Overall gains World Championships qualifying standard

1:55pm Thursday 28th January 2010

By Pat Calnan

Blackheath & Bromley’s athletes have been competing all over the Home Countries in recent days but the performance of the weekend came in the United States at the Gladstein Invitational Indoor Meeting at Bloomington. Here Scott Overall won the 3000 metres in a time of 7.51.36. This is inside the UK Athletics selection standard for the World Indoor Championships which take place at Doha in Qatar between the 7th and 9th of March. The team will be picked on the 22nd of February. However, UKA have stated that an "Achievement of the UKA Selection Standard or the IAAF Standard does not guarantee selection".

Mike Skinner was in action in at the IAAF International Cross Country event at Antrim a meeting which included the latest round of the UK Challenge. Running for an England representative team, he finished in 5th place, timing 29.04 for the 9km course.

He travels to Scotland this weekend to represent Great Britain & Northern Ireland in the 3000 metres at the Aviva Indoor International at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall.

Tom Phillips travelled north of the border to the Scottish Masters Championships which have also been made an open event. He won the over 55s 60 metres in an exciting finish. After a sluggish start he dead heated on the line in 8.20 but was given the verdict by a few thousandths of a second. He then won the 200 metres in 26.83.

In the North West the previous weekend new second claim member Ned Quiney cleared 4.53 in the under 20s pole vault at the Vault Manchester Indoor Meeting while coach Allan Williams cleared 3.63 to finish first in the over 55s age group.

Finally indoors at Lee Valley at the Eastern Vets and Vets AC Championships Ken Daniel ran 5.01.31 in the over 55s 1500 and Peter Hamilton ran 2.37.26 for 800 and 5.24.25 in the over 60s event.

Back outdoors Sam Jackson and Will Mercer finished 14th and 20th in the Intermediate Boys race at the Surrey Schools Championships at Reigate. Both have been selected to represent Surrey at the Southern Schools Inter County Championships, again at Reigate, on the 6th of Feb.

In the under 13s race Charlotte Rhule had a fine run to finish fifth with Maya Bruney 26th.

Even closer to home Steve Pairman was fifth in the latest of the Bromley 5km Parkruns at Norman Park. Rob Brown was sixth with John Leeson 10th and David Carton 14th.

On the roads Mark Ellison was the Club’s first finisher in the Benfleet 15. He came 84th in 1.50.37 followed by Dave King (138th), Francis Thompson (185th), Adrian Stocks (186th), Anne Cilia (337th) and Justine Eastbury (408th).

The Club is always looking for new members of all ages, abilities and disciplines. E-mail enquiries@bandbhac.org.uk and you will be put in contact with the appropriate Club Officer.