TRACK & FIELD REPORTS 2006
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Following a couple of years where athletic performance has allowed Cwmbran Harriers to slip from the limelight, this winters continuing success means that at last clubs are now starting to respect Cwmbran Harriers as a force in Welsh athletics again. Following on from the continued success of the clubs cross country teams, now the indoor season is in full swing, and last weekend saw further gains by all Harrier athletes at the Welsh Indoor Track & Field Championships in Cardiff. Cwmbran finished with an incredible 27 medals from 2 days of competition, 9 gold, 7 silver and 11 bronze helped Cwmbran finish in 6th place in the medals table, but with 7 medals more than 5th placed Bridgend and some 14 medals ahead of Newport Harriers.
Pride of place in the male field events goes to Craig Offord, who managed a superb 2nd place in the Under 15 boys Long Jump with 4m 78cm only 10cm behind the winner. Craig also managed a respectable 7th in the shot, just beaten by fellow team mate Josh Bussell who managed 8m 53cm, while brother Jason Offord managed 7th in the Under 13 boys shot and 7th in the Long Jump.
In the female field events, Natasha Lewis produced a superb 3m-91cm Long jump to take the bronze medal. Special mention and praise must go to Rachel Bevan who managed 15th in the Under 15 Girls Shot with 5m 94cm, and 8th in the Long Jump with 4m 11cm. These were the only 2 girls who competed in the field!
Cwmbran have had a fine, long tradition of producing fine sprinters, and this seasons athletes continued in their winning ways. Natasha Lewis and Cerys Norvill finished 6th & 7th in the U13 Girls 60m event, whilst Rachel Bevan (7th), Hanna Clarke (4th) and Rhiane Powell (6th) couldn’t get through the heats of the U15 Girls event. Jessica Hinwood did manage an impressive 2nd in her heat but did not contest the Final. Jessica went on to save it all for the 200m where she cruised through the 1st heat, had for her a disappointing semi-Final which cost her a place in the A Final, but then produced a masterful run in the ‘B’ final to win the gold medal. Claire Williams streaked to a very impressive win in her heat in 8.28sec, and just missed a medal in the final finishing in 4th place, although she did improve on this in the 200m winning her heat in 27.37sec, was 2nd in her semi final, and then managed to comfortably hold on to finish 3rd in the ‘A’ Final
In the U17 Girls, Emma Reynolds couldn’t get through the heats finishing 7th, while Grace Bird managed 8th in the U20 women’s final.
In the 200m, apart from Claire and Jessica already mentioned Natasha Lewis continued her fine weekend, only falling at the semi final stage in the U13 Girls 200m, while teammate Cerys Norvill managed 3rd in her 200m heat. Rhiane Powell finished 4th in the U15 Girls 200m, but Hannah Clark showed fine form to finish 2nd in her heat, easily won her semi final, and then chased Jessica Hinwood hard in the ‘B’ final and just held on to take the bronze medal. Emily Reynolds managed 3rd and Kathryn Davies 4th in their heats of the U17 races. Grace Bird managed 2nd in her heat of the U20 series, but Bryony Turnbell ran very impressively to finish 3rd in the final in 27.06sec. While in the sprint hurdles, Harriett Leek managed 6th in the U15 Girls event.
There appears to be real talent over the slightly longer 300m and 400m events, where Teri Evans eased through her U17 Girls 300m semi final and then really held on well in the final to claim 3rd place in 42.63sec. In the U20 400m Jessica Dickson showed she is really returning to form following a long injury lay-off by finishing 2nd in the final in 59.04 and then produced an even better performance in her preferred longer distance of 800m easily winning the final in 2.15.44sec.
Once again, the girl middle distance runners ran outstandingly. Bethan Woods managed 3rd in the U17 800m Girls in 2.22.96 and then improved to take 2nd in U17 Girls 1500m, while Benytta Doman won the U15 Girls 800m race in 2.24.19. She was followed home by Natasha Cockram (4th) and Steffie Wright (5th), in this race, but these girls were obviously saving their best for the 1500m where Natasha was very impressive finishing in 5.07.02 to take the silver medal, and in probably the most exciting finish of the day, Steffie overhauled Kristie O’connell of Cardiff to take 3rd place in 5.08.53.
In the boy’s track events, Thomas Norton, Rhys Knight, Luke Gardner, Lewis Hinwood and William Jenkins all fell at the heat stages in the Under 13-17 boys 60m race. while Tom Bradbury, Jamie Mayers and Daniel Jenkins all progressed to the final of the U17 Boys 60m. In a very close blanket finish, Daniel was placed 8th in 7.60, Jamie 4th in 7.48, but Tom Bradbury was pipped for the title and had to settle for silver in 7.17. While in the U20 mens 60m Simon Thompson managed to make the final finally finishing in 7th place, while Iain Hunt managed only 4th in his heat and was eliminated.
In the 200m races, Tom Bradbury was again the star, cruising through his heat, and then in a battle royal down the home straight held on manfully to win the U17 title in 22.77 sec. Jamie Mayers, made it through the heats, but was eliminated in the semi finals while Daniel Norton on this occasion couldn’t make it through a very tough heat. In the Under 15 boys all runners; Luke Gardner, Lewis Hinwood and Christopher Spencer went the same way, all getting through tough qualifying heats, and in giving it all getting through all fell in the semi final heats. In the Under 13 boys, Daniel Spencer couldn’t make it through from the heats, but Thomas Norton did really well to get to the final and then in a titanic battle just missed a medal, finishing 4th in 31.13sec. Finally, Simon Thompson making up for the disappointment of the 60m turned on the style in the 200m and ran away from a strong line up to easily win, in 23.47.
In the sprint hurdles Daniel Jenkins produced the performance of the day. Daniel who is showing great promise in this most technical of events, smoothly powered away from all finalists to win the U17 60m hurdles in 8.69 sec. The nearest challenger came in at over 9 seconds. The margin of victory over 60m was very impressive. Jamie Gutteridge tried to chase Daniel in the same final and could be pleased with his 6th place finish, while Ross Ward, fresh from running the 800m, found it very hard going and did not progress from the U13 Boys heats.
The 400m races produced above average performances. Simon Barnard, returning to the track came comfortably through his heat and then showed improving form to finish 3rd in the final in 53.11 sec. Also in the 400m Under 17 race, Nathan Felvus easily won his heat in 53.73 sec and then held on well to finish 3rd in the final in 53.70 sec. Daniel Lester was warming up for his 800m race and ran a personal best 55.21 sec but could not advance to the final of the 400m.
The 800m & 1500m produced some good performances. Elliott Hardee had an outstanding weekend. He totally dominated both the U13 boys 800m and 1500m races. He won the 800m in 2.27.16 sec and then streaked away from all runners to take the 1500m title in 4.52.08. Elliott being the only athlete of the weekend to win 2 races. In a field of outstanding athletes was James Hanrahan who also produced incredible performances. James took the bronze in the 800m, and then in an incredible finish, stole the 1500m bronze on the line to take a massive amount off his personal best. Not to be outdone Nathan Hardee had a good run in the U17 boys 1500m finishing 2nd in a strong race, but saved his best for the 3000m where he destroyed the field to win by some 17 seconds. While in the Boys Under 15 800m & 1500m races Daniel Lester and Jamie Bussell had their own private battle. Daniel had the better of it in the 800m where Daniel finished 4th and Jamie 5th, while Jamie then went better in the 1500m final where he gained a much deserved bronze medal. Gavin Hanrahan on the fitness come back trail acquitted himself well finishing 2nd in the 3000m at U20 level and 5th in the 1500m. there was also a good performance from Ross Ward who finished in 6th place in the Under 13 boys 800m.
