Surrey Road Relays @ Wimbledon, September 13th

 

Distance: 6x3 miles

Team: Senior Men

 

David Brown

17:39

Keith Brown

19:27

Andy Del Nevo §

18:32

Matthew Kiernan

18:34

David Brown

18:20

Keith Brown

20:18

 1:52:50, 19th (21 teams)

 

Shanghai fourth for Danvers

 

Newly returned Croydon Harrier Natasha Danvers concluded her Olympic medal winning season last Friday, with a respectable fourth of eight in the Shanghai Grand Prix 400m hurdles.

 

Danvers’ 55.33sec clocked behind  Sheena Tosta (USA), the Olympic silver medallist, and other Beijing finalists, Tiffany Ross-Williams (USA) and Anastasiya Rabchenyuk  (Ukraine)

 

Croydon boys’ encouraging effort.

 

A large group of Croydon Harriers boys successfully made the transition from track to country in the John Bolt Memorial Relays at Sparrows Den on Saturday, their form suggesting that they will do well in the cooling months ahead,

 

With their strengths spread across two teams, high corporate places could not be expected, and the club A team finished mid field.

 

Jordan Maurice shone with a 10:55 leg in which he ran virtually solo and still produced a strong acceleration on the run in. Surrey pentathlon silver medallist Jacob Paul clocked 11:05 and Elliott Veheary, a year younger made a promising comeback to club competition with his feisty run in 11:11.

 

Joshua Haasz and Jacob Paul were the quickest of the club U13s.

 

 

Blackheath & Bromley XC Relays @ Sparrow’s Den, September 20th

 

 

Croydon Harriers boys made an encouraging start to their Autumn fixtures at Sparrows Den on Saturday in the Blackheath relays.

 

Jordan Maurice looked especially sharp on his U15 anchor leg completed in 10:55, with multi events medallist Jacob Paul closing in strongly for an 11:01 clocking and Elliott Veheary make a welcome and successful return to the club scene with his 11:11 effort.

 

Jacob Cross and Joshua Haasz ran well for the U13s.

 

 

Distance: 6x 4km

Team: Senior Men

 

Andy Del Nevo               15:53

Colin Oxlade                  16:14

Norman Hemming          18:15

Eric Campbell                22:52

Andy Del Nevo               16:18

Colin Oxlade                  16:51

1:29:32, 19th (22 teams)

 

Distance: 4x4km

Team: Senior Women

 

Gill Lightfoot                  22:11

Miriam De Souza           20:30

Gill Lightfoot                  22:21

Miriam De Souza           21:03

1:26:05 10th (10 teams)

 

IAAF/VTB Bank World Athletics Final will be held in Stuttgart, Germany, from September 13-14, 2008

 

Such has Beijing Olympic finalist Martyn Rooney’s 400m progress been this year, that the 21 year old Croydon Harriers 400m man declared himself disappointed after his 5th place in 45.82sec in the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart on Saturday.

 

His lane eight effort should be evaluated in the context of what was probably the highest quality 400m field seen in action all season.

 

In first and second places were Americans, Olympic Gold medallist  LaShawn Merritt 44.4 59, and world number one Jeremy Wariner 2nd, with Christopher Brown (Bahamas) 4th placed Olympian in 3rd ,and Olympic 400m gold medal hurdler Angelo Taylor 4th with fellow Olympic finalist Johan Wissman Sweden trailing the field in 8th.

 

Harriers Homecoming for Olympic Medallist Natasha Danvers

 

Honoured on Monday at a Civic Reception by the Mayor of Lewisham in whose Borough she now lives, former Croydon Harrier Tasha Danvers the Olympic 400m Hurdles Bronze medallist confirmed her return to the Albert Road Arena based club.

 

An added bonus for this exciting development for the Harriers is the return too of her mother Dorette who in her school days was a fine young high jumper. Her experience and enthusiasm will be a great asset for the club’s thriving O35 section.

 

Tasha who described her return to the harriers as a Homecoming she had been contemplating for some time delighted several young Cordoning who attended the reception with her encouragement and is looking forward to meet others soon.

 

Later this week she flies to the Far East again to compete in the Shanghai Grand Prix and will be joining up with Croydon’s other Olympians Donna Fraser and Martyn Rooney on October 19th to preside over the formal start with the Deputy Mayor

 

SURREY COMBINED EVENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS, BROADBRIDGE HEATH, HORSHAM, 13/14 SEPTEMBER 2008

 

Blessed by long overdue sunshine all the Croydon Harriers in action at the Broadbridge Heath track last weekend with an amazing age range of 69 they epitomised the wide attraction of athletics. They all achieved PBs, and between them they set a Championship best performance, four club records and won three gold medals, a silver and a bronze. 

 

None could have been more enthusiastic than sprightly 80 year old Ken Crooke who hardly surprisingly took his gold medal unchallenged, and that despite taking a tumble in the 1500m

 

The impressive Irving brother, sister duo of U17 Kariym and U13 Sherin Irvin took  young men’s and girls titles, with M50 Ian Statter striking gold too, while U15 Jacob Paul won silver and U13 Joshua Haasz took a bronze.

 

Kariym Irving, the club’s best discus thrower was pleased with his 6.27m long jump, and amassed 4509 points for his CPB and a Harriers record. His sisters win with 2352 points, another club record. put her atop the UK rankings, while Joshua Haasz caught the eight with his front run 800m in 2:25.96 significantly contributing to his 1404 points, which rank him 7th nationally.

 

Jacob Paul’s 2505 points tally, the third Croydon record puts him

 

Runathon Cross Country Challenge

 

Trinity School, co organisers with Croydon Harriers came third in this interesting 5 team handicap in Lloyd Park on Saturday.

 

Junior Lucas of John Fisher was the overall winner, with Trinity juniors Alex Briggs and William Holmes in 6th and 8th places, their first runners home

 

Trinity’s Mark Plackett had an outstanding run, heading the Intermediates home in 12th spot, while team captain Nathan Stone was the 8th to finish, placing 44th in the field of 84.

