Sarah Coombs to third place.
Rebecca Taylor made it two wins out of two in the under 15
girls race and with Hannah Garcia in 3rd and Katherine Chambers 7th the team
finished first. There was also a good run from Katie Gibbs in 10th place.
It was first also for the under 13s led home by Amy
DeMatos in 3rd with Rebecca Smith 5th and Danielle Critchley 7th. Encouragingly
there was considerable strength in depth with Lucy Price 17th, Georgina Cheu
18th, Lisa Cockerall 21st and Clare Parkin 26th.
The boys teams suffered with the clashes with football and
rugby. Danny Brewer was a useful 6th in the under 17 men's race while the under
13's team of Oliver Robinson, Andrew William and James Reeves finished in 3rd
place.
Race Walking
The Club's race walkers have enjoyed a successful
couple of weeks. Robert Bain took part in the Open race at Blackheath Park
mainly for training purposes but the talented Junior went on to win the race by
five and a half minutes. He recorded 45.05 for the 9km course.
There was a win also for Holly Williams in the Gazette Cup
races at Monks Hill. Competing in the under 15's race over a distance of 2.5km
she timed 15.28 for victory.
Three of the Club's second claim members were in action in
the Senior Men's race with Shaun Lightman 3rd Peter Hannell 6th and Nolan
Simmons 8th.
Rankings
The track and field rankings for under 17 women has
recently been published with athletes from the Club featuring in many events.
Highest placed is English Schools champion Rachel Blackie who is 2nd in the
hammer with a distance of 48.06. Breathing down her neck in 3rd is AAA's bronze
medallist Victoria Thomas with 47.26.
Also in the field events, English schools International
Jade Castell Thomas is 8th in the triple jump with 11.29 despite being in the
younger year of the age group. Also with another year left as an under 17 is Flo
Clark who is 11th in the discus with 36.29.
Best placing on the track is Clare Cooper who is 4th
ranked over the 100 hurdles with 15.27. She is also 9th in the 80 hurdles with
11.71. Amy Godsell features in three events. She is 11th in the 200 (25.14),
14th in the 300 (40.42) and her 12.1 is the second fastest hand timed 100
metres, although there are others who have gone quicker using electric timing.
Rebecca Syrocki is 11th in the 400 metres with 58.32 and Leanne Critchley 15th
in the 300 hurdles with 45.3.
2 November 2004
Kent Men's and Women's League, Capstone
Park
Andrew Rayner took time to travel back from University
to lead Blackheath & Bromley's Senior Men to a good 2nd place in the second Kent
Men's League match of the season at Capstone Park. The Brunel student finished
in 2nd place overall and while the team position was the same as the opening
fixture at Hayes, it was achieved with a much lower points score.
Joe Mills finished in 7th place with John Thorpe 13th and
Roy Smith 19th. Both this and the Senior Women's race were affected by a lack of
marshalls on the course and some flags being moved by members of the public.
This almost certainly cost Jennie Butler a place in the race and she had to
settle for 3rd. Bella Clayton was 11th and captain Kate Pratten 28th as the team
finished in 4th.
Results from the younger age group races are not yet
available but will be soon on the Club website.
Three of the Club's atheltes were in action in the latest
of the Reebok Cross Country series in Birmingham. On a very sticky course Jamie
Atkinson finished in 71st place. Sisters Eve and Kate Bugler were both in action
in the women's race representing Oxford University finishing in 68th and 85th
places respectively.
Atkinson also finished 3rd in the Croydon 10km the
previous week.
Rankings
The men's under 20 rankings for the track and field
season have just been published with a number of athletes from the Club figuring
prominently. Highest placed is Amir Williamson whose 61.77 puts him 2nd on the
Hammer rankings for the 6kg implement. He is also 2nd using the Senior 7.25
weight. His brother Alistair Tawanaee lies 16th in the 6kg rankings despite
still being an under 17.
Like Williamson, Michael Whitehouse had a successful
Summer with the highlight being his first selection for Great Britain. His best
for the year was 2.10 a height that places him third in the country.
Bobby Lockwood's year was disrupted with injury but he
still threw 51.79 in the discus which puts him 4th best. He is also 10th in the
shot putt with 15.73.
Stuart Harvey is 7th in the javelin with his 58.84, quite
an achievement as he is also an under 17 athlete and this is with a heavier
implement. It was a promising year for the Club in the pole vault. Junior team
captain Tom Robinson is equal 11th with 4.30 while multi eventer Alex Pope is
16th equal with 4.20.