GOLD MEDALISTS
Elliott Hardee - 800m & 1,500m
Daniel Jenkins - 60m Hurdles
Tom Bradbury - 200m
Nathan Hardee - 3,000m
Simon Thompson - 200m
Benytta Doman - 800m
Jessica Dickson - 800m
Jessica Hinwood - 200m B
SILVER MEDALISTS
Gavin Hanrahan - 3,000m
Craig Offord - Long Jump
Natasha Cockram - 1,500m
Jessica Dickson - 400m
Tom Bradbury - 60m
Nathan Hardee - 1,500m
Bethan Woods - 1,500m
BRONZE MEDALISTS
Bethan Woods - 800m
Claire Williams - 200m
Hannah Clark - 200m B
Steffie Wright - 1,500m
Teri Evans - 300m
James Hanrahan - 800m & 1,500m
Nathan Felvus - 400m
Simon Barnard - 400m
Jamie Bussell - 1,500m
Natasha Lewis - Long Jump
After gaining promotion to Division 1 at the end of last season, the seniors were supported superbly by our U20's to clinch 4th place in the competitive Welsh Seniors League.
The afternoon kicked off with a fine 1st and 2nd for Afan Humphries (9:08.9) and Gavin Hanrahan (9:20.6) in the 3000m. Claire Thompson (12:13.3) put in a good sprint finish to gain 4th in the women's race.
Our sprinters also had a fine day - Simon Thompson (10.9) 2nd place with a PB in the 100m, and 1st place in the 200m (22.7). In the B-races, Simon Barnard (11.7) equalled his 100m PB for 3rd, and put in a (24.0) 3rd for the 200m. Sian Rendell flew the women's team flag with 5th places in both the 100m (14.0) and 200m (29.9). Ieuan Thomas kept the sprinters going, with 3rd in the 400m in (52.9) and as a guest in the 200m (24.7).
In the 800m, Aysha Doman fought bravely to hold off the pack to win in (2:30.6). Dan Lester ran in 4th in the men's race in (2:07.7). Our middle distance runners backed up their earlier performances in style - putting daylight between themselves and the chasing field - Gavin Hanrahan winning the 3000m S/C in (10:48.2) and Afan Humphries winning the 1500m in (4:15.1).
Valuable points were picked up in the field by Dave Connolly (9.49m) in the shot, Iain Hunt (5.75m), and Dave (4.99m) in the Long Jump (I was robbed by 1cm !!!!!), Dan Lester 3rd in the Triple Jump (10.77m), and Dave Connolly again, 3rd in the Discus (31.70m) and Javelin (31.15m).
The day was rounded off nicely with 2 wins in the men's relays.
4x100m (46.9) (Team - Dave Connolly, Iain Hunt, Simon Barnard, Simon Thompson)
4x400m (3:46.3) (Team - Dan Lester, Gavin Hanrahan, Afan Humphries, Ieuan Thomas)
With several excellent individual performances put in throughout the day, the team pushed clubs with many more athletes all the way.
A big thanks to the U20's and their coaches for their support.
Next match 3rd June - Brecon.
Team Stats:
Men's Track - 1st
Women's Track - 5th
Men's Field - 6th
Women's Field - =7th (no athletes)
Daniel Jenkins hurdled his way to gold at the Welsh Indoor Championships in Cardiff. Daniel who competes in the U17 age group set a new personal best of 8.69secs taking him to seventh in the UK standings to claim his first National title.
Daniel is under the guidance of Kris Jones, a Great Britain and Welsh hurdler. Daniel’s next aims are to attempt to win the outdoor championships and represent Wales at International level. The newly developed sprint hurdles squad had some other positive results at the Championships with several athletes claiming personal best performances.
With the new athletics season upon us, Cwmbran Harriers are set to start the New Year in fine style with a newly developed sprint hurdles squad, coached by GB and Welsh International Kris Jones.
The Squad consists of some promising talent for the new season with former Welsh Schools finalists and medallists among the group. The squad have also been fortunate to be helped out with clothing from Positive Signs of Trethomas.
Cwmbran Harriers Hurdles squad won 6 gold medals and 3 silvers in the Hurdles events and a total of 13 medals on the day at the recent East Wales Championships at Newport Stadium. The new Hurdles squad has grown from strength to strength in the past year and is now the dominant team in the East and one of the top hurdle squads in the country.
Sam Seabourne U17 started the day for the Hurdles squad in his debut at the 400m Hurdles. Sam who has stepped up from the sprint hurdles put in a fine performance to claim the victory and take his first athletics title. Sam has now set up an interesting rivalry with training partner Jamie Gutteridge who was absent from the Championships. Daniel Jenkins continued the winning streak for the hurdles events with a gold medal winning performance to beat the senior athletes whilst competing in the U17 age group. Daniel now turns his attention to capturing the remaining two Welsh Championships this season after taking the indoor title.
Laura James competing in the U17 Women’s age group was the highlight of the day comfortably winning the 80m Hurdles event after stepping up from the u15 age group. She clearly showed that she is an athlete to look out for in the next few seasons. Daniel Sharrem held off strong competition in the U15 boys 80M Hurdles. Daniel who has made a welcome return to the track after missing the indoor season through a broken ankle. Daniel adapted to the new height and distance and showed why he was one of the top U13’s in the country last season.
Harriett Leek U15 girl is making vast improvements in the Hurdles event and is improving race by race. Since joining up with the Hurdles squad she has lowered her time in the hurdles by almost 2 seconds. Harriett claimed her first title at the championships. Jemma Cox U15 made her debut at the Sprint hurdles events at the recent East Wales championships and took an impressive silver medal behind training partner Harriett.
Megan Goochild U13G held on to win her first regional title in only her second outing for the Cwmbran Harriers team and shows great potential in the hurdles event. Kai Lowe U13B also won a silver medal to add to the squads tally on the day and showed great determination and ability to come through to take second place.
Squad member Joe Blackmore had a busy day collecting 1 gold and 2 silver medals competing in the U15 Boys 300m, 200m and Shot Putt Events. After returning to the track after a busy winter playing rugby and football, Joe has great potential to make Welsh championship finals.
In the next few months the hurdles squad aim is to get as many members as it can to the Welsh schools and Welsh club championships finals and to add to the one member already on the Spar Sprint Hurdles excellence centre programme. There will also be the introduction of two new hurdles coaches to set up a development squad along side the more elite hurdles at the club.
Cwmbran Harriers Hurdles squad competed in the Welsh Junior League at Carmarthen Athletics Track. With atrocious weather conditions the Hurdles squad performed beyond expectations. Daniel Jenkins U17M 100m Hurdles went up against the silver and bronze medallists from the indoor Welsh Championships and once again took his performance to another level. Daniel set a new P.B of 14.3 secs beating second and third placed Carmarthen and Cardiff Athletes who recorded times of 14.9 and 15.0 secs. Daniel will aim to improve on his personal best performance when he goes up against one of the top U17 hurdlers in the country from Bath at Tipton on the 3rd June.
Laura James also claimed a Personal Best and beat some of the top U17 women hurdlers in the country. Going up against Carmarthen and Pembroke athletes that previously beat Laura last season at U15. Laura powered her way through to take a confidence boosting victory and showed the progress she has made since joining up with the hurdles group after deciding to leave the longer distance races behind her.
Harriett Leek is continuing to make improvements in the U15G events and recording a new P.B at almost every opportunity this season. Harriett continued her winning ways and recorded a time of 13.3 secs to beat many athletes that were along way in front of Harriett in the indoor season.
