Magnificent masters
By Tom Pollak
The Club's Masters athletes bagged a handful of medals including four golds at the British Masters Championships in Birmingham at the weekend. Lisa Thomas led the title-winning effort with a double gold medal-winning performance. She took the V50 400m in a season’s best of 64.86 winning by more than four seconds, and the 2000m steeplechase in 8:20.15, over 13 seconds clear. Alison Murray won the V50 pole vault with a height of 2.80m, and Anna Garnier won the V60 1500m in 5:50.06. Mark White took silver in the V50 400m in a season’s best of 56.14.
U15 Zipporah Golding showed her best form of the season in the England U15 and U17 Championships at Bedford over the weekend. Surrey champion Golding, who has been hampered by injuries this summer, was fourth in her heat in the 100m in 12.62 before taking seventh place in her semi-final in 12.59, her fastest time since posting her personal best of 12.48 to take the Surrey title last season. End of season injuries and niggles meant that the Club only had one other representative at this year's Championships, Dhanisha Banee, who was sixth in her heat of the 100m in 12.97.
Mabel-Rose scales the heights
Talented young high jumper Mabel-Rose Scales rounded off her jumping season by equalling the U13 Club record at the Tom Linton Medal Meeting at Crawley on Sunday. Her gold medal-winning height of 1.50m was also achieved by Darcey O'Shea as an U13 in 2017. However while Darcey was in her second year as an U13, Mabel-Rose, at only 11, is still in her first year, so she ends the season as the leading first year U13 (9th overall). Nine year old younger sister Willow had a good day, too, clinching the bronze medal in the U11 long jump. It was a busy weekend for both girls who were amongst a group of Club athletes competing on the track at the Herne Hill Harriers Open Meeting the previous day (see results below).
HW runners dominated the Wimbledon Common 5km parkrun on Saturday filling the top three men’s place and providing the women’s winner. Ben Toomer headed home the 429 field in 15:54, well clear of clubmates David Lewin (17:03) and Adam Harwood (17:17). Gina Galbraith was first woman in 18:58 with Eileen Toomer third. Twenty-one Hercules Wimbledon runners took part.
Charlie Eastaugh led in a 622-strong field in Coventry in a personal best of 16:28 and posting the top age-graded performance, while Fran Clarke, finishing alongside husband and HW Chairman Dave, was first woman finisher in the Kingston event in 20:27. Ellen Weir returned to winning ways on the Isle of Wight taking the women’s race in 21:11, her fastest time since posting a personal best of 20:26 in February. Richard McDowell took the tape in the Portobello parkrun in Edinburgh in a personal best of 16:09, taking 43 seconds off his previous best time set in November 2016, and Kieran White led the field on his debut at Rushmere, near Leighton Buzzard in 18:09.
Elsewhere, Fred Slemeck and Jonny Earl were second and third out of 371 runners on their debut appearances in Winchester in 16:17 and 16:23 respectively.
Results
Sat, 25 August: HHH Open Full results
Sat/Sun, 25/26 August: England Athletics U15/U17Championships, Bedford. U15G 100m: semi final 2: 7.Zipporah Golding 12.59 (heat 2: 4. 12.62); heat 3: 6. Dhanisha Banee 12.97 Full results
Sat/Sun, 25/26 August: British Masters Championships, Birmingham. W50 400m 1. Lisa Thomas 64.86 (SB); M50 400m 2. Mark White 56.14 (SB); W60 1500m 1. Anna Garnier 5:50.06; W50 2000mSC 1. Lisa Thomas 8:20.15 Full results
Sun 26 August: Crawley Open Series, Tom Lintern Meeting. U13B 1500m: 1.Thomas Beare 4:59.87; SM 10,000m: 3. Richard Jones (2nd claim) 35:46.27; U13/U15/U17 High Jump: 2. (1st U13) Mabel-Rose Scales 1.50 (equal Club record); U13B Long Jump: 6. Thomas Beare 3.76; U11 Long Jump: 3. Willow Scales 3.49 Full results