 

Oxted won the team title with John Fisher second.

 

Rafi Rising Discus Star

 

Croydon Harriers continually improving discus thrower Faraz Rafi’s 39.47m effort at Woking recently took him to 13th in the UK rankings, and makes him the youngest athlete in the top 20

 

 

Olympic medallist Tasha returns to Harriers.

 

Croydon Harriers were thrilled last week, when Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medallist Tasha Danvers confirmed her decision to return to the Croydon club after a ten year absence.

 

There was a bonus with the news too for when the Albert Road, South Norwood Harrier’s senior coach Mike Fleet had a phone call from Tasha’s mother Dorrett McKoy, confirming that she too would be returning to the club, for which some years even earlier she had been a promising young high jumper.

 

Alisha Ellis, Emma Barlow, Matthew Kiernan and Terry Lapins, four young Harriers who are very much seen as key to the club’s future and Fleet attended celebrations at Lewisham as guests of the Mayor Sir Steve Bullock, and were thrilled to meet their Beijing medal winning colleague for the first time.

 

Tasha told them that her decision to rejoin the club, which had been in her mind for some time, felt like “a happy home coming”

 

Tasha will be attending the Lexus Croydon Charity 10k together with fellow Harrier’s Olympians Donna Fraser and Martyn Rooney on Sunday 19th October.

 

Entries are coming well with over 200 already signed up. Yong athletes from 9-14 are also signing up for the accompanying 3k Fun Run. Visit the Croydon Harriers website and the 10k link for further details.

 

 

 

Beijing Olympics 8th-23rd August 2008

 

In the 400m semis Martyn Rooney produced a personal best of 44.60 secs to qualify for the final of the 400m but couldn’t reproduce that form in the final he finished in sixth place clocking 45.12 seconds for his run

 

A rejuvenated Martyn Rooney rose to the occasion magnificently, bouncing back with a vengeance in the Beijing Olympic 4x400m Final on the last night of athletics.

Only two days after his energy-sapping individual final and the day after the 4x400m heats, the young Croydon Harrier showed his true mettle after receiving the baton in 7th place.    A smooth change was followed by a fiercely attacking 200m rewarded by two rival scalps including that of Jamaica in a move which took him up to 5th place.  From then on in, he was closing fast on the medal places missing out narrowly at the line from 3rd placed Russians who were delighted at setting a national record.  USA were well clear with a new Olympic record of 2:55.39 in the safe hands of Olympic individual 400m silver man Wariner and with the Bahamas in second place.  Rooney's 43.73 split time was the 5th fastest overall on the day and the 4th fastest ever by a British athlete.

The GB team of Steele, Tobin, Bingham and Rooney clocked a superb season's best of 2:58.81 and as Rooney said, with a young squad, there are exciting times ahead. Although this time they had striven valiantly for a medal, they did beat 4 previously higher ranked teams in the Final.

With the Olympic torch heading for London, Martyn Rooney and other up-and-coming Croydon athletes can look forward optimistically to the Games in 2012.

 

 

Rosenheim League Final Tooting August 13th 2008 Results

 

As Martyn Rooney impresses in Beijing his club colleagues at Croydon Harriers finished a creditable fifth position at a high quality Rosenheim League Final on Wednesday.

 

The 2006 winners acquitted themselves well with the opposition noticeably stepping up from the qualifying rounds in pursuit of the silverware.

 

The pick of the Harriers performances went to Richmond Baah who took the honours in the javelin by just one centimetre with his 50.77m throw.

 

Oweka Wanogho ran himself into third in the 200m (22.7s) after a solid bend, and then joined up with his 4x200m colleagues to also finish third in the last event of the evening.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

MATCH RESULT

 

 

 

1 KINGSTON AC & POLYTECHNIC H(Holders)

67

2 BELGRAVE H

 

 

66

3 HERNE HILL H

 

 

63

4 WALTON AC

 

 

54

5 CROYDON H

 

 

53

6 HERCULES WIMBLEDON AC

 

50

7 ST MARYS RICHMOND AC

 

38

8 SERPENTINE RC

 

 

 

 

 

 

200m Match

 

 

 

3 Oweka Owangho

CRO

22.7

400m Match

 

 

 

5 Darren Wollen

CRO

52.3

800m Match

 

 

 

4 Martin Rowe(M35)

CRO

2.04.2

800 NS

 

 

 

2 James Buchanan

CRO

2.09.7

9 Dave Warren(V50)

CRO

2.48.3

1500m Match and NS

 

 

6 Martin Rowe(M35)

CRO

4.29.8

3000m Match & NS 1

 

 

8 James Buchanan

CRO

9.23.8

3000 NS 2

 

 

 

4 Colin Oxlade(V45)

CRO

10.21.5

11 Matthew Kiernan

CRO

10.49.0

14 Terry Lapins

CRO

11.28.3

20 Dave Warren(V50)

CRO

12.52.5

23 Eric Campbell(V40)

CRO

15.15.3

110m Hurdles Match & NS

 

 

7 Terry Lapins

CRO

21.8

4 x 200m Relay Match

 

 

3 CRO

 

CRO

1.32.6

High Jump Match

 

 

4 Kariym Irving

CRO

1.6

Mervyn Glover SMR NoHt

 

 

Triple Jump Match

 

 

6 Lee McLaughlin

CRO

12.1

Shot Match

 

 

 

5 Kariym Irving

CRO

11.02

Javelin Match

 

 

1 Richmond Baah

CRO

50.77

 

 

 

 

Southern Mens League Division 2 @ Norman Park, 2nd August

 

Croydon Harriers’ senior men have an anxious wait on their hands to discover if they’ve done enough to maintain their Southern league 2nd division status.

 

After finishing third in a high quality five-club fixture at Norman Park on Saturday, the final standings show Croydon top of the six-strong relegation zone.