Daniel Sharrem is making good progress in the U15B age group and using the competition season as a fitness boost after missing most of the year with a broken ankle. Daniel is adapting well to the new age group and recorded his 2nd win in three outings this season beating older East Wales athletes and also setting a new personal best performance.
Kai Lowe competed in his second hurdles race of the year after picking up a silver medal at the East Wales Championships. Kai competing in the U13B age group improved on his personal best and silver medal position to take a much deserved victory over Cardiff athletes.
With Seven members of the squad missing from the trip to Carmarthen due to various reasons. The squad still managed to pick up a total of 5 wins from 5 athletes in the hurdles group.
Squad member Will Jenkins U17 who has turned his attention to Long Jump has made great progress in the event with no coaching he has won at the recent NYAL at Cardiff and came second in the WJL this season. His main focus however still remains on the sprint events.
In other news Congratulations must go to Daniel Jenkins U17M, Laura James U17W, Harriett Leek U15G and Jamie Gutteridge U17M who have all qualified through their local schools championships and South East Wales schools championships on Thursday the 25th May. All four members will represent South East Wales schools in the Welsh Schools Finals on the 1st July.
Cwmbran Harriers made the coach journey to Tipton to compete in the Third National Young Athletes league match of the season. Going up against the English teams of Bath, Swindon and Tipton; it turned out to be another successful day for the Cwmbran Harriers Hurdles team.
The U15 pairing of Harriett Leek and Daniel Sharrem were the highlights of the day recording personal best performances. Harriett is growing in confidence with each race and once again held off strong competition to set another P.B of 13.2 secs. Daniel Sharrem produced his best performance of the season so far to come back and then hold off the Bath athlete on the line to take the victory and a new personal best of 14.0 secs over the 80m Hurdles.
Daniel Jenkins made the trip to Tipton but didn’t get the race he was hoping for against Baths top U17 Hurdler's. However Daniel took an easy victory in the 100m Hurdles by beating his nearest competitor by almost 2 seconds.
Jamie Gutteridge also had a far from satisfactory day, making the trip to Tipton he expected far stronger competition than he got. Jamie easily won the 400m Hurdles race in a comfortable 64.0 secs.
The Hurdlers kept up their impressive record in the Midlands Division 1 West. With four hurdlers claiming four wins for the Hurdles team.
With many Hurdlers deciding not to compete in the South East Wales League next weekend Daniel Sharrem will be the only sprint hurdler for the team going in the 80m race. Daniels brother James Sharrem will make his debut in athletics in the 75m race for U11 Boys. Jamie Gutteridge will also race over the 400m flat rather than his normal hurdles event.
Cwmbran Harriers hurdles group made the trip to Neath on the 17th June to compete in the Second Welsh Junior League of the season. On the day Cwmbran Hurdlers found themselves in what could be classed as a Welsh Championships rehearsal. Going up against quality hurdlers from Cardiff, Carmarthen, Swansea and Bridgend.
With so much hurdling talent on display Cwmbran Harriers Hurdlers did themselves proud and made the whole of Wales aware that a very talented squad is developing in Cwmbran that has been missing for several years.
Jamie Gutteridge was the highlight of the day in what was a very determined run and a confidence boosting display over the U17M 400M Hurdles. Going up against the Cardiff athlete who is ranked second over the discipline in the country this season, Jamie produced a very smart race. Deciding to opt for a more controlled first 200m over the distance and keeping something for the latter part of the race Jamie nearly upset the odds and if not for a mistake over the final barrier would have took the victory but he settled for a P.B of 60.9s taking nearly 2 seconds off his previous best. Jamie who is a first year in the U17 age group and has only moved up to the 400m Hurdles in late March after a decision by his coach, has shown great promise over the longer hurdles.
Daniel Jenkins was once again put in a Welsh Championships Final Scenario going up a against the 2nd and 3rd Ranked hurdlers in the country this season. In a hard fought contest over the barriers Daniel once again showed the strength to pull away and set another P.B for the season of 14.2 seconds. In the last few weeks Daniel has had to cope with not only the expectations on the Track but also Exam pressure in which he has done successfully. With the Welsh Schools and club championships in the next few weeks Daniel can now concentrate on settling down to some technical preparation.
In the U15 Boys Race it was one of the races of the day with an AAA’s Indoor winner in the field and also an AAA’s pentathlon winner. With such a high standard field new member’s Rhydian Wilson and Daniel Shareem produced outstanding displays of hurdling. Rhydian clocked a time of 11.9 to push the British champions to the line and also Daniel who is a first year in the age group won the B race and set a new lifetime best of 13.9 secs.
Harriett Leek in the U15G age group also put in an exceptional performance after a poor start to once again set another P.B with a time of 13.0 secs.
Jenny won a pair of gold medals and set British records in the 100m and 200m. Daniel also took gold in the 400m and two silvers in the 100m and 200m.
While Jenny and Daniel were on the glory trail in Blackpool other Cwmbran Harriers were competing in the fourth National Young Athletes League match at Newport against the host club, Gloucester and Bromsgrove & Redditch. The Harriers completed their first win of the season and set a staggering 42 personal best performances on the day. Cwmbran's notable performances came from:-
U17 Men - Jamie Mayers 100m - 11.6, Nathan Felvus 400m - 52.6, Daniel Lester 400m - 54.8, Gareth Lewis 800m - 2:07.9, Johnathon Peters shot - 20.3, Aled Hughes discus - 20.42, Javelin 21.04
U17 Women - Teri Evans 100m - 13.4, 200m - 27.5, Aysha Doman 300m - 45.3, 800m 2:30.1, Emma Reynolds 300m - 46.9, Kathryn Davies 100m - 13.9, Laura James 80m hurdles - 12.7
U15 Boys - Joe Blackmore 100m - 12.4, 200m - 25.9, Lewis Hinwood 100m - 12.6, 200m - 25.9, Daniel Sharrem hurdles - 13.8, Gareth Davies discus 15.41, Craig Offord high jump - 1.40
U15 Girls - Claire Williams 100m - 12.9, Jessica Hinwood 100m - 12.9, Hannah Clarke 200m - 26.8, Benytta Doman 800m - 2:22.5, Lora James 800m - 2:33.4, Harriet Leek 75m hurdles - 12.8
U13 Boys - Tyron Blake 100m - 14.8, long jump - 3.85, Marcus Price 800m 2:30.3, James Hanrahan 800m - 2:23.2, Ryan Lester long jump - 3.41
With six first team Hurdlers missing it was left to Daniel Sharrem, Harriett Leek and Laura James to lead the way.
In what can be considered a very poor turn out from the travelling and home teams on the day it left Cwmbran Harriers on a whole with very little competition. The hurdlers were far in advance of their nearest rivals and the younger members of Daniel Shareem and Harriett Leek were the highlights for the Hurdles squad in the U15 age group.
Harriett Leek learnt from her poor start from the weekend before and reacted to the gun in fine style to lead from start to finish and once again lowered her P.B to 12.8 secs to take her tally of breaking her P.B to ten times this season and shows how far she has come since recording a time of 15 secs under a year ago. Daniel Sharrem was left to what can be considered as a training run but he still managed to lower his P.B to 13.8 secs.
Laura James made a welcome return to the Track after a three week absence and after a poor start she managed to find the form that everyone knows she is capable of to move away from her English counter part after the second hurdle and easily win in a time of 12.7 secs.
Laura James, Daniel Jenkins, Jamie Gutteridge, and Harriett Leek will be part of the South East Wales Team competing in the Welsh Schools Championships next Saturday. With many of the athletes in the first year of the age group they will be looking to try and finish as high as possible and hopefully bring away a medal or two.
