Commonwealth Youth Champion
7:41am Monday 19th September 2011 in Athletics By Pat Calnan
Dina Asher Smith is the Commonwealth Youth 200 metres Champion. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete won her title at Douglas in the Isle Of Man last weekend. The weather conditions were a hindrance to some athletes but the sprinters enjoyed a strong following wind in the heats of the 200 where Dina ran 24.11. On to the semi final and the Newstead Woods schoolgirl won again in 24.40. To cap an outstanding individual season under coach John Blackie, she won the final in 24.30 and to complete an unforgettable weekend she was part of the England 4x100 metres team that won gold.
Dina’s Commonwealth selection meant she was not able to compete for the Club in the National Junior Athletics League Final at Derby. After a narrow victory last year, the Club were unable to retain their National title this year finishing in third place behind winners Birchfield Harriers and Shaftesbury Barnet.
While this was a disappointment, a third place in a National Final is still a fine achievement and there was one big consolation in that when the scores were broken down into male and female scoring, the Club had the best womens team at the Moorways stadium.
What this means is that the womens team will represent the United Kingdom in the European Champions Club Cup for Juniors for the seventh successive season in 2012 at a venue still to be advised. They represent the UK this coming weekend when they travel to Spain to compete in the A Final. The men were 4th equal best male team at Derby.
In addition to the womens good news, two of the team won two of the four Athlete Of The Match Awards. Adam Gemili produced the mens track performance of the day for his win in the 200 metres in a time of 20.98. Pippa Woolven claimed the womens track award for her win in the 1500 steeplechase in a time of 5.04.41.
Adam’s time was the fastest in the League this year as was the 10.53 he timed to win the 100 metres. He collected his third gold medal along with Reuben Fakoya, Jonathan Ilori and Oliver Newport in the 4x100 metres.
Pippa’s time of 4.59.48 which she ran earlier this season was the quickest 1500 steeplechase time of the year.
Two other athletes won two individual events. Womens team captain Megan Southwart won the 400 hurdles in 62.87 and then took victory in the 100 hurdles in 14.69. Samantha Milner won the shot and discus contests in 11.59 and 42.06.
The team took maximum points in the womens 100 metres with Grace Sheppard winning the A string and Amara Lalemi Jacobs the B. Rachel Dickens won the A string 200 metres and, given the Clubs sprinting talent, it was no surprise that when Amara and Rachel teamed up with Georgina Middleton and Charlotte Colegate, they won the 4x100 in a time of 49.29.
Rachel, Megan, Krystal Galley and Yimika Adewakun then won the 4x400 metres in a time of 3.52.51, the quickest time in the League this year.
Christine Lyston won an absorbing high jump competition in which four athletes all cleared 1.60. Christine won on countback and Frances Read, one of the others to clear 1.60 won the B string. Frances also won the B string long jump with a leap of 5.18 and further B string wins came from Rachel Robinson in the 400 hurdles with a new best of 67.67; and from Bonnie Bratton in the hammer with a throw of 35.45.
Jonathan Ilori’s triple jump leap of 15.26 earlier in the season was the furthest in the League this year but he had to settle for second place at Derby with a leap of 14.75. Emilie Blackwell was another to gain a top three finish as she won bronze in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.20.
Two other athletes produced the best performances in individual events in the League for the season. Rachel Dickens was the quickest of the 400 with the 55.07 she ran at Chelmsford earlier this year; and Sarah Abrams, who missed the Final because she has started University at Harvard in the United States, was joint top of the high jump with a leap of 1.73.
Another athlete who has commenced studies in America is Alex Bruce Littlewood. He is attending McNeese State University and he had his first race last Friday in a cross country relay hosted by his own institution for other universities in Louisiana.
He came home first on the opening 3km leg in a time of 8.21. This proved to be the fastest leg of the day.
Montell Douglas has also been in action abroad. She won both her heats of the 100 metres at the Arena Games at Hilversum in the Netherlands.
Back in Britain at the British Masters Decathlon Championships at Horspath, Clem Leon won the over 55s event by over 1000 points with a score of 5055. He proved unbeatable on the track finishing first in the 100, 400, 1500 and 100 metre hurdles. He also cleared an impressive 1.51 to claim victory in the high jump. He was also runner up in the pole vault and third in the shot, discus, javelin and long jump.
81 runners (up from 63 last year) competed in this year's summer series of races for the Parris Memorial Shield. Each of the 6 races is approximately 5km on the road on a yacht handicap basis whereby the slowest runner sets off first and the fastest sets off last with everyone else setting off in between. In theory, all runners should finish more or less together. Points are earned by competitors in each race based on their finishing position with the winner being the person that has accumulated most points over the course of the six races. The trophy is in honour of Roy Parris, a former member who died of cancer in 1998.
The final race was won by new member Ed Langford, with another newcomer, Faye Gower-Smith second and Carolyna Jones-Baldock third. Fastest lady on the night was Jenny Butler in 19:02 and fastest man was Tim Ayres in 17:33. The contest for the overall Parris Memorial Shield was close throughout the season and so it proved upon conclusion of the last race. The winner was Barry Wetherilt by the smallest margin of one point from long time leader Tm Ayres with Andy Pino just 5 points behind Tim in third place.
The club and the race organisers are most grateful to everyone who took part throughout the summer and special mention must go to the following who competed in all 6 summer races: Tim Ayres, Dave Carton, Trevor Delahoy, Justine Eastbury, Andy Lawes, Ian Montgomery, Andy Pino and Barry Wetherilt.
John Hoy was a Club member who tragically lost his life, along with his three children, in Thailand on Boxing Day 2004. They were on the beach at Khao Lak when a tsunami struck. Only John’s wife, Nim, survived. Since then, members that compete in track and field championship races from 800m to 10kms earn points towards the John Hoy trophy with the winner being the person that has earned most points over the course of the six races.
The trophy is open to senior and master men and women. Points are awarded on a handicap basis and this year there was a change in the way the handicap was calculated. For 2011, runners earned points using the Internationally recognised Age Related tables. These tables adjust finish times based on the gender and age of each competitor so a 50 year old woman can compete on an equal basis with a 30 year old man, for example.
32 members competed in this year’s series of races with the winner being Helen Godsell. She justly deserved her win by virtue of being the only person that took part in all 6 races and running consistently well throughout the Summer. Rob Brown was second and Jane Bradshaw was third.
Andrew Rayner won the latest Bromley 5km park run at Norman Park in 15.53 with Glen Turner second and Elaine Murty 5th. Brendan McShane was 3rd in the event at Lloyd Park; Rob Brown was 32nd at Cambridge; Nigel Haffenden 44th at Greenwich and Peter Hamilton 37th in Newcastle.
The previous weekend Will Mercer was the Clubs first finisher at the Bromley event in third place with Dan Marks 11th and Graham Coates 21st. Brendan McShane was 5th at the Riddlesdown event; Nigel Haffenden 52nd at Greenwich; and Ian Taylor 8th up in Sunderland.
Blackheath & Bromley caters for all ages, abilities and disciplines. For further information on your particular interest please e-mail enquiries@bandbhac.org.uk Alternatively leave details on the Club answer phone service on 020 8462 3115.
For all the latest Club news visit the website at www.bandbhac.org.uk With thanks to Rob Brown for his contributions to this report.
