Dina Asher Smith travels to Russia this weekend to represent Great Britain at the European Team Championships at Cheboksary. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete is selected to run the 200 metres on Sunday and is also in the 4x100 metre squad on the Saturday.

After her performance at last weekends Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, she is the fastest female 200 metre runner in Europe with 22.30 just ahead of current European champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands. With the meeting record standing at 22.71 there could be a substantial revision.

John Blackie coaches Dina and another Club member Bill Foster coaches Havering’s Lauren Deadman who is picked for the 3000 metres.

They are joined in the GB team by Serita Solomon who recently broke the 13 second barrier for the 100 metre hurdles for the first time when she ran 12.87, also at the Birmingham Diamond League event. Like Dina, Serita hails from Orpington.

In addition second claim member Isobel Pooley contests the high jump. It promises to be a very competitive event and she warmed up for it by competing in the IAAF Diamond League meeting in New York where she equalled her outdoor best this year with a clearance of 1.91. At 22 she already has plenty of International experience having won the silver medal at last years Commonwealth Games.

Fellow Commonwealth athlete Shaunagh Brown was the Club’s most successful senior athlete at the South Of England track and field Championships at Lee Valley. On Saturday she won the hammer with a distance of 60.06 and she returned the following day to secure the shot title with a throw of 14.64. She also won bronze in the discus with 48.44.

Silver medals were won by Kieran Daly in the 100 metres in a time of 10.66; Oliver Newport in the long jump (6.79); and Zara Asante in the triple jump (12.49). Matt Blandford made a big improvement in the discus to throw a new best of 53.08 for bronze.

More throws success came in the under 20 age group where Louis Mascarenhas won both the shot and discus competitions with distances of 15.46 and 54.80.

It was gold too for Stefan Amokwandoh in the triple jump with a leap of 14.62; for Jack Messenger in the 400 hurdles in a personal best of 55.15; and for Jazz Crawford in the 200 metres in 24.81 with runner up Kingston’s Nicole Kendall being coached by Club member Richard Holt.

Jazz was also runner up in the 100 metres with 11.90 and it was silver also for Scott Barker in the 400 metres in 48.85. Leah Everson was third in the 400 hurdles in 66.18.

The Kent Masters League is shaping up to be a very close competition after the fourth match of the season. In the mens contest the Club were beaten by just one point by Cambridge Harriers but the women won by three points from Dartford.

This means that in the overall League table for the season both teams are in second place. The men trail Cambridge Harriers by two and a half League points. The women have the same League points as first placed Dartford who have 11.5 more match points.

It was a particularly good evening for the Club’s 1500 metre runners as they won all the strings in the over 35s age group. Ritchie Leccia and Gareth Evans took the honours in the mens race with times of 4.21.0 and 4.25.6 while in the womens contest Carole Penlington and Andrea Pickup prevailed in 4.59.7 and 5.11.3. Tim Nash won the mens over 50s race in 4.49.2.

Perhaps the most remarkable track performance of the evening came, however, in the mens over 35s 2000 metre walk where Shaun Lightman who is an over 70 beat all the younger opposition by over 20 seconds to win in 11.46.3.

Jackie Montgomery and Helen Godsell were similarly dominant in the 200 metre races, Jackie winning the over 50s in 30.3 and Helen the over 60s in 30.5. Jackie also won the over 50s pole vault in 2.50 with Anne Cilia equalling her best she set in 2005 in the over 35s event.

Steve Timmins was the Club’s other double winner on the night as he threw 12.35 for the shot and 40.05 for the javelin in the over 35s group. In the over 60s, javelin Colin Brand made a welcome return to competition and, despite being an over 75, achieved second place.

Not only is Steve winning in the Kent Masters, he is also a regular in the Club’s British League team and also coaches a number of the Club’s youngsters in the javelin. The fruits of his efforts were seen in the latest Kent Young Athletes League match at Norman Park where there was a double first with the under 15 boys spear.

Angus Harrington won the A string event with a new personal best of 39.18 while Pedro Gleadall was first in the B string with 33.82. The throws success continued with another double first in the discus courtesy of James Lancaster (33.52) and Nathan Suresh Kumar (24.82).

Angus then joined Coleman Corry, Peter Guy and Vishnu Dhir in the 4x300 metres team. They won by nearly 15 seconds in 2.41.8.

Outstanding throwing also took place in the girls age group with Eloise Locke and Eve Keith achieving maximum points in the shot and discus, all with National Grade One throws. Eloise won the A shot with 12.42 and Eve was first in the B with 11.43. They reversed strings in the discus with Eve throwing 34.71 and Eloise 30.42.