South East Wales Schools Hurdlers who are all based at Cwmbran competed in the Welsh Schools Championships at Brecon on July 1st. With the best hurdlers in the country on display Jamie Gutteridge, Laura James, Daniel Jenkins and Harriett Leek produced outstanding displays in the most technical of events.
Daniel Jenkins lived up to his pre-favourite status and smashed his P.B in the 100m Hurdles race to record a time of 13.85s and claim his first Welsh Schools title to add to his Welsh Indoor Title. Daniel also picked up the Colin Jackson Award for best hurdles performance on the day. Daniel will almost certainly fly out to Scotland to claim his first International vest in two weeks time
First years in the U17 age group Jamie Gutteridge and Laura James both won silver medals. Jamie who recently moved up to the longer 400m Hurdles ran a tactically perfect race and showed great strength in the latter part to take the runner up spot. Laura James a technically talented hurdler, finally displayed the talent that she has been promising and won her first Welsh schools medal in a new P.B of 12.47s just missing out on gold by the narrowest of margins. Jamie and Laura are also currently ranked number one in the country for their age.
Harriett Leek who claimed her first South East Wales vest put in a creditable performance on the day and showed how far she has come in a small space of time and is a promising talent in the younger age group and will no doubt reach her potential in the coming seasons.
Cwmbran Harriers Hurdlers were on the Glory Trail at the recent U13/U15 and U17/U20 Championships and they didn’t disappoint.
Daniel Jenkins U17m 100m Hurdler completed the Hat-trick of Welsh Championship titles in what were windy and wet conditions. Daniel did enough to secure the gold medal from the battling Carmarthen athlete in a time of 14.1 secs. Daniel was also awarded this week the Colin Jackson Award for the best Hurdles performance at the recent Welsh Schools Championships. Daniel now turns his attention to representing Wales in the British Schools International at Grangemouth where his aim will be to medal in his first International.
First year in the U17 age group Jamie Gutteridge was an athlete on a mission. Jamie ran a very cautious first 200m and produced the finish of the Championships to put in a last gasp burst to take the Silver medal and prove that he is the Second best 400m Hurdler for U17s and Number one for his age group. Jamie also produced a P.B of 60.5 secs. Jamie will be hoping to turn the two silver medals this season into Gold when he tops the age group next season.
Laura James U17 continued to impose her position as number one for her age winning the bronze medal in the 80m Hurdles beating many athletes that were in front of Laura last season and was the first athlete home for her age. Laura cannot stop smiling after finding out that she will also be part of the Welsh Schools International Team to travel to Grangemouth.
With expectations of medals on the older athletes in the age group the U15 athletes of Daniel Sharrem and Harriett Leek produced the performances of the weekend at Carmarthern. With strong head winds in the sprint events both athletes qualified convincingly through the heats and put in pleasing performances in the final both finishing in creditable fifth positions.
Group members Joseph Blackmore also won his first Championship medal taking bronze in the U15 300m. Will Jenkins contesting his first Long Jump at a Championship leapt to a Silver medal in the U17 age group.
Two Cwmbran Harriers represented Wales at the British Schools International at Grangemouth on July 15th. Hurdlers Daniel Jenkins and Laura James made the plane trip to Scotland last weekend to earn their first Welsh International Athletics vests competing against the best from all over the United Kingdom.
Competing on a new stage Daniel showed no nerves in going up against the best in Britain and once again put in an excellent performance over the 100m Hurdles to take the Bronze medal in a time of 13.93 secs. This was a huge achievement for Daniel, and he was the only Welsh Sprint Hurdler on the day to come away with a medal. Although not one of Daniels better races by his own admission after a mistake at hurdle three cost him dearly, but it was his second sub 14secs clocking of the season.
Daniel added the medal to his array of honours this summer where he holds all three Welsh Championship titles indoor and out and was also awarded the Colin Jackson award for best Hurdles performance at the recent Welsh Schools Championships. Daniel has two more International competitions this season as he will be making the trip to Ireland to represent Wales in the Celtic Games in the next few weeks where he will have the added pressure of starting as favourite. He will also be making the return trip to Scotland to represent Wales in the UK Schools Games in Scotland a 2012 Olympics funded event for future stars. Daniel has already achieved so much in his first full year in Athletics and with his willingness to succeed there is without doubt still a lot more success to come his way.
Training partner Laura James whose ambition was to represent Wales (and is still smiling now!) is only in her first year in the U17 age group and she put in a worthy performance in the girls 80m Hurdles recording a time of 12.49 secs just outside her personal best performance. In what was a valuable learning experience for Laura it has also given the desire to return next season with the Welsh Schools team and follow Daniels example in medalling at the British Schools International. After deciding to change coach and concentrate on her hurdling at the end of last season Laura has with out doubt had her best season ever. Laura is ranked number one in the country for her age and has picked up two Welsh Championship medals this season and will be the hurdler to watch in the future where she is going from strength to strength. Both hurdlers are to be congratulated on excellent performances and are sure to have bright futures a head.
Cwmbran Harriers Hurdlers made the trip to Newport on July 29th for the Welsh Junior League. With many of the Hurdlers not competing due to various reasons it was left to Jamie Gutteridge, Laura James and Harriett Leek to lead the way.
Jamie Gutteridge was the highlight of the day in the 400m Hurdles in what were very wet & blustery conditions. Jamie put in one of his best technical runs over the barriers for the season and with no real competition for the Welsh Silver medallist he easily pulled away from the rest of the field. The biggest regret for Jamie was that he eased down over the latter part of the race and missed an opportunity to go sub 60secs. However his time of 60.5secs was just outside his personal best performance. Jamie’s next target for the season will be the Inter Regional finals where he will be representing East Wales.
Laura James U17 took time out from the 80m Hurdles and took part in his first ever 300m Hurdles. In what was a very strong field Laura surprised many people by winning her league match and coming 3rd overall in a time of 48.5 secs which makes her the third fastest Welsh Athlete this season. However Laura found the event a lot harder than her shorter sprint hurdles event and is still recovering now!
Harriett Leek the surprise package of the season was once against put in one of the strongest Welsh line ups in the U15G 75M Hurdles this season and she didn’t disappoint holding off the Swansea Harrier to take third position. Harriett is getting closer by each race to the leading athletes in Wales and could not have asked for a better start to hurdling this season.
Over the last 2 weeks there has been a wave of optimism around Cwmbran that the Harriers are showing signs of real progress both on and off the track.
The final medal tables from this summers track and field championships, comprising Under 13’s, Under 15’s, Under 17’s, Under 20’s and Senior athletes show that Cwmbran lie 4th overall, with only heavyweights, Carmarthen, Cardiff and Swansea ahead of the Gwent club. This success is led by some outstanding junior athletes coming through a competitive system, which indicates that although overall standards in Wales are not keeping up with our rivals over the border, in Cwmbran we are bucking the trend. As Andrew Watkins was the only senior athlete to gain a medal at the major Welsh Championships this year of the 32 medals won overall 31 have come from the junior ranks. If this talent can be harnessed and built on there is great hope for the future.
Much of this talent on the track has been recognised with Welsh Schools Selection for Jamie Mayers (4 x 100m relay), Daniel Jenkins (100mHurdles and 4 x 100m relay) and Nathan Felvus (400m and 4 x400m relay) at the UK Schools games in Grangemouth, Scotland between 7-11th September. There are also selections for Gavin Hanrahan (steeplechase) and Ieuan Thomas (1,500m, 4 x 400m relay and selected as Welsh Team Captain Under 18’s) at the Celtic Games to be staged in Waterford, Ireland on Saturday 12th August. These boys have been selected with real expectation that they are not going there to “make up the numbers” but expectations are that they are all capable of returning with major medals.