A couple of second claim members also make the rankings.
Tunde Balogun is 14th in the 100 metres with 10.80 and Mark Covington 10th in
the Hammer with 53.04. On new member also makes the list. English Schools 400
hurdles champion Edward Harrison who has recently joined the Club from Medway
And Maidstone is 3rd in his specialist event with 52.61and also highly placed in
the sprint hurdles with his 14.6.
Annual Club Dinner
The Club's annual dinner took place at Hayes with
special guest Frank Dick, former chief coach of British Athletics. His rousing
address will no doubt have given inspiration to a number of the Club's younger
up and coming stars who attended the meal.
The evening also offered the opportunity for the Mayor of
Bromley Councillor Anne Manning to make a presentation to Tawanda Chiwira. He
received the Lindsay Salver which is awarded to the Senior track and field
athlete who has contributed most both in performance and example over the
season. A double Olympian, he has competed in events from 100 to 400 plus relays
and not missed a match all Summer.
Also presented to the Club was a message from Sir Roger
Bannister which has been framed congratulating the Clubs athletes who raised
funds for the Parkinson Appeal at this years London Marathon.
26 October 2004
Blackheath & Bromley's men's Winter season started in
earnest as they finished in a useful 7th place out of 65 teams in the National 6
Stage Road Relays at Sutton Coldfield. This result indicates that the team will
be a major force in Cross Country and Road Championships in the coming months.
Former Southern Cross Country Spencer Newport ran a steady opening leg. The
first stage is always a very competitive stage and although he finished in 34th
position his time of 18.20 meant that the Club were less than a minute down on
the leaders.
Brunel University student Andrew Rayner cut through the
field on the second stage to move the team up to 19th place with 18.00. The
progress continued on leg three as the in form Michael Skinner ran the teams
fastest leg of the day. His 17.28 was one of the fastest legs of the day but he
was still slightly disappointed with his time.
Super veteran Dave Taylor was next up. The 40 year old has
been in outstanding form recently and took the team up to 5th place with a 17.37
clocking.
Barry Stephenson slipped slightly to 7th on the 5th stage
with 18.27. Another former Southern Cross Country champion Tim Dickinson rounded
off proceedings with 18.04. He held onto 7th from a fast finishing Leeds Team.
Over 90 teams toed the line in the women's 4 stage event.
Jennie Butler opened for the Club and closed in 30th place. Her time of 15.41
was just shy of her best for the course which was quite an achievement
considering recent injury problems.
Gemma Viney was not happy with her run on the second leg
where she timed 18.14 but she had not been well during the week. Fran Green
continued her promising return to racing with 17.21 on leg three just two
seconds quicker than Bella Clayton on the final stage. She brought the team home
in 40th place.
Encouraged by their performances the squads will be back
in action at the National Cross Country Relay Championships at Mansfield in two
weeks time.
The Club's walkers showed excellent early season form at
the Cambridge Harriers Winter League meeting in Bexley. Robert Bain, still an
under 20, produced a new personal best in the tough hilly 5km race with a time
of 23.31. The only person to beat him was Darryl Stone of Steyning and this was
no disgrace as Stone was 4th in the 20km in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Second
claim member Peter Hannell was 9th overall and was the first over 60 to finish.
Closest race of the day was the under 13 girls 2.5km race
where the top two positions were both Blackheath & Bromley athletes and both
achieved personal bests. A "sprint" finish saw Holly Williams take the title by
just one second in 15.01 from Chelsea O'Rawe-Hobbs after the two had been neck
and neck for the rest of the two lap course.
The under 20 rankings for the track and field season have
just been published with a number of athletes from the Club figuring
prominently. Montell Douglas had a season disrupted by injury but she was still
ranked number three in the country in the 200 metres with her indoor time of
24.00. She was also 4th in the 100 metres with 11.84 and still has another year
left in the age group.
Amy Godsell's 12.1 also features on the 100 metre list
despite being an under 17. In the sprint hurdles Harriet Robinson placed 12th
with 14.41. Best placed in the field events is Rachel Blackie who despite being
an under 17 is placed 7th in the Hammer with her English Schools winning throw
of 48.06. Team mate and fellow under 17, Vickie Thomas is just one place behind
with 47.26. Also eighth placed is Sandra Alaneme in the triple jump with a leap
of 12.04. Christine Lawrence is 15th in the javelin with 40.69.