 

But with the creation of a new national league, meaning many clubs will be taken of the competition potentially the Harriers may have just done enough.

 

On the day, Croydon’s athletes did everything in their power to stay up in an attempt to ensure their fate wasn’t placed in the hands of external factors.

 

Triple jumpers Trever Okoroafor (14.74m) and Chuxx Onyia (14.39m) made a welcome return to the fray, after a season blighted with injuries, finishing ahead of the opposition by over a metre.

 

The Harriers enjoyed similar success in the long jump with Paul Ogun (6.91m) and Kariym Irving (6.19m) also taking the double victory.

 

Ogun then joined his sprint relay team colleagues of Lee McLaughlin, Oweka Wanogho and debutante James Kastye to storm to victory in the 4x100m.

 

Croydon’s fate now lies with the Southern league, who are expected to announce their decision in the next week.  

 

Results

Event

A String

B String

100m

James Kastye 2nd 11.4s

Lee McLaughlin 1st 11.1s

200m

Oweka Wanogho 2nd 22.7s

Darren Wollen 1st 23.0s

400m

Darren Wollen 3rd 51.4s

Martin Rowe 3rd 54.7s

800m

Martin Rowe 2nd 1.59.2

Ian Wright 3rd 2:09.6

1500m

Dave Symons 4th 4:39.6

Martin Rowe 3rd 4:54.8

5000m

Dave Symons 4th 16:06

James Buchanan 2nd 16:13.2

3k Chase

James Buchanan 4th

Terry Lapins 4th

110m H

Terry Lapins 3rd 22.5s

Ian Statter 4th 23.6s

400m H

Terry Lapins 5th 71.2s

Ian Statter 5th 79.7s

Triple Jump

Trevor Okoroafor 1st 14.74m

Chuxx Onyia 1st 14.39m

Long Jump

Paul Ogun 1st 6.91m

Kariym Irving 1st 6.19m

High Jump

Ned Quiney 2nd 1.75m

Kariym Irving 2nd 1.60m

Shot Putt

Richard Irving 2nd 11.09m

Mike Carlisle 2nd 9.98m

Hammer

Chris King 4th 29.75m

Mike Carlisle 2nd 29.62m

Pole Vault

Mike Carlisle 1.80m 5th

 

Javelin

Tony Richards 4th 35.58m

Peter 4th 30.75m

4x100m

Oweka, Lee, Paul, James 1st

 

4x400m

Martin Rowe (56.3s)

Lee McLaughlin (54.4s)

Oweka Wanogho (50.9s)

Darren Wollen (51.5s) 3rd 3:32.9

 

 

 

 

Monaco Grand Prix Results, 29th July

 

400 1st  Martyn Rooney, Britain, 44.72 – new club record

 

 

Croydon Duo Beijing Bound,

 

Croydon Harriers have just experienced one of the finest ever weeks for local athletics with Donna Fraser’s selection for Beijing announced for a third amazing Olympics Games, and the already selected Martyn Rooney storming to sensational victory and his first sub 45sec 400m in front of an ecstatic “home crowd” at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix.

 

Donna, the “Grand Old Lady” of British athletics had proved at the recent UK Championships and Olympic Trials that at 35 that she could still mix it with her younger rivals.  She took third in the 400m and 5th in the 200m in Birmingham two weeks ago. Her charm, experience and talent will be great assets to the British team.

 

The rapidly progressing Rooney, UK Champion and Olympic Trial winner, showed that he meant business right from the start on Saturday at the Crystal Palace  National Stadium, his first few strides clearly making inroads into those of his rivals.

 

Down the back straight his storming performance unravelled, with the understandably “partisan” crowd including a large contingent of Croydon Harrier club mates, urging him on.  Try as they might round the second turn, his toiling rivals could not find a response, and he entered the home straight with a good lead, which he extended with every pace to the finish.

 

Once the significance of his achievement had registered, his biggest ever win and a 44.83sec clocking, the 21 year old Loughborough student from Thornton Heath set off on his well earned lap of honour.

 

En route he acknowledged the applause of the appreciative audience, and in particular a large group of family members led by proud parents Liam and Marie and his thrilled club friends, whom he thanked in the public interview which followed. Asked about further progress he modestly suggested   “If I take things steadily, improvements will come”

 

The run, which saw key British rivals and international Olympic opponents in his wake, elevates Rooney to tenth in the UK All Time rankings, moving him up two places to 10th ahead of 400m legends Chris Akabusi and David Jenkins.

.

 

Closer to home Rooney’s 44.83sec clocking easily eclipsed his own Croydon Harriers record of 45.19sec., set in Switzerland earlier this season.

 

 

Next week, Rooney may make one more appearance in Europe at the Herculis meeting in Monaco before the two Croydon Olympians travel to the UK holding camp in Macao for their final pre Beijing preparations.

 

Photos of Martyn's Club Record

 

 

Mike Fleet , July 27th

 

National Junior League @ Tonbridge School, 27th July

Croydon Harriers junior team ended their National Junior league season on a respectable note on Sunday, with a 5th place finish at Tonbridge.

 

The team bagged seven A-string victories during the afternoon, to ensure that Croydon placed sixth in the overall standings out of the eight competing clubs.

 

U17 Ned Quiney leapt to a new lifetime best in the Pole Vault of 4.25m, a performance that sees him rise to fourth in the national rankings.

 

Also in the field events, Kariym Irving continued his impressive form in the Discus taking victory with a 37.99m throw, while Paul Ogun (6.85m) bowed out of the junior ranks in style finishing on top in the long jump.

 

On the track, the Harriers dominated the sprints and Odette Campbell particularly impressed with a 200m win in 26.3s, adding to her earlier high jump triumph (1.45m).