In recognising the development that these juniors have made has not gone unnoticed by the Welsh Selectors and there is also recognition off the track for administrators and coaches. Dave Lewis has been asked by the Welsh Selectors to choose and train a junior side to run a 4x 1,500m invitational relay at the new Celtic International event to be held in Scotland in 2 weeks time. While “workaholic” chairman Joyce Tomala, who combines work for Cwmbran Harriers, UK Athletics, Welsh Athletics and her full time job of Headmistress, has recently been recognised for her work for UK Athletics, by being invited to a Tea Party at Buckingham Palace where she had time to rub shoulders with the stars and catch a few words with the Duke of Edinburgh. Joyce is also Team Manager of the Celtic Games team going to Ireland in August where there is real optimism in Wales that we may have the beating of the other countries.
With the continued success of the winters cross country teams and indoor track stars, the new found success with the outdoor track season and rewards for the hard working coaches and administrators of the team there is a new wave of optimism that this could be the real breakthrough that Cwmbran have been looking for.
Following on from a most impressive summer Cwmbran Harriers juniors have once again proved themselves by taking the club to the Welsh Athletics club cup finals in Brecon on August 20th. Here they will be joined by powerhouses, Carmarthen, Cardiff and Swansea as well as Brecon, Wrexham, Deeside and Pembroke.
The club secured their final place following the Welsh Junior league fixture last weekend in Newport. This time it was the younger athletes that pulled out all the stops.
The Under 13 girls only had one athlete but Ellie Leek did not disappoint winning the High Jump and then produced a superb run in the 1500m finishing second in a new personal best time of 5.36sec. The Under 13 boys were extremely well supported and thanks to a fine turn out the club could put A & B athletes in most events. James Hanrahan had a very busy day, he won the 1500m race in 4.57 seconds some 43 seconds ahead of second place. He then went on to secure 2nd place in the A 100m race, 3rd in the A High Jump and then was one of the relay squad that took the 4 X 100m relay at the end of the day. Tom Norton also had a good day winning the B 100m in 16.0sec, finishing 2nd in the A 200m. Tom was also one of the 4 X 100m relay squad, and finished the day up by winning the Javelin with a personal best throw of 29.35cm. Marcus Price weighed in with a hatful of points coming 2nd in the 800m, 4th in the 75m hurdles, 3rd in the Long Jump A competition and then also ran the relay to gain points for the team. Connor Matthews was not to be outdone. In his first ever competition for the club he easily won the B 200m race and also winning the B Shot event. Kai Lowe’s effort helped secure much needed points; he managed a win in the B 75m Hurdles in 17 sec, a 2nd in the B Long Jump and another in the B Discus. Jason Offord easily won the A Discus event, finished 3rd in the A Shot and secured a 2nd in the B Javelin, while Ryan Lester finished 2nd in the B High Jump and was the final athlete in the victorious 4 X 100m relay squad.
The Under 15’s managed a great turn out for both boys and girls. Jessica Hinwood got us off to a great start, winning the B 100m and 200m races. Claire Williams finished 2nd in her A 100m race, while Hannah Clarke won the A 200m race, and managed a commendable 4th place in the Discus. The 800A & B races were again dominated by Cwmbran with Benytta Doman winning the A race and Laura B James winning the B race. The middle distance races were swept by Cwmbran when Natasha Cockram easily won the 1500m. Harriett Leek ran really well to finish 2nd in the 75m Hurdles and then followed this up with a personal best throw of 7.08m to finish 2nd in the Shot. Bethan James won the Long Jump with 4m 39cm and only lost out in the High Jump on “countback”. Cwmbran then finished a very successful day for this group of girls when Benytta, Hannah, Jessica and Claire easily romped home to win the 4X 100m relay. This must have been the “Spur” that the boys needed because they also produced some outstanding performances; Lewis Hinwood won the B 200m, finished 2nd in the B Long Jump and 3rd in the A 100m. Luke Williams managed a 2nd in the A 200m and 300m, while Jack Burgess managed a 2nd in the B 100m and a 3rd in the B Javelin event. John Wells was well pleased to win the 300m in 45 seconds and followed this up with another win in the B Shot event, and a 4th place in the 80m Hurdles. Lewis Shaw ran well to finish 3rd in the 800m and also secured a 3rd in the A Shot event with a personal best throw of 7.05cm. At the moment Cwmbran seem to be getting a good young squad of field event athletes and Craig Offord is showing real promise, he won the A Long Jump with 5m 26cm and then in his first Hammer event won with a throw of 11m 63cm. While Gareth Davies managed a 2nd place in the A Discus event with a personal best of 15m 58cm and a 3rd place in the A Javelin. Once again, a relay squad was assembled and they did not disappoint, with Craig Offord, John Wells, Luke Williams and Lewis Hinwood, bringing Cwmbran home in 2nd place.
Although he Under 17’s had a much smaller turn out the points were just as vital.
Emma Reynolds finished 2nd in the A
100m and 4th in the B 200m, while there were 3 first place finishes for
Kathryn Davies in the 100m B race,
Aysha Doman in the A 800m race and
Laura
K James running in her very first 300m Hurdles was delighted to win in a time of 48.5 sec a new personal best. The girls did not want to be outdone by their
younger teammates and Laura K James, Emma Reynolds, Aysha Doman and Kathryn Davies swept all before them to win the 4 X 100m relay. This then put pressure
on the boys to perform and they did not let anyone down.
Jamie Bussell won both the 1500m and the 1500m Steeplechase.
Daniel Norton won the B 200m race and
secured a 2nd in the B 100m, while Jamie Mayers also managed 2-second places in the A 100m and 200m events. The Under 17 boy’s events were
rounded off by Jamie Gutteridge who powered to a superb win in the 400m Hurdles in a time of 60.50sec, which is believed to be a new personal best.
Finally, but not to be outdone the only Under 20 athlete that showed, really performed. Simon McLoughlin managed 2 superb 2nd place finishes in both the 100m and 200m events.
This weekends performances now need to be reproduced in the cup final, where with a good turn out and a good slice of fortune Cwmbran are looking at their best finish in the cup for many years.
Daniel Jenkins of Cwmbran Harriers club took on the best in Britain in the AAA’s U17 Championships in Birmingham on August 5th and came away with the fastest time by a Welsh U17 100m Hurdler this millennium. Daniels time also took him into the top 5 on the all time Welsh list and set a new club record. With such a poor turn out of Welsh athletes and only two Cwmbran Harriers making the trip to compete in the highest standard championships in the UK those that did attend went on to achieve excellent results and gained valuable experience.
Daniel's aim was just to make the final and he knew that a life time best would be required to achieve his aim. Daniel didn’t disappoint and recorded a P.B of 13.77secs to qualify for the final. In the final a new lifetime best of 13.59secs was recorded for seventh place and ranks him seventh in the UK rankings and took him within the UK Power of 10 Standard. Daniel learnt from his experience at the Championships and realises that it is one thing to be the best in Wales but now needs to compete against the best in Britain in order to take his performance further and the invaluable experience he gained from these championships has made him more determined to get in the top three in Britain. Daniel will almost certainly start as favourite for the Celtic Games in Ireland this weekend where he will be representing Wales.
In conditions that were far from ideal, there was much to be pleased about from our local athletes.
