Track & Field Round-Up

WGEL athletes were in early outdoor season action at a number of relatively low key meetings in the UK, and some bigger overseas meetings. .Amongst the action there was some good sprinting from Sam Watts at Lee Valley, Tara Bird won over 400m in Los Angeles, and Dan Awde was in decathlon action in South Africa.Currently training in South Africa, Dan Awde competed in the decathlon at the South African Championships in Port Elizabeth over the weekend. Dan scored 7645 points, and if not for a very modest hurdles would likely have been 200 points more than his second placed effort. As the season progresses Dan will be looking for at least the Olympic "B" standard of 7950 points, with the "A" at 8200 points. Dan's individual marks were 100m10.92 secs (+0.1), LJ 7.01m, SP 12.96m, HJ 1.86m, 400m 47.91 secs, 110mH 16.167 secs (+0.5), DT 43.87m, PV 4.53m, JT 56.08m and 1500m 4m23.35sec.

In the US, competing at the Rafer Johnson & Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational in Los Angeles, Tara Bird raced in the "B" 400m, recording 54.45 secs to win comfortably by over a second from the outside lane. At the same meeting, Jess Sparke raced over 800m, and placed 5th in a close race recording 2m08.37 secs.

Closer to home at the Lee Valley Graded Meeting, Sam Watts opened his season as he placed 3rd over 100m with 10.61 secs w (+3.4), before comfortably winning over 200m with 21.11 secs w (+4.2). In that race Omololu Abiodun was 4th with 21.60 secs, and in the 100m, U/20 Paul Scanlan recorded 11.23 secs w (+4.0). MItchell Jarvis also raced over 200m and recorded 22.7 secs (w ?), and U/20 Tyler Bown ran 23.33 secs (+1.8). In the 400m the athletes found the strong head wind in the back straight hard work, and Matt McLaughlin (U/20) recorded 53.55 secs, Colin Wint (U/20) 54.6, secs and James Meadows, 53.08 secs. In the women's events there was a good 100mH from Hollie Pattie-Bellili (U/20) with a windy 14.53 secs w (+3.1), Alicia McArdell (U15) recorded and 2m29.48 secs over 800m and Katherine Foy raced some way under distance over 200m where she recorded 27.93 secs w (+5.8).

In the field at Lee Valley, Joseph Dewar won the U/17 Long Jump with 6.87m from George Hamilton who jumped 6.13m, as in the senior event Mitchell Jarvis struggling with his run up jumped 6.17m. In the U/17 javelin there was a personal best for David Peddle of 40.51m, and another personal best in the U/20 hammer for Victoria Onyeki with 35.80m The following day at Woodford at the Open Throws meeting, Peter Clarke threw the senior hammer 54.81m, and younger brother Harry threw the junior implement 56.85m with Fergus Harford reaching 35.18m. In the discus, Tom Norman won with 52.19m and Devon Douglas recorded 43.03m. In the U/17 javelin James Bongart recorded 45.94m , and David Peddle 40.32m. In the U/13 shot t Ryan Beatty recorded 7.71m. Earlier in the week at Highgate, Robbie Cox raced over 3000m and recorded 9m45.3 secs