Massive Medal Haul for the South of England Athletics Academy Athletes at The Hampshire Championships

On the 11th/12th May Multiple Academy athletes descended upon 'The Mountbatten Centre for a warm and sunny (if a bit windy) couple of Track and Field Action. The Academy athletes all represent different clubs but the group train together and the amazing academy setup has inspired many fantastic early season performances bringing home a haul of 8 medals. 3 Gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze

U15 Girls

Oneita Endje was competing in her first Hampshire championship with the aim to get to the semi-final which she achieved emphatically. With a blistering PB of 14.17 into a minus 2.5 headwind (13.92 wind adjusted) would have smashed the 14.38 achieved back in April. In the semi-final Oneita came in a credible 7th but lots of great experience taken and she will be back fitter and stronger next time.

Laila Rawlings (pictured Below) had a very busy day competing in the 100m and the 300m. The 300m was up first and due to there ony being 8 athletes it went straight to a final. Laila had to run a lifetime best to achive a fantastic bronze medal in a super time of 45.09s thrashing the 46.3s achieved a month ago. Thats equates

to a 10m faster time. Then it was on to the 100m Heats qualiying from heat 3 in 2nd place with a time of 13.80s into a minus 2.5 wind (13.56 wind adjusted) After some recovery time it was the semi-final against some tough opposition including teammate Annemiek Van Den Braak. Laila and Annemiek were neck and neck and 2nd and 3rd positions were sorted with the smallest margins with a 13.87s clocking (13.53s wind adjusted). There was then a small wait for the final where Laila competed strongly with another 13.81s clocking to finish in a fanatstic 4th place overall.

Annemiek Van Den Braak coming back from a spell of illness Annemiek took part in the 4th heat of the 100m and came through in 1st place with a time of 13.58s (13.42s wind adjusted) which was close to her personal best. After a short rest it was straight into the semi-final and a battle with team mate Laila eventually gaining 3rd place in a time of 13.92 (13.63 wind adjusted). Agonisingly this put her 1 hundreth of a second outside of the qualifying mark.

Harriett Griffiths-Horrod (Pictured Below) came into the 100m as one of the favourites and she really rose to the occasion in the 1st heat with a blistering Personal Best time of 12.96s (12.74 wind adjusted). This was the first time Harriett had dipped under 13 seconds and really put down a mark qualifying with the fastest time. After some advice about saving some energy in the semi-final Harriett came out and comfortably won the semi-final in a more sedate 13.20s. After a short break Harriett returned for a final that saw her lower her personal best again to 12.85 (12.68 wind adjusted) . This was quick enough to take the

comfortably and seal her first Championship title and Gold Medal

U17 Women

Gabriella Falano came into the 100m in good form and in the top 8 in Hampshire. Being the lower year and an athlete with an August Birthday Gabby was by far the youngest athlete in the event but she did not let that get to her. She qualified from the heat in 2nd place with a 13.36s clocking (13.30 wind adjusted). Going into the final Gabby had qualified 4th fastest and this proved to be her position in the final where she closed the gap on the 3rd place athlete with a time of 13.26s (13.08 wind adjusted). Surely not long before she also goes under the elusive 13 second barrier.

U20 Women

Ellie Doran took part in the 200m on Sunday and after some ups and downs during the winter was just as glad as me to be finally back on the track and competing. There is no doubt Ellie's future is maybe in the 400m(h) but that can come about all in good time. With a 5th place finish in 29.57s (29.28s wind adjusted) Ellie will be looking to race herslf into fitness through the coming months.

Rosa-May Sprake made a shock decision to compete in the discus after a 1 and a half year abscence and limited training but still managed a 4th place finish with a 25 metre throw. Rosa-May will now be in full training with the ambition of taking part in the English Schools Championships and I'm sure she will be working hard in the next few months.