The day was led off extremely well by Daniel Jenkins in the 100m Hurdles for Under 18 Boys. In a race where the Scottish Athlete was strongly favoured, Daniel got off to a dream start and blasting out of the blocks was well up with Callum Innes, the Scottish Athlete at half way. When you would expect the more experienced athlete to come powering through it was Daniel who hit the front with 2 hurdles remaining and strode home to claim the first Welsh victory of the day. The time of 13.59 was just outside his personal best run recently at the AAA championships in Birmingham and under the windy conditions can be seen as a fantastic result.
Daniels exploits seemed to act as a spur to the rest of the Welsh team and Wales continued with a very successful afternoon with a total of 13 first place finishes. The next Cwmbran athlete to appear was Claire Williams in the Invitational Under 16 girls 100m. Claire started well and as half way there was nothing to split the 4 Celtic Nation athletes. It appeared that with 10 metres to go there would be a photo finish between Claire and Steffi Creanor from Ireland, but in the last few strides from nowhere Alix Wilson of Scotland strode through to snatch victory in 12.30 seconds. Following a photo finish the Irish Athlete was given 2nd place in the same time as Claire in 12.60 seconds. Claire can be extremely pleased with her effort, as this was a fine personal best for her.
Wales had a very successful afternoon in the middle distance races with victories or second places in virtually every race, and
Welsh Team Captain Ieuan Thomas was not going to let the side down in the Under 18 boys 1500m. From the gun it quickly developed into a battle between Ireland
and Wales with Gavin Downey of Ireland hitting the front with 450m to go and tried to push away from the field. But, Ieuan probably the most experienced
athlete competing for Wales strode along behind the Irish athlete and unleashed a blistering sprint finish to come home winning by 4 seconds.
The biggest disappointment of the afternoon was for Gavin Hanrahan running the Under 18 boy’s 2,000m steeplechase. Gavin was in fine form going to these championships and was moving supremely well, when having cleared a barrier in the back straight, the Scottish athlete Martin Hayes totally misjudged the barrier, fell and caught Gavin in the leg. This looked as though it was to be the end of the race for him as he appeared top be in a great deal of pain, but, he kept going and managed to finish the race in 3rd place and some 15 seconds ahead of the Scottish lad who tried to get back up and run.
Overall this was a most successful day for Wales finishing 3rd overall and only 4 points off second place, and the Welsh team athletes must pass on thanks to all those involved especially the Welsh team management-led by Cwmbran Harriers Chairman Joyce Tomala, for making everyone’s weekend a weekend to remember!
Daniel was the only sprint hurdler on the day to win for Wales and he recorded the second fastest time of the season and took his first International Victory which helped Wales to third overall in the team competition. In what can only be described as a dream year in his first season in athletics, Daniel's attention will now turn to competing for Wales in the UK Schools Games in Scotland in September.
Whilst Daniel Jenkins was doing battle in Ireland team mates Daniel and James Sharrem were putting in strong performances at a windy Hereford track in the South East Wales League where Daniel easily won the u15 80m Hurdles and brother James u11 came second and third respectively in the 150m and 75 meters.
Last weekend saw the Welsh Junior League Cup Final in Brecon for athletes aged 13 to 20. Traditionally these events are dominated by the likes of Swansea, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Wrexham and Deeside. But this year Cwmbran caused shockwaves around Welsh athletics to crash the party of the big players. When the final totals were added, Cwmbran had 1,165 overall points and good enough for 3rd place. With only Carmarthen and Cardiff ahead of them this is indeed heady times for the Gwent club. In these events there is obvious glory for all the athletes that win their events, but more importantly for the team to do well athletes have to go beyond their normal comfort zone and give their all in an event that they might not have tried before to boost the “team” totals. To everyone’s credit expectations were easily exceeded, and if this can be carried forward to next season there is real hope of promotion from the Young Athletes Leagues to the Premier division.
Everything was set up by the Under 13 boys who had an outstanding day. Overall this fine set of lads won the age group. James Hanrahan was 1st in the 1500m, 2nd in the 4X100m relay and 100m B race and 3rd in the High Jump. Thomas Norton also had a busy day, finishing 2nd in the Javelin and 4x100m relay, and 5th in both the A 100m and 200m. Tyron Blake looking to compete in many events for the first time did really well in the B 200m finishing 2nd, was 3rd in the “A” Long Jump, he was then 4th in the “A” Shot and then finished up the day with the other boys in finishing 2nd in the 4x 100m relay. The team was also anchored by Marcus Price, 2nd in the 800m, 3rd in the “B” Long Jump and again one of the relay squad in the 4x100m, while Jason Offord was 3rd in the “B” Javelin and 4th in the “A” Discus. While David Morgan should have been well pleased in winning the 800m “B” race.
The Under 13 girls were not to be outdone, they were 4th overall in their age group, but there were some fine performances. Ellie Leek was very busy, finishing 5th in the 1500m, 6th in the High Jump, and 8th in the Discus. Amy Nash did well in both the “A”100m (8th) and 200m (7th), while Nadia Strange took care of the “B” 100m and 200m races finishing 7th in the 100m and then produced a fine finish to snatch 6th in the 200m. Jessica Bevan gave her all, and did well in finishing 8th in both the “A” Long Jump and Javelin events.
The Under 15 boys also performed well in many different events. Lewis Hinwood began well by finishing 4th in the “A” 100m, then went better winning the “B” 200m, and then followed this up in the 4x100m relay where the team managed an impressive 3rd place. Craig Offord also part of the relay team really showed his versatility by finishing 3rd in the Long Jump and 5th in the High Jump. While another relay squad member Joseph Blackmore also did well in finishing 4th in the “A” 200m and then went one better finishing 3rd in the 300m. Lewis Shaw showed real versatility finishing 5th in the 1500m and 4th in the “B” Long Jump. The same versatility came from Rhydian Wilson; he finished 3rd in the “A” Discus and 3rd in the 80m Hurdles. The busiest field athlete was Josh Bussell who tried out Javelin and came a creditable 6th, and then attacked his other 2 events Shot & Discus and showed some real end of season form in finishing 3rd in both of those events. Our other relay competitor Luke Williams can be pleased with his contribution managing a 3rd place in the “B” 300m, while there were also outstanding efforts from Ryan Parry (800m- 4th place), Jonathan Wells (“B” 100m 5th place and 4th place in the “B” Shot), Freddy Naseriyan (“B” 800m 2nd place), Daniel Sharrem (“B” 80m Hurdles 3rd place) and Gareth Davies who was 3rd in the “B” Javelin. Overall the points collected by the boys was good enough for overall 3rd place an overall excellent result.
The Under 15 Girls were short on usual numbers due to holiday commitments and those left had to perform well. They exceeded anything expected of them finishing an overall 4th. The girls got off to a fantastic start in the sprints with Claire Williams winning the 100m “A” race (Claire also managed 6th in the “B” Discus and helped the relay team to 3rd in the 4x100m), and then Jessica Hinwood blitzed the field to come from behind in winning both the 100m and 200m “B” races (Jessica also ran in the relay and was 6th in the “A” Discus). Benytta Doman continued her great 800m season by winning the “A” 800m (and followed this up by running the relay) and a real bonus came from Lora B James who came right back to form running a personal best in winning the “B” 800m and then managed a good 7th place in the “B” Javelin. Hannah Clark had a busy day finish in 2nd in the 200m “A” race, 7th in the “A” Shot event and then helped the team to 3rd in the relay. Harriet Leek managed 4th in the 75m Hurdles and 5th in the High Jump, while Bethan James was busy finishing 2nd in the “B” High Jump and 7th in the Long Jump. Rachel Bevan must have wondered where she was supposed to be at one point as she tried to compete in 3 field events, but she managed it and did superbly well in finishing 2nd in the “B” Long Jump, 3rd in the Javelin and 3rd in the “B” Shot. Not to be outdone there was a good run from Natasha Cockram who finished a close 2nd in the “A” 1500m.
