21st September 2009

Weekend Round-up

21 September 2009

Pedro’s Cup, Szczecin Poland. 15 September

Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun (Kent) finished a disappointing seventh in the 100m (1.4) behind the outstanding winner Asafa Powell (Jamaica) 9.82 but fared much better in the 200m where he finished in second place with 20.85 (0.3) with Tyson Gay (USA) claiming the victory in a relaxed 20.21. In the 400m Robert Tobin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants) claimed the runners-up spot in 45.95 behind Rabah Yousif (Newham & Essex Beagles) 45.64. Ricky Soos (Mansfield) continued his long road back to fitness after year’s in the doldrums through injury with an eighth place in the 800m 1:49.21 with Nick Symmonds (USA) taking first place 1:46.3 while ‘find’ of the season Will Sharman (Belgrave) continued his consistency with a third place in the 110mH 13.41 (1.7) with Artur Noga (Poland) winning in 13.35. In the women’s events, Joice Maduaka (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) finished in fifth place in the 100m 11.71 (0.9) with Montell Douglas (Shaftesbury Barnet) 11.72 in seventh place in a race won by Sherone Simpson (Jamaica) 11.29. Lisa Dobriskey (Ashford) kept up her heavy racing schedule since Berlin with a second place in the 1500m 4:07.63 behind Christy Wurth-Thomas (USA) 4:07.31 and Laura Kenney (Royal Sutton Coldfield) finished in seventh place with 4:12.48. Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) finished in third place in the 100mH with 13.07 (0.9) with Nickiesha Wilson (Jamaica) stepping down from the 400mH to win with a swift 12.79 in the absence of world champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton. The outstanding performance from a British perspective was Kate Dennison (Sale Harriers Manchester) third place in the pole vault with 4.60m behind Anna Rogowska (Poland) 4.70m. This was a UK record and her ninth such feat this season and represents a 20cm improvement on her pre-2009 season.

Berlin Marathon, Germany. 20 September

Tomas Abyu (Salford Harriers) was the highest ranked British finisher, placing 13th in 2:15:35, which was a vast improvement on his season’s best of 2:20:09 from the Flora London Marathon. Abyu’s half-marathon splits were 1:05:55/1:09:40 and he moved from 24th at the half-marathon point to 13th. Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie won this race for the fourth consecutive season but his winning time of 2:06:08 was short of his world record mark of 2:03:59, which he had hoped to break. In the women’s race, Scotswoman Hayley Haining (Kilbarchan) finished 10th in 2:36:08 in a race won by Atsede Habtamu from Ethiopia in 2:24:47. Haining’s splits were 1:14:31/1:21:37.

Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, China. 20 September

UK champion Robert Tobin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants) gave world and Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt a good race in the 400m. Tobin led coming off the final bend but the American dug deep to take the win in 45.28 to Tobin’s 45.49. In the women’s equivalent, Nicola Sanders (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) finished fourth in 50.80 while Lee McConnell (Shaftesbury Barnet) was sixth in a season’s best of 51.40 in a race won by world and Olympic silver medallist Shericka Williams from Jamaica in 49.83. World finalist Emily Freeman (Wakefield) was a solid fifth in the 200m in 22.79 behind three-time world champion Allyson Felix from the USA, who clocked 22.37. UK steeplechase record-holder Helen Clitheroe (Preston) was eighth in the 1500m in a season’s best of 4:08.31. In the 100m, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Sutton & District) was fifth in a season’s best of 10.13 but the big news in this race was Tyson Gay’s phenomenal performance and the 2007 world champion stormed to a US record of 9.69, which was the equal second fastest performance of all-time. Joice Maduaka (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) was ninth in the women’s 100m in 11.60 in a race which had a similarly dominant winner in the shape of Carmelita Jeter, who moved to second on the all-time 100m lists with a PB of 10.64.

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Great North CityGames, Newcastle Gateshead Quayside. 18 September

England dominated a weakened Australian team at the inaugural showing of the Great North CityGames, dubbed the Ashes of athletics. Led by Christine Ohuruogu (Newham Essex & Beagles), the English squad tallied ten victories to Australia’s one, with their solitary win coming from team captain Scott Martin in the shot put. Ohuruogu rounded off the event’s action with a British record in the 150m of 16.94, lowering her previous mark of 17.10 to defeat UK record-holder Montell Douglas (Shaftesbury Barnet), second in 17.18. World and Olympic semi-finalist Marlon Devonish (Coventry Godiva) also set a national record of 14.88, lowering the previous mark set by his agent John Regis of 14.93. In the 110m hurdles, world fourth placer William Sharman (Belgrave) narrowly defeated four-time UK champion Andy Turner (Sale Harriers), who is on the comeback after a hamstring injury derailed his World Championships campaign. Sharman clocked 13.53 to defeat Turner by one-hundredth. Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) easily won the women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 13.17 to defeat compatriot Louise Wood (Trafford), second in 13.75. In the 60m, local favourite Richard Kilty (Gateshead) upset pre-race favourite Tyrone Edgar (Newham & Essex Beagles) and the 20-year-old took advantage of Edgar’s sluggish start to take the win in 6.67 to Edgar’s 6.69.

