22 June 2009

British athletes abroad …

Germany
Erdgas Combined Events, Ratingen, Germany

20-21 June                                                 

LOUISE HAZEL (Birchfield) finished in fifth place with a new pb of 6043 points in an event won by Jennifer Oeser, Germany with 6442 points. Louise’s event performances were: 100mH 13.48, High Jump 1.66m, Shot 11.80, 200m 24.36, Long Jump 6.39, Javelin 43.73, 800m 2:15.99.

Spain
VIII Reunion Internacional, Villa de Bilbao, Spain

20 June                                                      

THERE was a sizeable British contingent at this meeting and there were some good performances. Dwayne Grant (Blackheath & Bromley) won the 100m in a windy 10.40 (+2.1) with Aidan Syers (Newham & Essex Beagles) fourth in 10.57. In the 200m Grant repeated his short sprint success with another victory in 20.93 (+1.0). The men’s 800m had five British athletes competing and James Brewer (Cheltenham) finished in second place with 1:47.92 with Paul Bradshaw (Blackburn) just behind him in third with 1:48.15 and Andrew Osagie (Harlow) taking fifth in 1:48.49 and Ed Aston (Cambridge & Coleridge) sixth in 1:48.65 and Chris Smith (Wirral) finishing in tenth place with 1:50.29. Robbie Grabarz (Bedford & County) finished in fourth place in the high jump with a leap of 2.10m. In the women’s 800m Nikki Hamblin (Bays Cougars) finished in second place in a pb of 2:02.11 with Karen Johns (North Shields Polytechnic) taking fifth in 2:05.78 and Suzanne Hasler (Puerto de Alicante) in sixth with 2:05.92. 

Switzerland
Daniela Jutzeler Memorial, Ibach, Switzerland

18 June                                                      

SIX British wheelchair athletes contested sixteen events in Ibach. There were many highlights but the star was undoubtedly Micky Bushell (Birchfield) who set a world record in winning his 100m (T53) with 14.69. In the women’s 100m (T54) Anne Wafula Strike (unattached) finished in fifth place with 17.73. In the women’s 200m Anne Wafula Strike (T54) finished in fourth place with 32.82 while Micky Bushell (T53)again finished in first place with 27.58 and Steven Hoskins (unattached) finished in eighth place with 44.09. The women’s 400m (T54) saw Shelly Woods (Blackpool & Fylde) finish in third place with 58.67 and Anne Wafula Strike in sixth place with 62.04. The men’s 400m (T53) saw Steven Hoskins finish in seventh place in a time of 81.72. The men’s 800m (T54) saw David Weir (unattached) finish in first place in 1:37.87 and Brian Alldis in ninth place with 1:50.62. In the women’s 1500m (T53-54) Shelly Woods finished in fourth place in 3:31.34 while in the men’s event David Weir repeated his win in the 800m with a narrow victory in 3:04.72 with Brian Alldis taking ninth place in 3:11.94. The women’s 5000m (T53-54) saw Shelly Woods finish in first place with 12:13.21 in an unchallenged performance while David Weir had to settle for the runners-up spot in 10:32.42 in another extremely close tussle with Hug Marcel (RC Zentralschweiz) while Brian Alldis finished in seventh place in 11:55.86.

Czech Republic
Golden Spike Meeting, Ostrava, Czech Republic

17 June

THE Brit’s were out in force again and continued their increasing good form. Craig Pickering (Marshall Milton Keynes) finished runner-up to the phenomenal Usain Bolt, Jamaica in 10.08 (2.1m/s) which would have been a lifetime best if the wind hadn’t been marginally over the legal limit. Bolt however, sped to a 9.77 clocking which was all the more remarkable considering he had one of worst ever starts (reaction 0.206 compared to Pickering’s 0.176). In the 100m B race, Mark Lewis-Francis (Birchfield) was fifth in another season’s best of 10.40 (0.7m/s) while Christian Malcolm (Cardiff) was seventh in 10.57.

Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury Barnet) recorded a fine victory in the 800m against a world-class field. Following the pacemaker through the bell in 57.62 with a 5m lead over the rest of the field she held battled well down the finishing straight for an impressive win. Okoro clocked a season’s best of 2:00.21, defeating Elodie Guegan from France (2:00.44) and Britain’s Jenny Meadows (Wigan) who was third in 2:00.48. Also in the race was Jemma Simpson (Newquay & Par) who finished in seventh place in a season’s best of 2:00.87.

In the mile, Andy Baddeley (Harrow) ran another superb tactical race and although running in the middle of the pack for the first two laps he was in an excellent position at the bell and continued to move through to second place, but could not catch the in-form Haron Keitany, Kenya on the last lap. Baddeley clocked 3:51.83 behind Keitany’s 3:49.57.

… and at home

England

Northern Counties Senior and U20 Championships, Sports City, Manchester

20-21 June

JESSICA ENNIS (City of Sheffield) was again the star performer with victory in the 100m (-1.2) in a pb of 11.68 and another pb in the shot 13.72m behind clubmate Amy Hill 14.54m. Michael Floyd (Sale Harriers Manchester) won the men’s hammer with 68.37m while Sophie Hitchon (Blackburn) U20 won the women’s with a throw of 61.56m. Andrew Sutcliffe (Sale Harriers Manchester) won the U20 pole vault with a pb of 5.05m. Matthew Hunt (Kingston upon Hull) won the U20 javelin with a throw of 71.38m. James Hunter (Liverpool) took the U20 400m in 47.57 while clubmate Carmen Gedling won her event in 56.05. Shaunna Thompson (Sale Harriers Manchester) took the U20 100m into a fierce headwind in 11.92 (-2.7).

Midland Counties Senior and U20 Championships, Alexander Stadium, Birmingham

20-21 June

TOM PARSONS (Birchfield) was the outstanding performer at these championships with a leap of 2.27m in the high jump which takes him into second place in he Pof10 rankings. Not to be outdone, Jessica Leach (Birchfield) leapt to a pb of 1.86m in taking the women’s title. Tom Burton (Tamworth) recorded a big pb in winning the 400mH in 51.53 while Emily Diamond (Bristol & West) also recorded a pb in the U20 100m with 11.80 (1.7). Antoe Walters (Birchfield) was another to record a pb in winning the U20 100m in 10.71 (1.0). Rachel Gair (Mansfield) threw a good 56.87m to win the hammer while in the men’s event, Matthew Bell (Birchfield) also had a good winning throw of 62.25m. 

Southern Counties Senior and U20 Championships, Watford

20-21 June

NOTABLE performances came form Gibril Bangura (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets and Sierra Leone) who won the 100m (0.6) with a pb of 10.40. In the 400m Set Osho (Belgrave) also recorded a pb in winning the 400m in 46.76. In the discus, Matthew Brown (Enfield & Haringey) won with a throw of 55.56m and in the U20 Hammer, Andrew Jordon (Blackheath & Bromley) won with a pb of 63.41m.

Scotland

117th Scottish Senior Championships, Pitreavie, Fife

20-21 June

STAR performer was Henrietta Paxton (Birchfield) set a national record in the pole vault of 4.06m. Susan McKelvie (Edinburgh) won the hammer with a throw of 59.33m while Myra Perkins (Falkirk Victoria) set another World Youth qualifying mark of 54.13m. Greg Louden (Lasswade) won the 400m in a World Youth qualifying time of 48.17 which was a pb and further extends his lead at the top of the U17 Pof10 rankings.