 

Men (U20s & U17s)

Event

A String

B String

100m

Lee McLaughlin 1st 11.1s

Vincent Auguiste 4th 11.8s

200m

Oweka Wanogho 1st 22.6s

Ehi Oboite 1st 22.9s

110m H

Kariym Irving 3rd 16.8s

Tunde Amuso 3rd 18.3s

High Jump

Ned Quiney 4th 1.80m

Nathaniel Smith 1st 1.75m

Shot Putt

Erasmus Ntim-Dwemoh 2nd 13.87m

Kariym Irving 2nd 11.41m

Javelin

Tunde Amuso 8th 17.61m

Lee McLaughlin 3 fouls…

Hammer

Erasmus Ntim-Dewmoh 2nd 28.26m

Nathaniel Smith 3rd 14.82m

Pole Vault

Ned Quiney 1st 4.25m

 

Discus

Kariym Irving 1st 37.99m

Erasmus Ntim-Dwemoh 2nd 25.77m

Triple Jump

Paul Ogun 2nd 13.43m

Nana Owusu 1st 13.29m

Long Jump

Paul Ogun 1st 6.85m

Tunde Amuso 2nd 5.81m

4x100m

DNF

 

 

Women (U20s & U17s)

Event

A String

B String

100m

Stephanie Braithwaite 5th 12.9s

Odette Campbell 1st 12.9s

200m

Odette Campbell 1st

Stephanie Braithwaite 1st

Long Jump

Lauren Marshall 5th 3.78m

Stephanie Braithwaite 4th 3.40m

High Jump

Odette Campbell 1st 1.45m

 

Triple Jump

Odette Campbell 2nd 9.84m

Lauren Marshall 3rd 8.67m

 

Southern Womens League @ Horsham, 26th July

Croydon’s senior women’s team just missed out on promotion to division one of the Southern league on Saturday, despite a third place finish at Horsham.

 

In what’s undoubtedly been a stand out season for the women, the best in many years, it would be hard to bet against the Harriers achieving promotion in 2009.

 

 

 

Rosenheim League ,Tooting, 23rd July

 

By Matthew Kiernan

Croydon Harriers’ senior men and women booked their place in the Rosenheim league final, with a solid 4th in their final qualifying match at Tooting on Wednesday. The result meant that Croydon finished 3rd overall in the division, comfortably within the top five cut off who qualified for the final.

On the night, Richmond Baah bagged his second victory of the league in the Javelin with a 49.57m effort.

Oweka Wanogho placed 2nd in a high quality 200m with a 22.6s clocking, while Samantha Dyson enjoyed double success in the women’s javelin (22.65m) and shot putt (8.52m).

The Harriers will now turn their attention to the August 13th final, and look to regain the title they won in 2006. 

 

Men

Event

Athlete

Performance

100m

Darren Wollen

3rd 11.8s

200m

Oweka Wanogho

2nd 22.6s

400m

Darren Wollen

4th 52.6s

800m

Ian Wright

4th 2:11.2

1500m

Martin Rowe

3rd 4:20.1

3000m

Matthew Kiernan

15th 10:56.0 (PB)

3000m NS

Dave Warren

27th 12:52.0

2000m Steeplechase

Andy Del Nevo

4th 7:12.1

2000m Steeplechase

Terry Lapins

6th 7:43.5 (SB)

2000m Steeplechase

Colin Oxlade

7th 8:19.9

High Jump

Andy Del Nevo

4th 1.25m

Long Jump

Terry Lapins

4th 5.07m (SB)

Shot Putt

Richmond Baah

5th 8.21m (PB)

Javelin

Richmond Baah

1st 49.57m

4x200m

Terry, Martin, Darren, Oweka

4th 1:37.1

Fixture Result: 4th (53pts) trailing winners Hercules Wimbledon (67pts)

Final League Result: 3rd (27pts) trailing winners Herne Hill Harriers (33.5pts)

 

Women

Event

Athlete

Performance

Javelin

Samantha Dyson

1st 22.65m

Shot Putt

Samantha Dyson

1st 8.52m

Fixture Result: 4th (7pts) trailing winners Serpentine (30pts)

Final League Result: 3rd (27pts) trailing winners Serpentine (42pts)

 

Young Athletes Premier League, 20th July, Eton

 

Croydon Harriers young athletes’ team rounded off their Southern Premier league campaign with a solid third place at Eton on Sunday.

 

Competing against the top two clubs in the division, leaders Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow AC and Blackheath and Bromley Harriers AC, Croydon found themselves in a race for third position.

 

But it was a goal they easily achieved, finishing over 100 points ahead of the already relegated Hastings AC.

 

On the day, the Harriers produced some fine performances and it was team captain Kariym Irving who particularly impressed, taking home the athlete of the match award for his 43.94m effort in the Discus.

 

As has been customary this year, Croydon were most fruitful in the sprints, with five event maximums.

 

Cameron Smith grabbed two grade one wins in the U15 100m (11.6s) and 200m (24.0s), while Twinelle Hopeson blew away the opposition with a double victory in the U17 200m (25.1s) and 300m (39.9s)

 

U13 girls Leona Brako (10.0s) and Jessica Obou (10.4s) ensured maximum points in the 75m, with the latter teaming up with Sherin Irving in the shot putt to gain another maximum.

 

In the U15 1500m, Jordan Maurice romped home in 4:17.2, over ten seconds faster than his nearest opposition.

 

Jacob Paul also took victory in the U15 800m in 2:10.5 and Elliot Safo bagged a grade one victory in the long jump with a leap of 5.98m.

 

Meanwhile Ned Quiney took the spoils in the U17 Pole Vault (4.20m) and High Jump (1.80m) and U15 Faraz Rafi enjoyed similar success in the Discus (34.21m) and Shot Putt (9.11m).

 

Croydon finished the day on a bright note with the U17 boys and U13 girls 4x100m relay teams taking impressive victories, to ensure the club finished the season 9th out of the 16 teams in the division.     