The Under 17 girls were held together by a few athletes who performed above and beyond the call of duty. Emma Reynolds ran the 100m, 200m and 300m finishing 4th, 4th and 6th. Kathryn Davies went even further finishing an incredible 1st in the “B” 100m and 2nd in the 200m and followed this up with a 6th place in the Long Jump. Rebecca Street also managed 3 events finishing 3rd in 300m “B” event and then 3rd in the High Jump and 4th in the Javelin. Most impressive was Laura K James who showed some real form in winning the 300m Hurdles, while Jenna Roberts showed real versatility in winning the “B” 1500m and then finished 2nd in the Javelin. Finally not to be outdone Aysha Doman continued with her fine season finishing 2nd in the 1500m.
The Under 17 boys also had a small group of athletes determined to show their versatility. Cwmbran’s “Athlete of the day” must have been Jamie Mayers. His growing reputation was not let down in the 100m and 200m where he won both comfortably and then helped the relay squad to a fine 5th place. Gareth Lewis another of the relay team also found some amazing speed in the 400m where he took 2nd place and then followed this up with another 2nd in the 800m and a 7th place in the Triple Jump. Daniel Norton one of our successful relay runners managed a good 6th in the “B” 100m and then went better in the 200m managing a fine 4th place. Daniel’s brother David was the other member of our successful relay squad. Jamie Bussell pushed Jamie Mayers hard for performances of the day. He also won 2 races the hard way, finishing 1st in the “B” 800m and then a short time later easily won the 1500m steeplechase in a personal best time. Aled Hughes did not let the side down and competed well in the field. He managed a 8th place in the Javelin and a 5th place in the Discus. Michael Kershaw enhanced his growing reputation with another smooth run in the 1500m finishing in 4th place while he also want even better in the 1500m “B” steeplechase easily winning. Finally Jamie Gutteridge showed some real class in finishing 3rd in the 400m hurdles, not far behind the winners in this very demanding event.
The Under 20’s were as usual a very select group, but overall their contribution helped greatly towards the final 3rd place. Tanith Booth was 3rd in both the 100m and 200m and then managed a fine 4th in the Long Jump while Claire Thompson giving those field events a go for the first time did really well in managing 5th in the Javelin, 4th in the shot and then excelled in her own event gaining 2nd in the 1500m. In the men's events, Simon McLoughlin was 5th in the 100m and then went even better in the 200m finishing 4th. Simon then showed real potential in easily winning the “B” Javelin event; he then helped the relay team to 4th place. Jordan White another relay runner managed a fine 5th place in the 400m. Gavin Hanrahan, concentrating on his most successful event this summer totally dominated the 2000m steeplechase easily winning this, while Afan Humphries had a go at Javelin finishing 6th, but then showed some real success in the relay and then the 1500m where once again he easily won. Finally, Ieuan Thomas showed a bit of flair in the field events, finishing 3rd in the Triple Jump, with a jump good enough to get him a welsh ranking and then easily won the 800m.
This is without doubt one of the best season’s Cwmbran have shown for a number of years and with an obvious swell of young athletes coming through the club there is a real chance of further success for this developing team.
The Inter Regional Athletics Championships brought down the curtain for the majority of Cwmbran Harrier athletes on a lovely day in Cardiff. After a long and quite successful season many of the athletes, officials and parents alike can reflect on a season that started slowly and finished with a flourish, but overall leaves everyone with a sense that this was the break-through season for this club.
The Inter Regional Championship was a chance for the lucky athletes chosen to represent East Wales to pit their wits and athletic skills against the other regions of South, North and West. There were events for Under 15 through to seniors and Cwmbran were well represented throughout the day.
The seniors were anchored by Simon Thompson. Running against good opposition runners from the other regions, Simon held off a strong finish from the West to take 2nd in the 100m and then did the same in the 200m finishing only 0.59 sec behind the winner. David Connolly one of our up and coming seniors was invited to try out his Hammer throwing skills for the first time and acquitted himself well in finishing 4th with a throw of 24m 10cm and then followed this up with a 5th pace in the Discus with a reasonable throw of 31.33m which was within 37cm of his personal best.
This season has seen the return to the track for Andrew Watkins, who’s spectacular early career has been blighted by injury, but Andrew showed in these championships what everyone had been missing in running a blistering 100m to comfortably win and get within 0.03sec of the Championship record (Andrew was running for South Wales in this event). Andrew didn’t look as sharp in the 200m, but he was still more than good enough to secure 2nd place in 22.26sec. In the same races Simon Barnard representing the East can be well pleased with his efforts finishing with 11.75sec in the 100m and 23.97 sec in the 200m both of which were season best performances. Ieuan Thomas, who is another athlete returning from injury, looked back to his old self in the 1500m with a comfortable win some 5 seconds clear of club mate Afan Humphries (representing South Wales). Afan soon made up for the 2nd in the 1500m by easily winning the 3000m.
The Under 17 boys were led off well by Jamie Mayers. Jamie has made great strides forwards this year, and there is hope that he will have a real break through this winter or at next summer’s track season. Rhys Knapman of the South managed to pip Jamie in both the 100m and 200m, but the gap between these exciting runners has closed considerably as the season has progressed. Nathan Felvus produced perhaps his best run of the season in the 400m, where in a rare outing he ran a personal best of 52.30sec to hold off the South’s Gareth Sutcliffe in a close finish to win by just over 0.5 of a second. Both Jamie Bussell and Gareth Lewis can look back on their 3,000m race with pride. Jamie improved his personal best by some 20 seconds in finishing 2nd, and Gareth took a massive 47 seconds from his personal best in coming 5th.
Lewis Hinwood helped out the Under 15 boy’s team by turning out in the 100m along with teammate Joseph Blackmore. They both had a tight struggle against each other with Lewis just coming out on top, with 12.66sec against 12.77sec for 6th and 7th place respectfully. Then when they met up again in the 200m Lewis managed to find a little extra pulling away to finish 5th and Joseph again having to settle for 7th. Ryan Parry found something special in the high-class 400m field. Although he finished in 5th place he must be delighted to knock nearly 2 seconds off his personal best to lower this figure to 59.88 sec and break that all elusive 1 minute barrier. He then went even better in the 800m knocking 3 seconds off his best in a time of 2.20.86sec. And in a day where personal bests were really being attacked, Craig Offord who finished 7th in the High Jump equalled his personal best, and then beat his best in the Javelin by some 2 metres.
The senior women were boosted by the addition of Tanith Booth and Jessica Dickson. Both appeared in the 400m and the East were well boosted by Tanith’s 4th place in 66.37 sec, but Jessica blew the opposition away winning by nearly 2 seconds in 61.32 seconds. Jessica then really turned it on in the 800m where she strode away from the field to leave everyone in her wake. She won easily in 2.23.35 sec some 9 seconds ahead of the West’s athlete. Next up to annihilate her personal best was Jenna Roberts, who took 41 seconds off her best in the 3,000m. Tanith doubled up her events and following her run in the 400m she then turned out in the Long Jump where she also improved her personal best by some 15cm.
The Women’s Under 17’s were well supported by Aysha Doman who turned out in the 400m and ran a personal best of 46.14 sec in finishing 4th, but she finished higher in the 800m where she came close to winning the 800m but just couldn’t close down on the South’s runner enough in the home straight. Emma Reynolds switched from the 300m to the 200m where she finished 5th in 28.52 sec.