19 October 2004
Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC's athletics success
across the age groups and development initiatives at grass roots level have been
recognised by Sportswear manufacture Nike (UK) who have renewed their
Sponsorship of the Club.
The new contract lasts until the end of 2007 and is a huge
boost to the Club. Only one other Club in the country, Birchfield Harriers in
the Midlands, have support from Nike.
The Club currently has over 20 Senior and Junior
Internationals and as well as their individual successes the Club's teams from
Young Athletes through to Senior level and beyond are all competing at National
level.
John Thorpe, who only took up running this year after
playing football, won what is possibly the oldest cross country race in the
world when he took the Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC Club 5 Mile cross
country title at Hayes. The race was first contested in 1880.
The 34 year old is making rapid improvement in his new
Sport and hung on for victory over the testing and over distance course with
captain Nick Gasson just two seconds behind. Half a minute behind Eamonn
Prendergast picked up the bronze medal just 10 seconds ahead of Ciaran Osbourne.
In 5th place and first home in the Junior race was the fast improving Chris
Daniel.
The women's race saw a comfortable win from Jennie Butler
and her time of 34.39 gave her 15th place overall. Team captain Kate Pratten
picked up the silver with Angela Cook 3rd.
First veteran home was Roy Smith with Alan Camp 2nd and
another former footballer Neil Ayrton in 3rd.
The race featured a good cross section of the Club from 15
year old Alastair Cliff through to 73 year old David Churchus, and it was
pleasing to see a number of athletes such as Club President Margaret Baldwin and
newer members like Neil Ives competing in the race for the first time.
As always the race incorporated the Bennett handicap
competition and on this occasion it was the younger element who came out on top
with first place going to Alastair Cliff, who crossed the line with his father
Bob, Chris Daniel 2nd and Nick Gasson 3rd.
Club members have featured in a number of races recently
with some significant performances. Former Southern Cross Country Champion Tim
Dickinson won the Congleton Half Marathon by almost a minute, 59 seconds to be
precise, when he finished in 71.45.
Closer to home Jamie Atkinson triumphed in the Tatsfield 5
mile road race winning in 26.41 with Peter Tucker third in 28.56. Russell
Bentley set a new best when he finished 3rd in the Dulwich 10km with 31.08 with
Tony Crowder 17th (37.09), Gary Cook 45th (40.11) and Richard Barrett 90th
(42.48)
The Kingston Festival of Running features races over three
distances and the Club had representatives in all three. Most successful was
Nick Kinsey who won the over 45's section of the 16 mile race with a time of
97.31. David Lewis timed 3.46.28 and Nigel Webb 3.47.15 in the marathon while
Chris Hogg clocked 53.02 in the 8.2 mile race.
Three members travelled to Wales for the Cardiff Marathon.
First home was David King with 3.40.12 followed by Brian Smith (3.44.58) and
Colin Poole (4.05.47).
The marathoners were back in action again at Abingdon
where David Lewis finished in 3.54.50, Colin Poole 4.12.11 and Bernard Else
4.44.17.
Clare Lodwig was 3rd in the Sevenoaks 5km at Knole Park
and Annie McDonough ran 72.21 in the Cabbage patch 10 mile race.
All these distances are but a sprint for John Turner who
has just completed his 16th successive annual London to Brighton race, just over
double the marathon distance. He finished the 54 mile course in 9 hours 19
minutes and 52 seconds.
12 October 2004
The first major cross country fixture of the season in the
UK took place up in Scotland with the opening race of the Reebok Cross Challenge
series in Falkirk, and Blackheath and Bromley's Michael Skinner won the Senior
Men's event in some style.
The 24 year old teaching assistant was content to stay in
the pack for the first part of the race but broke away in the last lap to win by
8 seconds from last years National Cross Country runner up Billy Farquharson of
Mansfield. Also trailing in his wake were Chris Davies of Telford, who ran the
fastest time at the Midland Road Relays two weeks ago and Rob Birchall of Notts,
who has represented Great Britain at two World Cross Country Championships.
Now with just six weeks to go before the Trial Race for
the British team for the European Cross Country Championships, Skinner is
looking a serious contender for a place in the squad. Highlight of his Summer
was finishing 3rd in the 1500 at the Olympic Trials but now having taken the
scalps of some of Britain's top specialist cross country runners he looks set to
make as big an impression over the Winter as well . On the roads Dave Taylor was
in outstanding form at the Great South Run at Portsmouth. He finished in 14th
place overall and his time of 49.14 is the fourth fastest ever by a British male
over 40. Despite the strong winds on the South coast it is the fastest by a
British over 40 for seven years and the fastest time run in this country since
1991.