 

Other victories:

 

All A string

U17M Triple Jump    Nana Owusu               12.90m

U13M 200m               Taiwu Kangu              27.8s

U13G 100m               Cleo Patrice-Barbour           12.8s

 

Elmbridge 10k @ Walton, 20th July

 

Position

Time

Athlete

Age Category

98th

39:26

Andy Del Nevo

M40

117th

40:12

David Brown

Senior

124th

40:22

Colin Oxlade

M40

133rd

40:52

Keith Brown

M50

170th

42:32

Matthew Kiernan

Senior

173rd

42:37

Don Faircloth

M50

 

 

UK Gold earns Rooney Beijing Olympic Ticket, Alexander Stadium Birmingham, 13th July

 

Martyn Rooney Croydon’s 400m Olympic prospect ran a confident, storming UK  title winning race at the Alexander Stadium Birmingham on Sunday to confirm his eagerly awaited selection for the Beijing Games. The achievement made him the first male Croydon Harrier UK track champion and the clubs first male Olympian.

 

Comfortable qualification via heat, first in 48.34sec and semi-final easing up second in 46.16sec, saw him well drawn in lane four and without the challenge of nearest rival Andrew Steele, who had sustained a torn hamstring in his semi final.

 

Sharply away, the hugely talented 21 year old never looked at risk, and having stamped his authority over the field by 200m, he had established a convincing lead on entering the home straight. When clocked at 45.32sec, his winning margin had extended to .90sec ahead of runner-up Robert Tobin with newcomer from   Bingham a Briton from the USA, third in 46.28sec.

 

Top ranked UK 400m man Rooney is currently second European and 14ht in the world lists.

 

Rooney’s parents Liam and Marie, and brothers and sister left contented, having travelled up from Thornton Heath to see Martyn get the gold and ensure selection.

 

A contented Rooney declared himself well pleased with his weekends work, and with the Paris and Crystal Palace Grand Prix to sharpen up against world class athletes was looking ahead with eager anticipation.

 

Olympian Donna Fraser, now amazingly a Veteran 35 athlete, certainly made a good shot at gaining Beijing selection, but sadly her fighting third in the 400m in 53.11sec, a season’s best, was not quite good enough. She later finished a very respectable 5th in the 200m in 23.65sec.

 

Up and coming Croydon sprinter James Dasaolu, reached the 100m semi-finals with a second in his heat in 10.43sec (w+1.9) behind the controversial Chambers, before bowing out 4th in his semi-final in 10.48sec.

 

 

Mike Fleet

 

 

 

ESAA Championships Gateshead

 

Croydon Schools athletes competing for Surrey at the English Schools Championships in the Gateshead International Stadium, contributed significantly, helping their county to improve to fourth among the forty-six teams contesting the aggregate title.

 

Trinity hammer thrower Andrew Jordan in a class of his own was top local performer, deservedly taking the intermediate title with an outstanding throw of  65.28m, some 7m clear of his closest challenger.

 

Young middle distance Jordan Maurice tackled the three rounds of the Junior 800m with great maturity, winning comfortably in round one before settling for a sensible second in his semi-final. He ran a tactically near perfect final and took a fine fighting second in 2:01.28 (s/f 2:01.24)

 

Powerful Whitgift intermediate discus thrower Lawrence Okoye managed to get his act together with his final effort which soared smoothly to 48.26m, and lifted him from eighth to second at a stroke.

 

Intermediate St Joseph’s shot putter Michael Wheeler, not fully recovered from injury, did well to take thirdwith a 17.26m put

 

A more predictable silver came Croydon way courtesy the deceptively dynamic Selhurst student Tunde Amosu who cleared 14.78m ahead of fifth placed fellow Croydon Harrier Nana Owusu, an Etonian competing for Berkshire, who cleared a PB of14.02m

 

Archbishop Tenison sprinter Twinelle Hopeson was a close-up fourth in the intermediate girls 200m in 24.97sec (+2.6w). She also anchored the sole Surrey team to make finals. They finished a disappointing sixth.

 

Elliott Safo, Trinity earned a good junior long jump fifth, missing the magic 6m by a centimetre.

 

Fast improving junior sprinter Cleo-Patrice Barbour fought well in the heats to make the 100m final in which she held off the equal timed Essex rival in 12.51sec for a very encouraging 5th.

 

Iintermediate pole-vaulter Ned Quiney, although slightly below par, managed to clear 4.10m to finish 6th and fellow Whitgiftian 100m hurdler Matthew Walcott also finished 6th, clocking 13.60sec (+2w) . Quiney’s effort earned him selection to represent South East England in the UK School Games next month.

 

Trinity senior vaulter Ryszard Buk, although carrying an injury, overcame it and the accompanying wet and windy weather on day one, clearing 4.30m for =6th.

 

Odette Campbell did well to reach the senior girls 400m in 57.25sec, but couldn’t produce a repeat in the final, finishing 8th.

 

 

 

 Ebbisham League

 

Croydon hosted match two of the Ebbisham League at the Arena on Sunday and took a creditable second among the five Division 1 clubs

 

The star performance came from first year U15 Peter Chambers, whose runaway 800m victory in 2:09.6 took him for 136th in the UK rankings to 93rd, an amazing leap for one so young. He also won his 400m in 58.9sec

 

The Harriers U15 triple jumpers, Year 1 Ethan Shakespeare Richards 10.20m and Year 2 Javari Cameron 10.83m scored an event maximum.

 

Joshua Haasz showed up well for the U13s with a determined 5:00.0 1500m victory, plus a big high jump win at 1.44m

 

 

 

Saturday 28th , Sunday 29th, Monday 30th June

 

The six squads enjoyed varying degrees of success, with the Women’s Team the most successful on Sunday finishing a very good third in their twelve club Southern League Division 2 contest at the Croydon Arena.

 

The club boys made a good start in their opening Ebbisham league match at Sutton on Sunday, placing a clear third of five in Division One.

