Open Graded Meeting at Ashton, Tuesday August 3rd
Perhaps it was the success of the British team at the European Championships
that was responsible for the large attendance at the penultimate edition of
this summer's series of open graded meetings? In any case, there were large
and competitive fields in each of the events, and our grateful thanks go to
the organisers and officials for managing to minimise delays to the
timetable.
It is always difficult to highlight particular performances when
many athletes will be meeting their personal aspirations. However, on the
track, Aaron Balogun's (Ilford AC) sprint double in times close to his
personal bests, Andy Knight's (V40, Cambridge Harriers) 2:01.38 (w/s +0.7
m/s) in the 800m, and the sub-10-minute clockings for vets Gareth Cavell
(V40), Ray Dzikowski (V45) and Alan Rugg (V50) in the 3000m were among the
more easily notable efforts. The women and girls competing in the 800m may
also be reassured, and perhaps unsurprised at this stage, to learn that the
winner of their race, Amanda Moss (Cardiff AC), is the current Welsh Senior
Champion at the distance. In the field, there were 17 athletes in the hammer
and 13 in the long jump, which ensured that there was decent competition for
all the participants, and plenty of exercise for the officials, too.
The final open graded meeting for 2010 will be held on Tuesday, 31 August.
Please see 'Fixtures' for details of the programme.