Although in the Masters age group he was the 5th fastest
Briton on the day even beating John Mayock who represented Great Britain at the
Olympics over 5000 metres.
There was more good news for the Club with Russell Bentley
winning the Dulwich 10km. He has struggled with injury this Summer but showed he
is rounding into form by clocking a new best of 31.08. Skinner joined the Club
as a 10 year old and has run for all the Club's age group teams. He would
therefore have been delighted to see such a healthy turn out of athletes of all
ages at the opening Kent League fixture hosted by the Club at Sparrows Den.
First for the Senior Men was Welsh International Joe Mills
who finished in a useful 9th place after a stop-start period of training because
of injury. Former England Junior International Jamie Atkinson ran well for 12th
but perhaps the best performance came from John Thorpe who has only just started
training with the Club after playing football. He finished in 19th place and
would probably have finished higher but for a stitch. Captain Nick Gasson
completed the scoring in 30th place.
There was a particularly impressive turn out from the
Senior Women with a record 11 starters from the Club. Jennie Butler led the team
home in 4th place while there was a rare appearance on the country from 800
metre specialist Bella Clayton who finished in 11th.
Miranda Pockitt, who recently joined the Club from
Sevenoaks AC closed in 13th and there was a welcome return to action for Fran
Green after a long absence through injury. She finished in 18th. With Ella
Fisher second and Rachel Chadwick 6th in the Junior Women's race there will soon
be good athletes joining them.
James Poole continued his good start to the Winter season
with 3rd in the under 17 men's race and with Danny Brewer 7th and Richard Davies
8th the team finished 2nd. Katie Murray was first home for a promising women's
team in 6th place.
Best team performance of the day came from the under 15
girls squad where Rebecca Taylor held off training partner Amy Smith for
victory. With Hannah Garcia in 4th they won the team race with some ease. Behind
them Jessica Bain had one of her best ever races on the country as she finished
in 7th place.
It was first also for the under 13 girls team with Rebecca
Smith in 3rd, Danielle Critchley 4th and Jessica Saville 8th. Oliver Robinson
was 12th in the boys race helping a promising young squad to 3rd place.
The Summer season has just about ended now but there have
still been some significant results. Robert Bain and Holly Williams represented
the South Of England in the Inter Area walks match at Worcester.
Still an under 20 Robert finished 3rd overall in the 10km
race in 50.46.6. He was the first Junior home. Holly finished 4th in the under
15 girls 3km race in 17.45.7. The duo helped the South to finish second in the
team competition.
Club members picked up three medals at the British Masters
Weights Pentathlon at Copthall. There was a gold for Colin Brand in the over 65s
age group with a total of 3759 points for his performances in the shot, discus,
javelin, hammer and heavy weight. Gordon Hickey picked up silver in the over
70's category and it was silver too for Beatrice Simpson in the women's over
45's category with 3297 points.
Back on the track Max Richardson finished his season on a
high with a personal best of 2.01.26 for 800 metres at the Watford Open Meeting
which means he has set personal bests at all distances from 60 metres to 800
this year.
Blackheath & Bromley's coaching programme was given a
significant boost recently with 19 athletes and parents completing the UKA Level
One Coaching course at Norman Park Track.
Former Commonwealth Sprint hurdles champion Judy Vernon
took the course and those attending included double Olympic 400 metre runner
Tawanda Chiwira, and English Schools Hammer champions Rachel Blackie and Amir
Williamson. Over the last year up to 300 athletes have been training on Tuesday
and Thursday nights at the track putting a huge pressure on the existing
coaching staff. In addition over 100 under 11s have been attending the Wednesday
night sessions again stretching the existing coaching structure. Similarly at
Ladywell track the high numbers on Mondays and Wednesdays meant a waiting list
had been set up.
The new coaches will be able to support and expand the
existing structure and allow the Club to plan new coaching initiatives in the
local area. This should allow the Club to build on its success of this Summer
which included a win in the first combined boys and girls UKA National Young
Athletes Final.
As well as the increase in the number of coaches there is
hope that the track will be increased to 8 lanes and a second throws area added.
Members of Bromley Council recently visited the facility on a Tuesday evening to
meet representatives of Norman Park Management and the Club.
5 October 2004
Southern Veterans Final, Battersea
Blackheath & Bromley are the top male over 40's club
in the South Of England having recently won the Area Final at Battersea
retaining the title they won last year.