 

The Harriers women continued their progress under team manager Anna Campbell, who led by example, sacrificing her best event to cover others less popular.  The ambitious team, now without versatile thrower Gemma Hammond who has gone to Canada, produced several top quality individual performances while providing effective event cover too.

 

Frustratingly just 18 points behind winners Tonbridge, Croydon could nonetheless be pleased by topping 500 points for the first time and finishing 113 ahead of East Grinstead in fourth.

 

Top hurdler Kayleigh Ferguson made a convincing return after a long lay off to win the 100m hurdles by almost a second in 15.9sec. Odette Campbell was the club’s only other senior winner taking the high jump 1.50m, also running second in the 200., but with two U15s and an U13 coming to the rescue with more firsts and the senior and U15 4x100m relay teams rounding the afternoon of nicely with wins, Croydon certainly enjoyed a fair measure of success.

 

This good team result certainly keeps the promotion door open with one more exciting match in store.

 

Table top situation:-

 

Team

Match Points

League Points

St. Mary’s Richmond AC

1706.5

35

CROYDON HARRIERS

1419.5

31

Tonbridge AC

1377.5

29

Haywards Heath Harriers

1295.5

29

East Grinstead AC

1177.5

26

Seven other clubs follow

 

 

The club men travelled to Thurrock for their Southern League match and their fourth place of five teams was a relief after the two last places which followed their first match win.

 

The Harriers U 20s benefited from a healthier turn out for their Medway Division National League Match at Dartford on Sunday when they finished an improved 4th of 6.

 

In their opening Ebbisham League match, the Croydon boys, without any U17s in the newly introduced events, still managed a very respectable.

 

With both U15 English Schools selections team captain Jordan Maurce and exciting young discus talent Faraz Rafi, top class performances were promised and we were not disappointed. Croydon athletes achieved a promising third place of six and registered eight A string winners.

 

Maurice made a valiant attempt at improving his 1500m best which currently sees him in the UK top 20, but blustery wind and limited opposition conspired against and he finished a valiant victor almost half a minute ahead in 4:23.5.  Training partner a year younger was totally dominant too in his 800m in which he set a PB of 2:11.9. This took the 13 year old Trinity boy to 128th in the UK Rankings.  He also showed a tidy turn of speed in the 400m winning the Y1 event in 60.8sec.

 

Cameron Smith took full advantage of the helpful wind in the high quality Y2 100m which he won in 11.5sec. and Ethan Shakespeare-Richards took second in the Y1 race in 12.7sec and was runner-up too in the Y1 200m in 27.4sec

 

Versatile Jacob Paul scored an interesting double with his Y1 1500m first in 4:55.8 and a triple jump win at 11.31m. Javari Cameron helped the Harriers to maximum triple jump points with his 11.17m effort for B victory.

 

Faraz Rafi shone once again in the Y1 discus in which he improved to 36.03m.

 

The Harriers U13s contributed very well too. Long jumpers Joshua Haasz 4.21m and Michael Tishibola 3.72m, registered a valuable event double, and Haasz ran a strong second in the 800m in 2:29.1

 

The U13 4x200m relay squad concluded the match to perfection with a clear win in 2:10.7.  

 

Both club veteran sections, men and women were successful on Monday evening at the Croydon Arena when they took close second places in their fourth SC Veterans League fixture to improve their current second place challenge against Epsom and Ewell in the six club competition.

 

 

The Croydon men are equal on 30 league points and only trail by 19 match points, 580 to 599.

 

Martin Rowe produced another dominant “gun to tape” 800m in 2:00.7 and Colin Oxlade ran a canny 3K steeplechase to win in 11:38.6

 

22nd-23rd June 2008

 

Rooney enjoys European cup success

 

21 year old Martyn Rooney already ranked European number one over 400m this season, came of age athletically too last Saturday, when he  registered his first international 400m track championship victory with an emphatic individual win in the spar European cup in Annecy.  On Sunday he followed up with a sensational anchor leg in the 4x400, which brought Britain from fifth to second.

 

The exciting young Croydon harrier looking comfortable throughout his race surged through effectively in the final stages to move ahead and take the victory in 45.33sec.  runner-up Claudio Luccienello of Italy clocked 45.57sec while top French hope Leslie john could only finish fourth in 45.78sec.

 

A confident post race Rooney express is enjoyment of the experience and satisfaction with targeted victory. “I know that I can run faster” he said.

 

With overall victory certain for the British men’s team, Rooney set off purposefully on his anchor leg in 5th place in the 4x400m and his fantastic 44.2sec run brought the team home second. The Croydon man was fast closing on the leading Frenchman whose team clocked 3:02.33 ahead of the British who were timed at 3:02.66.  

 

England u20/u23 championships

 

Croydon harrier’s top sprinter James Dassaolu, 6th ranked nationally took the under 23 100m title in very blustery conditions at Bedford.

 

Fastest from the heats in 10.42sec, the Croydon man headed a tight leading trio by .01sec in the final to win the gold medal in 10.40sec.

 

unlucky long jumper Paul Ogun was frustrated by a centimetre in the long jump, in which his best leap of 7.09cm was bettered by a centimetre by the bronze medallist..

 

young triple jump prospect Tunde ammos went up an age group and did well to take u23 silver with distance of 14.88m

 

Croydon young athletes on song again at the arena

 

the Croydon harriers gave top-three club Tonbridge ac a hard run for their money in the UK Athletics Southern Premier League match at the Albert road arena on Sunday, and beat local rivals Herne Hill Harriers, plus Bedford and county into the bargain.

 

boosted by the return of several athletes after exams and the welcome arrival of some promising new recruits, the south Norwood based team was almost up to standard in their tough league.

 

the determined Croydon youngsters, always chasing their Kent rivals, closed dramatically to within 26 points, a mere 2% of those on offer, with a flurry of relay successes which came just too late..

 

many outstanding individual performances featured in a first class team effort.