There were maximum points also in the long jump from Karina Harris (4.67) and Zoe Martial (4.10) and in the 100 metres from Mhairi Brooks (13.0) and Gabrielle Dalsan (13.4).

Mhairi and Gabrielle were also in the 4x100 team with Grace Fullerton and Sophia Harpur that won in 53.5 while Zoe and Karina joined Antonia Alapafuja and Grace Scopes for victory in the 4x300 in 3.00.6.

Some outstanding middle distance running in the under 13s age groups saw maximum points in the boys 1500 and the girls 1200 metre races. Rowan Fuss won the boys 1500 in 4.29.7 the fastest in the country this year and a whisker off his own Club Record. Ellie Dolby was first in the girls 1200 in a new best of 3.52.8 the second quickest in the UK this year and just outside Naomi Kingston’s Club Record.

Morgan Squibb was first in the B string in 4.06.8 and Sam Reardon not only won the boys 1500 B string (4.51.3), he was also first in the 200 metres (29.1).

First in the A string 200 was Tareq Bannour in 26.5, a National Grade One performance, as was his winning time of 12.5 in the 100 metres. Michael Burfoot won the discus with 24.35, a new personal best and a distance that puts him just outside the top 10 in the country despite only having just joined the Club. Harry Cowie added to the celebrations with a winning B string throw of 20.96.

The boys rounded off the afternoon with Rowan, Tareq, and Sam joining Jacob Byfield in the 4x100 team that won in 55.8.

These performances and those of many others too numerous to mention meant that the Club were first in the under15 boys and girls and under 13 boys matches and 6th in the under 13 girls. They were the best club overall on the day.

All these achievements were notable in themselves but this was also the weekend of the County Schools Championships plus of course it is the exam period.

At the Kent Schools at Ashford the Club‘s throwers were again prominent. James Whiteaker was a class apart in the javelin as he won the Intermediate Boys event with a distance of 67.38. There was also a Championship Best Performance for Victoria Wiltshire in the hammer. The Mike Davies coached athlete won with a throw of 50.16.

Further Intermediate victories were achieved by Anna Barnett in the discus with 34.41; Jamilya Robinson Pascal (long jump 5.42); Anastasia Davies (80 metre hurdles 11.91); Jessica Keene (1500 4.43.53) and Joss Barber (1500 4.18.18).

In the Junior Girls age group, Eve Keith, who is coached by Herbie Kuenstlinger, set a personal best in the discus as she threw the furthest in the country this year with 35.90. Eloise Locke won the javelin with 37.50 with Daisy Dowling second in 31.10. Eloise also won the shot with 12.17.

Katie Woolcott won the 100 metres in 13.16 and more track success came in the boys age group with a win for Ben Sutton in the 300 metres in 38.42; and Henry James Cowie in the 800 with 2.05.15. George Pope won the pole vault with a personal best of 2.60. In the year 7 competition Jessica Neal won the 1500 in 5.18.25.

At the London Schools at Battersea Divine Oladipo won both the Intermediate girls shot and discus titles with distances of 14.11 and 43.62. Isabella Hilditch was a double winner also in the 80 metre hurdles (11.58) and 300 hurdles (44.20). Katy Ann McDonald was first in the 800 in 2.15.70. In the Surreys at Kingston, Charmont Webster-Tape was first in the Inter Girls 100 in 12.17 while in the Junior Boys 800 Angus Harrington and Coleman Corry were first and second in the 800 in 2.05.09 and 2.06.29.

Off the track Peter Tucker won the Orpington High Elms 10km in a time of 38.11.7. Marco Arcuri in 4th in 40.26.0, Tony Crowder 6th (40.35.2) and Andy Tucker 10th (42.28.4) all made the top 10 as the Club won the team race.

After his victory in the Kent Masters League, Shaun Lightman was back in action the following day in the Jack Fitzgerald 10.3km at Tilgate Park in Crawley. He finished in 6th place in 1 hour 7 minutes and 51 seconds with David Hoben 8th in 1.15.14.

While all this success has been happening the Club has also been mourning the death of one of its elder members Ron Chambers who has died at the age of 80.

It is also saddened to hear of the death of multiple world record holder Ron Clarke. Members spent two memorable evenings in the company of the Australian distance great at the Clubhouse in the 1990s where he recalled his career and conducted extensive question and answer sessions.