Katherine Brook took part in the 100m straight final at the Sussex Championships and achieved a 5th place finish in a time of 14.01 seconds (13.85s wind adjusted)

Fola Odofin took part in the 100m and 200m in the U20w category for the first time. Qualifying in 2nd place for the 100m final in 12.54s (12.44 wind adjusted). After a long wait the final then took place with Fola finishing in 4th place in 12.89s (12.61 wind adjusted) . On Sunday the 200m took place with Fola taking part for the first time in a few years. Unfortunately the headwind had persisted from the previous day so times were always going to be affected. After the disappointment of the previous day Fola stormed through to the final in first place with a 26.54s clocking (26.27 wind adjusted). Then came the final and Fola fought out the finish with Portsmouths Lily Baggott finishing in Silver Medal position in a fantastic 26.06s (wind adjusted 25.77). This would go down as a turning point for Fola who will now look to push on over the 200m distance throughout the season.

U13 Boys

Noah Foxcroft-Boyd competed in a very competitive U13 Boys 100m and cruised through the heats with a 14.45s clocking (14.03 wind adjusted) and first place as well. Straight into the final and Noah fought hard in the last 20 metres timing a fantastic dip over the line in a time of 14.01s. After a little wait it was decided that the 2nd place would be a dead heat and Noah proudly recived his well deserved silver medal

Draken Beattie-Williams competed on both days starting with the U13 Boys 200m on the Saturday where he progressed to the final with a time of 29.75 (29.57 wind adjusted). He then moved on to the Long Jump which unfortunately was in the pit jumping into a headwind. This meant that the run ups were difficult to judge and Draken ended the competition in 6th place with a jump of 3.96m. This was way below what Draken can achieve and he will be looking to make this point in future competitions. Then it was on to the final of the 200m where Draken finished in 8th position. Then on to Sunday and the 100m where Draken took part in Heat 3 where he finished an unlucky 4th with a time of 15.03s (14.70 wind adjusted).

U15 Boys

Benjamin Wilson took part in 2 events wight next to each other in the program and swapped betwen the 2 with his first jump of 4.93m (Massive PB) eventually gaining a bronze medal in 3rd place. He then went on to run in the 200m but suffered from cramp coming down the home straight. Still a fantastic achievement on his county champs debut. On Sunday Ben took part in the 100m finishing one place off of qualification in fourth with a Personal Best time of 13.81s (13.65s wind adjusted)

Remy Deegan took part in the 200m on the Saturday and cruised through the heat in a great time of 24.66 (24.43 wind adjusted). Last year Remy dominated the U13 championships winning the 100m, 200m and 800m, a feat never achieved before in the championships 100 year history. This year Remy had to compete against older athletes and in the final he chased home the 1st 2 athletes finishing in 3rd position and gaining a Bronze Medal

U20 Men

Isaac Fatunwase arrived later on in the day with the final of the U20 mens 200m being a straight final at 2.50pm. Issac running in lane 3 came home in a respectful 6th Place with a time of 24.41s (24.14s wind adjusted)

Benjamin Boyle is a long standing SETAFA AC athlete and has been steadily improving each year. Now in the U20M age bracket Ben found himself in a straight 100m final at 4.30pm. With the pressure on in this new older age category Ben still managed to finish in a respectful 6th position with a time of 11.93s (11.87s wind adjusted). Maybe not the result Ben was hoping for but after some issues with growth pains taking part was just the boost needed to now push on in the rest of the season.

Zac Williams had a very busy weekend starting with the 400mh early on Saturday morning. Zac had an injury in February and was not expecting to even be taking part but hard work in training had brought forward what was his season opener. Zac was soon glad this was the case attacking the race and holding on in the last 50m to win his first Gold Medal in a time of 57.50s. Then it was on to the 200m where race sharpness played a role with Zac comming through in 5th position in 23.98 (23.71 wind adjusted). back for a straight 400m final on Sunday Zac looked fresh and stormed through winning his 2nd gold medal of the weekend in a great time of 52.02s

Matthew Childs took part in the Sussex Championships and raced well in the 200m coming home in 4th place in a time of 24.74s into a -0.8 wind.

V40 Veteran Men

Kevin Wheeler taking part in the Senior Mens 100m was hoping for a place in the final and was very close with a clocking of 13.60s (13.26 wind adjusted). A fantastic time just coming back from Covid and time away from training. Things can only get better.