 

most notable among them were u17 Temi Ladega’s 15.21m winning shot put of 15.21m, a new club record, which made his winning performance for surrey the previous day look like a warm-up effort. other grade 1 results came from talented of u13 girls Leona Brako and Sherin Irving

 

the powerfully graceful Brako ran won a windy 75m in10.37sec, a legal 150m in 19.90sec and also headed the high jump at 1.41m with a basic technique which suggests amazing prospects here.

 

Irving won the 70m hurdles 11.32sec. she also won the shot and was second in the long jump.

 

u17 400m hurdlers Nicholas Spence and Jamie valerian opened the club account on the track with wins in 61.36sec and 65.67sec, while team captain Kariym Irving and David Mitchell did likewise in the discus with distances of 40.91m and 29.19m.  Mitchell won the a javelin at 40.18m, supported by Meshach smith 29.19m ably standing in for the injured Chris Samuel

 

Faraz Rafi, a first year u15, had a good day with seconds in the discus (33.05m) and high jump (1.55m) having finished 4th for surrey the day before.

 

peter chambers was another 13 year old undeterred, by either competing for surrey the day before, or by tackling older boys again the next day.  he ran a really good 1500m to finish second in 4:33.25

 

u17 steeplechaser Scott fanner, also a first year in his age group, did the two day stint to good effect too.  near his best in  his speciality on Saturday in 4:59.9, followed up with a useful 800m  in 2:12.71 and another ‘chase for the harriers premier league team,2nd  in 5:06.80

 

Ned Quiney overcame nasty wind conditions to win the pole vault at 3.80m and paired up successfully with Harry Rogers for high jump double. their respective clearances were 1.75 and 1.70m. Quiney had won for surrey the day before at 4.10m, but then in far more vaulter-friendly conditions.

 

josh  Atille headed both U15 sprints with windy times of 11.84sec and 23.98 sec with Cameron smith making the 100m a Croydon preserve and looked magnificent anchoring the u15 4x100m team to a clear win in 46.4sec.

 

Jordan Maurice produced his now customary destruction of the 800m opposition with a front run 2:05.28 and later anchored the 4x400m squad to a thrilling victory

 

long jumpers Elliott Safo and Javari Cameron scored a Croydon maximum with distances of 5.41m and. 5.12m

 

sharp young sprinter Ayomide Segun was in a class of his own in the u13 100m and 200m with 13.50sec and 28.53sec clockings,

 

the Croydon girls produced a much better balanced contribution, and an u17 hammer maximum from Lauren marshal 18.13mand Nicole Gilliam 16.21m was heartening. Nazarene Montgomery 27.60m won the discus ably supported by Gilliam who took b second her 14.41m throw.

 

Cleo-Patrice Barbour shone for theu15s with a clear 12.77sec 100m win and a close 200m second and 26.84m and Maura Maugham dominated the javelin with her 22.30m best.

 

Once again the Croydon relay runners produced a golden finish, winning six of the nine relays up for grabs.

 

event

agegroup

string

position

performance

windspeed

event

firstname

surname

100

U17M

A

2

11.59

+3.4

100

Dami

Segun

100

U17M

B

1

11.51

2.6

100

Andre

Gibbs

200

U17M

A

2

23.42

0

200

Nathan

Yarde

200

U17M

B

1

23.62

0

200

Dami

Segun

400

U17M

A

4

53.46

 

400

Nicholas

Spence

400

U17M

B

1

54.04

 

400

Elliott

Welch

800

U17M

A

3

02:12.7

 

800

Scott

Fanner

800

U17M

B

3

02:18.8

 

800

Jamie

Thoroughgood

1500

U17M

A

4

04:40.1

 

1500

Ali

Yahe

1500

U17M

B

2

05:05.0

 

1500

Alfie

Keable

3000

U17M

A

3

12:19.4

 

3000

Jamie

Thoroughgood

100mH

U17M

A

2

14.51

+1.6

100mH

Anthony

Cummings

100mH

U17M

B

2

15.46

+1.6

100mH

Jamie

Veldeman

400mH

U17M

A

1

61.36

 

400mH

Nicholas

Spence

400mH

U17M

B

1

65.67

 

400mH

Jamie

Veldeman

1500mSC

U17M

A

2

05:06.8

 

1500mSC

Alfie

Keable

1500mSC

U17M

B

2

05:47.9

 

1500mSC

Ali

Yahe

Shot

U17M

A

1

15.21

 

Shot

Temi

Ladega

Shot

U17M

B

1

12.31

 

Shot

Kariym

Irving

Discus

U17M

A

1

40.91

 

Discus

Kariym

Irving

Discus

U17M

B

2

11.76

 

Discus

Jite

Avwunu

Javelin

U17M

A

1

40.18

 

Javelin

David

Mitchell

Javelin

U17M

B

1

29.78

 

Javelin

Meshak

Smith

Hammer

U17M

A

1

31.40

 

Hammer

David

Mitchell

Hammer

U17M

B

1

30.28

 

Hammer

Kariym

Irving

Long J

U17M

A

2

5.90

5.90

Long J

Nana

Owusu

Long J

U17M

B

2

5.41

 

Long J

Jite

Avwunu

Triple J

U17M

A

1

13.18

13.18

Triple J

Nana

Owusu

Triple J

U17M

B

2

11.76

 

Triple J

Jite

Avwunu

High J

U17M

A

1

1.75

 

High J

Ned

Quiney

High J

U17M

B

1

1.70

 

High J

Harry

Rogers

Pole V

U17M

A

1

3.80

 

Pole V

Ned

Quiney

100

U15B

A

1

11.8

 

100

Josh

Atille

100

U15B

B

1

11.8

 

100

Elliot

Safo

200

U15B

A

1

24.0

 

200

Josh

Atille

200

U15B

B

2

25.2

 

200

Jordan

Bartlett

400

U15B

A

3

55.8

 

400

Jordan

Maurice

400

U15B

B

1

58.6

 