The prospects of a win seemed slim at the start of the
meeting with a number of the Club's best athletes unavailable. However a mixture
of talent and what manager John Turner described as "fantastic team spirit"
provided the backbone for victory.
In a team of stars Turner picked out two individuals in
particular for praise. Mike Cronin took part in four events in the over 60's age
group while new over 40 Alan Fairbairn won both the shot and discus after coming
in at short notice.
The quad was boosted by the presence of Bob Minting and
Chris Woodcock who had travelled up from the west country to compete and from
Denis Wallington who made the trek down from Suffolk.
Things could not have started much better on the track
with the Club's sprinters reeling of a string of victories to give the Club a
clear lead. However, the gap then closed until mid afternoon the Club pulled
away again to eventually win with 343 points from second placed Barnet on 301
Club Championships
There was an excellent afternoon's competition at the
recent Club Championships at Norman Park. Athletes from all age groups from
under 11s to over 70s took part ensuring a true family atmosphere and an
environment for some exciting performances.
In the Senior age group Andrew Rayner finished a season
much reduced through injury with a 3.56.7 win in the 1500 metres. Jack Wilkie
made his debut over the 400 metres and promptly broke through the 50 second
barrier with a 49.9 clocking.
Even faster was Max Richardson in the under 20s age group.
His 49.7 was a new personal best, his first time under 50 seconds and a just
reward for the hard training put in over the year. Bella Clayton timed a good
58.0 in the Senior Women's race.
In the under 17's age group Daniel Haque had a busy but
successful afternoon with wins in the 100 (11.1), high jump (1.70) and long jump
(6.01). Runner up in both the 100 and long jump was training partner David Torku
with promising performances of 11.5 and 5.83.
As expected Stuart Harvey won the javelin his distance
being 58.52 with Alistair Tawanaee winning the shot and discus.
For the women there was a double win for Amy Godsell in
the 100 and 300 Highlight in the under 15's age group came in the women's pole
vault where Rachel Arnheim cleared 2.75 and Lauren Blackie went over 2.50 for
second. Serita Solomon won the 100 as expected but also took the high jump title
with a leap of 1.46. Also in the field under 13 Helen Silvester competed abov
her age group and won the javelin title with a throw of 25.05. There were clear
wins in both the boys and girls 1500 metre races from Rebecca Taylor and Michael
Thorpe.
There was a very good turn out in the under 13's age group
where Stephen Cavey picked up three golds in the 100, 1500 and long jump. His
feat was almost emulated by Andrew Jordon who won both the 75 hurdles and discus
but who had to settle for silver in the shot putt behind Danny Duffin whose
outstanding throw of 38.58 won the javelin.
For the girls Daniella Annon won a very competitive 75
metres final from Jessica Matthews who took gold in the high jump with 1.40 and
the long jump with 4.03 against a field of 12 other competitiors.
Pole Vaulting
Many of the Club's pole vaulters finished the season
on a high as they competed as guests at the Ashford and Invicta East Kent Club
Championships at Canterbury.
Highlight of the day was Rachel Arnheim and Emily Godley
both breaking the under 15girls and under 17 women's pole vault records as they
cleared 2.80 metres.
The exciting aspect of the day was to see so many of the
Club's athletes setting personal bests. Coach Simon Tolson, who is the wrong
side of 35, led by example as he set a new best of 4.01. As well as coaching
Emily Godley he also has under 17 vaulters Scott Huggins and Adam Berry under
his wing. Both cleared 3.60 a new best for Adam.
There was a new best too in this age group for Rachel King
who went over 2.50 for the first time. She is coached by John Blackie whose
daughter Lauren, the Southern long jump champion, went over 2.60 for a new best
in the under 15s age group. Promisingly for the future Rebecca Haywood cleared
2.20 in her first competition. Aston Stockdale was close to his best with 2.50
in the boys.
The event is really taking off at the Club at the moment
with athletes over 4 metres in the junior, senior and over 40's men's age groups
along with National Silver medallist Liz Hughes in the Senior Women's.
A recent introductory session to the event saw 24 athletes
in attendance with virtually all expressing the desire to attend further
sessions.
The Club caters for under 11's on Wednesday evenings from
6pm or 6.30. Over 11's up to Senior and Over 40's level train on Tuedays and
Thursdays from 6 pm. However the Club is set to be introducing new coaching
initiatives and innovations in the very near future.
