BMAF Champs, Midland U15/17 Champs and Glos 2 & 1 mile XC Champs

25 August 2021

Two big championships took place this weekend: the British Masters Championships and the Midland U17/U15 Championships.

The British Masters Championships took place in Derby with three Harriers making the trip. Ruth Bird (W55) had set herself the ambitious challenge of competing in five throwing events; hammer, discus, shot, javelin and weight. Beginning with the Hammer, Bird threw 37.62m twice to win her first medal of the weekend, a silver. Moving on to the discus Bird produced a SB of 26.47m to secure herself another silver medal. Bird then produced yet another SB in the shot out of 10.32m to win a third silver, just 26cm behind first place. Bird took her momentum straight into the javelin where she produced arguably her most impressive performance of the day. Bird threw 23.45m a SB and new club F55 record beating the previous mark, which stephe set earlier this year, by 94cm. The performance won Bird her 4th silver medal of the weekend. In her final event, weight, Bird threw 9.94m to finish 2nd again, this meant Bird finished the weekend with an incredible 5 silver medals, an amazing accomplishment!

Jane Horder (W60) went into the championships having not competed since early 2020 however as a world champion Horder was always going to be competitive. In the 80m hurdles Horder ran 13.66 to finish in 2nd well ahead of 3rd place. Moving up in distance to the 300m hurdles, Horder battled hard with 1st and 2nd place pulling well ahead of the rest of the field. Horder crossed the line in 54.29 to win an amazing 2nd silver medal.

The final Harrier competing was sprinter Michael Gardiner (M50) in the 400m. Gardiner produced his best when it mattered most in only his 2nd 400m race since the start of 2020 Gardiner knocked 0.78 off his SB to cross the line in 55.52 and won a well deserved silver medal.

In all, our three athletes achieved 8 silver medals between them, leading the club by example and providing a huge source of inspiration to our younger athletes. Many of whom were competing in Nuneaton at the Midland U17/U15 Championships.

U17 Sulaiman Ouiles has been having a brilliant season so far, going from strength to strength in a range of events. This weekend his hard work showed dividends with an amazing gold in the pole vault. Ouiles added 10cm to his PB clearing 3.8m to win by a huge 40cm. Ouiles improvement has moved him up to 7th in the UK U17 rankings. Ouiles also competed in the high jump where he cleared 1.6m to add a bronze to his medal collection.

The javelin has been a point of strength for the club this year due to the hard work of our athletes and in Nuneaton this continued with three Harriers medalling. Firstly U17W Mimi Davis produced her 3rd best throw ever to take a brilliant silver with 35.74. In the U17M javelin, Luca Colombini also won silver with a best throw of 41.32. Finally U15B Charlie Mason won bronze with a best of 36.32. 

The only athlete to compete over both days of the championship was U17 Lily Marchant. On day one Marchant competed in the 200m, having been improving race on race this year it was clear big things were to come and it was amazing to see things come together for Marchant in Nuneaton. Marchant flew out the blocks in her heat to finish 5th in a new PB of 27.28 and qualify for the final. Marchant held her own against a tough field in the final and dipped below her pre-competition PB once again running 27.33 to finish a commendable 8th. Marchant also ran well on day 2 when she competed in the 100m finishing 5th in her heat in 13.53.

3 other athletes competed on the second day of the championships led by U17 Ruby Brook in the 300m. Brook has had a great season so far and really grown as a 300m athlete. Brook took the heat out hard, winning in 41.71. Brook then had just a few hours to recover and prepare for the final. Brook produced a fantastic performance in the final to win a well deserved silver in 41.17 just 0.07 slower than her PB.

Fellow U17 Tamsin Hatton also competed in the 300m where she ran 47.82 for 4th in heat, her 3rd quickest time ever.

U17W Celia Darwent competed in the high jump clearing just 4cm below her SB to finish =4th with 1.41m.

Cross country made a welcome return for the first time since before the pandemic, With Little Rissington playing host to the Gloucestershire 1 and 2 mile cross county Championships. In the 1 mile race Olivia and Evie Avery impressed finishing 1st and 2nd in the U13 girls category. The two Harriers were beaten only by boys and finished well clear of their nearest rival. In the same race Bruce Ward ran well to finish just outside the medals as 4th U13 boy.

In the 2 mile event U17 Taya Dee ran superbly to finish as 1st female overall and 2nd out of the entire race, beaten only by a senior man. Christina See raced for the first time in a while and was rewarded with a county gold in the F60 category.