400

Jacob

Paul

800

U15B

A

1

02:05.3

 

800

Jordan

Maurice

800

U15B

B

2

02:19.3

 

800

Kieran

O'Duffy

1500

U15B

A

2

04:33.3

 

1500

Peter

Chambers

1500

U15B

B

3

04:55.9

 

1500

Philip

Wise

80mH

U15B

A

3

12.5

 

80mH

Joe

Yarde

80mH

U15B

B

1

12.7

 

80mH

Javari

Cameron

Shot

U15B

A

3

11.74

 

Shot

Jamal

Blackman

Shot

U15B

B

3

9.64

 

Shot

Faraz

Rafi

Discus

U15B

A

2

33.05

 

Discus

Faraz

Rafi

Discus

U15B

B

2

22.27

 

Discus

Daniel

Fisher

Javelin

U15B

A

2

38.79

 

Javelin

Aaron

Bowers

Hammer

U15B

A

3

24.28

 

Hammer

Daniel

Fisher

Hammer

U15B

B

2

20.49

 

Hammer

Aaron

Bowers

Long J

U15B

A

1

5.41

 

Long J

Elliot

Safo

Long J

U15B

B

1

5.12

 

Long J

Javari

Cameron

High J

U15B

A

2

1.55

 

High J

Faraz

Rafi

High J

U15B

B

1

1.45

 

High J

Javari

Cameron

100

U13B

A

1

13.5

 

100

Ayomide

Segun

100

U13B

B

4

14.9

 

100

Michael

Tshibola

200

U13B

A

1

28.5

 

200

Ayomide

Segun

200

U13B

B

3

30.9

 

200

Jamal

Scott

800

U13B

A

3

02:39.8

 

800

Jacob

Cross

800

U13B

B

4

02:51.7

 

800

David

Burn

1500

U13B

A

3

05:02.8

 

1500

Nick

Ryan

1500

U13B

B

2

05:20.8

 

1500

Kartik

Iver

75mH

U13B

A

1

14.1

 

75mH

Marvin

Burke

75mH

U13B

B

2

16.0

 

75mH

Connor

Maloney

Shot

U13B

A

1

6.87

 

Shot

Kyall

Marshall

Shot

U13B

B

2

5.35

 

Shot

Marvin

Burke

Long J

U13B

A

4

3.78

 

Long J

Kyall

Marshall

Long J

U13B

B

3

3.47

 

Long J

Connor

Maloney

High J

U13B

A

4

1.20

 

High J

Marvin

Burke

High J

U13B

B

3=

1.15

 

High J

Connor

Maloney

100

U17W

A

2

12.9

 

100

Stephanie

Braithwaite

100

U17W

B

4

14.0

 

100

Orika

Riley

200

U17W

A

2

27.6

 

200

Stephanie

Braithwaite

300

U17W

A

3

43.8

 

300

Emma

Barlow

1500

U17W

A

4

05:53.6

 

1500

Emma

Barlow

3000

U17W

A

4

13:52.9

 

3000

Sophie

Shaw

80mH

U17W

A

3

16.1

 

80mH

Charlotte

Campbell

80mH

U17W

B

3

16.1

 

80mH

Lauren

Marshall

Shot

U17W

A

4

6.31

 

Shot

Charlotte

Campbell

Shot

U17W

B

3

6.29

 

Shot

Nazarene

Montgomery

Discus

U17W

A

1

27.60

 

Discus

Nazarene

Montgomery

Discus

U17W

B

2

14.71

 

Discus

Nicole

Gillam

Javelin

U17W

A

4

15.47

 

Javelin

Nazarene

Montgomery

Javelin

U17W

B

4

10.61

 

Javelin

Nicole

Gillam

Hammer

U17W

A

1

18.13

 

Hammer

Lauren

Marshall

Hammer

U17W

B

1

16.21

 

Hammer

Nicole

Gillam

Long J

U17W

A

4

4.27

 

Long J

Orika

Riley

Long J

U17W

B

3

3.77

 

Long J

Charlotte

Campbell

Triple J

U17W

A

2

8.71

 

Triple J

Lauren

Marshall

Triple J

U17W

B

2

8.53

 

Triple J

Stephanie

Braithwaite

100

U15G

A

1

12.8

 

100

Cleo

Patrice Barbour

100

U15G

B

2

13.8

 

100

Grace

Alenane

200

U15G

A

2

26.8

 

200

Cleo

Patrice Barbour

200

U15G

B

2

27.0

 

200

Hadassah

Holder

800

U15G

A

4

02:37.6

 

800

Tisha

Scott

800

U15G

B

4

02:42.7

 

800

Naomi

Wyllie

1500

U15G

A

2

05:31.6

 

1500

Joanne

Burn

1500

U15G

B

3

06:08.0

 

1500

Elizabeth

Liske

75mH

U15G

A

4

13.9

 

75mH

Sachcadena

Walker

75mH

U15G

B

4

26.3

 

75mH

Julia

Bescaran

Shot

U15G

A

3

8.25

 

Shot

Charlotte

Dowding

Shot

U15G

B

2

7.59

 

Shot

Lesha

Hinds

Discus

U15G

A

2

17.74

 

Discus

Leah

Anderson

Discus

U15G

B

2

16.13

 

Discus

Stephanie

Montaque

Javelin

U15G

A

1

22.30

 

Javelin

Maura

Maughan

Javelin

U15G

B

4

7.15

 

Javelin

Hannah

Marshall

Long J

U15G

A

3

4.22

 

Long J

Seraphina

Beh

Long J

U15G

B

2

3.91

 

Long J

Katie

Cameron

High J

U15G

A

2

1.43

 

High J

Seraphina

Beh

High J

U15G

B

2

1.25

 

High J

Stephanie

Montaque

75

U13G

A

1

10.4

 

75

Leona

Brako

75

U13G

B

2

10.9

 

75

Jessica

Obou

150

U13G

A