The women’s two-miles proved to be one of the most competitive events of the weekend and 18-year-old Charlotte Purdue (AFD) took a fine scalp in the form of Australia’s Benita Willis (Australia/Thames Hare & Hounds) to become the youngest winner of the weekend. The European junior cross-country runner-up timed her finish perfectly and Purdue caught the tiring Willis on the line to take a very narrow win, ahead of the 2004 world cross-country champion. Both athletes were given the same time of 10:00 along with Willis’s team-mate Nikki Chapple in third. In the absence of Lisa Dobriskey, Hannah England (Oxford City) was the easy victor in the mile. The runner-up at the World Athletics Final pulled away with 400m remaining to take the win in 4:49, defeat world 800m bronze medallist Jenny Meadows (Wigan) and Celia Brown (Coventry), who clocked 4:46 and 4:56 respectively. Olympic finalist Andy Baddeley (Harrow) had his best run of the season in the mile and the 2008 Dream Mile winner outkicked Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles) and Australian Collis Birmingham in the finishing straight for the victory. Baddeley and Farah were given the same time of 4:02 but Baddeley held on convincingly for the win, while Birmingham was third in 4:04.

UK record-holder and world fifth placer Greg Rutherford (Marshall Milton Keynes) capped off his season with a good victory in the long jump. The European silver medallist’s best jump of the afternoon of 8.17m (+1.6m/s) was more than enough to defeat Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex Beagles) and Australian teenager Henry Frayne. On the first day of the competition, world finalist Steve Lewis (Newham & Essex Beagles) won the pole vault with a best clearance of 5.45m. 

 

Great North Run, Newcastle. 20 September

Two-time Olympian Dan Robinson (Stroud) was the leading British competitor in one of the world’s premier half-marathon races. In still and mild conditions, the 34-year-old continued his consistent Great North Run record, finishing 11th in 64:14. Robinson finished 13 seconds ahead of Lee Merrien (Newham & Essex Beagles) in 12th while veteran Ian Hudspith (Morpeth) was the third Brit home in 14th in 64:49. Former Brit Jon Brown, now representing Canada was 19th in 65:40. The winner was three-time Flora London Marathon winner Martin Lel from Kenya, who set a PB of 59:32 to defeat the UK-based Kiplimo Kimutai, who lowered his lifetime best from 62:46 to 59:44. While many of the leading female British competitors were choosing to give this race a miss in order to focus on the World Half Marathon Championships next month, Angela Hibbs was the leading British competitor finishing 13th in a lifetime best of 78:27 while 1500m specialist Katrina Wootton was 15th in 79:41. Jessica Augusto from Portugal took the victory in a PB of 69:08 to defeat the 2006 winner Berhane Adere while Dublin 10km winner Ana Dulce Felix was third.

British Athletics League Qualifier, Abingdon. 19 September

Leevan Yearwood (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets) took a sprint double, winning the 100m in 10.75 and the 200m in 21.59.

 

MCAA Senior Men’s Road Relay Championships, Sutton Park – 19 September

 

Birchfield Harriers took a decisive victory, clocking 1:48:51 for the six-leg relay event. Anchored by James Trollope, Birchfield defeated Tipton Harriers by 26-seconds while Bristol & West were third in 1:49:28.

Thanks to Simon Tonui, Birchfield started well with the fastest first time on the first leg of 17:21, which was 24-seconds faster than Phil Wylie (Bristol & West) and Matt Almond (Coventry & Godiva) was the third fastest at 17:51.

Former UK cross-country champion Tom Humphries (Cannock & Stafford) was the fastest on the second leg, clocking 17:17 while Chebon Cherop, representing the Birchfield Harriers B team and Matt Granger (Kidderminster & Stourport) were both timed at 17:43 for joint second fastest.

Commonwealth 5000m finalist Chris Davies (Telford) was the fastest on the third leg, clocking 17:14 to Zac Kiharah’s (Birchfield) 17:21 which regained their lead. Phil Nicholls from Tipton was the third fastest with 17:29.

Tim Hartley (Notts AC), Tom Merson (Bristol & West) and Matty Clowes (Staffordshire Moorlands) were the fastest on the fourth leg, clocking 18:01, 18:04 and 18:07 respectively.

The most dominant performance of the day came from Birchfield’s Jean Ndyasenga on the fifth leg, clocking 17:16 which was 33-seconds faster than Martin Williams (Tipton) and one minute faster than Jonathan Thewlis (Notts AC).

On the final leg, Matt Lole (Coventry Godiva) clocked 17:59 to Tom Russell’s (Bristol & West) 18:01 while Birchfield’s James Trollope wrapped up their victory with the third fastest last leg time of 18:24.

MCAA Senior Women’s Road Relay Championships, Sutton Park

 

Charnwood AC easily won this edition’s championships, clocking an accumulated time of 59:07 to defeat Bristol & West’s squad by 58 seconds. Birchfield Harriers placed a distant third in 62:06.

On the first leg, Charnwood’s Hannah Whitmore established an early lead with the fastest time of 14:31 to Debbie Walter’s (Birchfield) 14:44. Claire Martin (Telford AC) was the third fastest with 15:07.

Gemma Steel continued to extend Charnwood’s lead, with the fastest time on leg two of 14:48 to Katie Knowles’s (Bristol & West) 14:56 and Claire Woolis (Sutton in Ashfield AC), who was timed at 15:24.

Charnwood’s Jane Potter was easily the fastest on leg three, clocking 14:38 while Joyce Kandie (Birchfield) and Tina Brown (Coventry Godiva) were both timed at 15:00.

Victory was easily wrapped up on the last leg by Sarah Maude, who clocked 15:10 on the anchor but Claire Hallisey was the fastest for Bristol & West with 14:35. Birchfield’s Sophie Williams moved her team into third with 15:26 on the last leg.