The Under 15 Girls were also well represented by the club, and once again personal best’s were the order of the day. Harriett Leek produced a superb run in finishing 3rd in the 75m Hurdles. In doing so she knocked nearly half a second off her personal best. In such a demanding technical event this is an amazing achievement. Claire Williams enhanced her reputation for sprinting further with a classy win in the 100m. Her team mate Jessica Hinwood was chosen for both the 100m and 200m and she should be quite pleased with her day, finishing 4th in her weaker 100m event and then 3rd in the 200m. Lora B James is again beginning to find her old form of last winter, and she looked in good shape finishing 4th in the 800m. Cwmbran had 2 competitors in the 1500m, Natasha Cockram once again produced a good run to finish 2nd in 4.58.93 only 1 second off her personal best, and Steffi Wright just returning to the track after a long term injury did well in running 5.38 for 5th place. Bethan James turned out for us in the field events. She managed a jump of 1.30 in the High Jump, only 0.5cm off her best and then she competed in the Long jump where a leap of 4m 35cm was a mere 4cm from her best.
Cwmbran duo head for Welsh training camp
Next time you visit Cwmbran Stadium on an athletics training night, stop and watch the sprint-training group. Along with all the athletes young and old training are two very special athletes. They are not immediately evident and if you put them in a line up and were asked to pick out the clubs International athletes they would most certainly come somewhere low on your guesses. But when you know that they both broke German Junior all-comers records for the 100m and 200m you know they must be outstanding. Daniel Norton and Jennifer McCloughlin don’t naturally stand out in the crowd, but when you know of their achievements they rank amongst some of the best for the Cwmbran Harriers club.
Daniel and Jennifer compete for Cwmbran Harriers, Federation Disability Sport Wales and have run under the Great Britain banner at a meeting in Germany, and it looks as if the future is very bright for these two gifted athletes. Both have been invited to the launch of the new Welsh Academy in October. The weekend will enable Disability Sport Wales to launch its new Academy System alongside its key partner, the Sports Council For Wales at the very impressive Stackpole centre Pembrokeshire.
Jennifer’s rise to the top of her sport in Wales is nothing short of spectacular. She is a year 10 pupil in Chepstow Comprehensive School. Jennifer only joined Cwmbran Harriers in January 06, after Lewis running Club in Sussex, had her running in event’s that were totally unsuited to her skills gave her little or no encouragement; which luckily didn’t put her off sport completely. Thank’s to her new coaches Jeff Harwood and Bryan Taylor and with input from The Sports Council for Wales, Jenny’s confidence has grown dramatically and she has not looked back. In June she went to the British Junior Championships at Under 15 level and easily won both the 100m (15.7 sec) and 200 metres (33.7 sec). These were both British record times. These performances must have impressed the national selectors as she was then invited to attend the German National Senior Championships, which was a warm up competition for the World Championships in Assen. Although competing for Wales, Jennifer that day ran with the Great Britain squad but was uncategorized. Although there were 12 competing nations they could not have been prepared for the Cwmbran Harriers onslaught as she broke the German Junior all-comers record for both the 100m (15.9 sec) and 200m (36.1 sec). Jennifer was not finished there and she was then invited to run for Wales in the UK Schools games in Scotland where once again she totally dominated the field to win the ambulant 100m.
Daniel, who has been with the Harriers for many years and he attends St. Alban’s RC School in Pontypool where he is just another year 11 pupil trying to his best to pass his exams. But, put him out on the track and he lights up the arena. Daniel first represented Wales in May 05 at the Belgium Senior Paralympic Championships where he finished 2nd in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m. Great performances alone for your first attempt at representing your country, but then when you realise that he broke the European record in the 200m you got an idea of what was to come from this young athlete. He went from there to the British Championships in Blackpool, where once again running for Wales, recorded times of 13.5 sec in the 100m and 28.4sec in the 200m which were good enough not only for Gold in both events, but once again Daniel broke the British Junior records for his age group in these events. Later that year at the Nottingham Championships Daniel won both the 100m and 200m again and then for the first time tried out the 400m and came away with another medal winning the bronze. This season Daniel has continued with the winning trend. He ran in the Dutch National Championships in May (again running for Wales) where he once again did the double, winning both the 100m and 200m. From there he went to the UK Championships in Blackpool where he could only take silver this time in both the 100m and 200m, but showed there was true potential for other events where he won the 400m in a new personal best time. He then went on with Jennifer to Germany, where he wasn’t to be outdone by his teammate. The German’s put Daniel in races against athletes who were not categorised the same as Daniel, but instead of disheartening him only served to spur him on. He came through the heats to finish 5th in both the 100m (13.2 sec) and 200m (28.00 sec) and broke the German Junior All comers record in doing so. Daniel like Jenny that day ran with the Great Britain squad but was uncategorized. To finish off the track season Daniel also went to the UK School games, where representing Wales, he won silver in the 100m.
There are 3 groups that should be singled out for praise: the coaches Jeff Harwood and Bryan Taylor who have brought these athletes too the top of their sport where many would have discarded them, The Sports council for Wales who have provided much needed support and initiatives to get these athletes where they need to be and Cwmbran Harriers, for doing their part to promote and look after all athletes no matter what standard they want to achieve.
If you asked the “man in the street” to name 10 current Welsh “superstars”, they are likely to mention Ryan Giggs, Joe Calzaghe and Gareth Thomas, but there will be many that would mention Dame Tani Gray Thompson. Thanks to success of people like Dame Tani disability sport is now getting the recognition it deserves. Anyone who competes in sport to any sort of level knows that to compete at the top you need, skill; determination; dedication and at times a good slice of luck! Both of these talented athletes have all these attributes while trying to cope with Cerebal Palsy. Reaching the heights they have in such a short time is incredible.
So, next time you watch the sprint squad work out look out for Jennifer and Daniel. They won’t be at the front or the back, but doing their work in the middle of the pack, but realise they are British champions, all comers record holders and on their way to a very bright future.
Tyron’s first shot almost grabs a medal
The Welsh School’s and Welsh Athletics Indoor combined Championships held in UWIC on 25th November 2006 produced an amazing first performance by Cwmbran Harriers under 13 boy Tyron Blake. Combined events championships are the first step on the rung to either pentathlon or Decathlon events as athletes get older, but at the junior age groups the athletes are limited to a few events to initially try out.
Tyron trying this level of discipline for the first time raised his performance well above what was expected from him, and until the final discipline was lying in a medal position. Tyron’s first event was the 60m Hurdles. At the gun Tyron blasted away from the blocks to run 11.59 sec, and one of only 2 athletes to break the 12 sec barrier. A score of 281 points was good enough for 2nd place at that point only 47 points behind early leader Kieron White of Swansea Harriers. The 2nd event, the Shot, was the first of only 2 field events tried by these young athletes. Tyron showed his undoubted skill in this discipline, easily out putting all the other athletes in the field. His best Putt of 5m 83cm was 74cm ahead of the next nearest athlete and gave Tyron at this point a very healthy points total of 520. More remarkably at this point Tyron was easily leading the field by 23 points.
The 3rd of the events was the 200m around the tight hard bends of the indoor track at UWIC’s impressive stadium. It looked as though the event was to become a personal battle between Tryon and Kieron White as he blasted back with an impressive run of 30.14 sec which was the second fastest of the day behind eventual 2nd placed athlete Aled Price of Camarthen who ran 29.99 sec, but, Tyron was not to be overawed and an impressive time of 30.66 sec secured him another 215 points which although lost him the overall lead meant that his points tally of 735 at this point had him almost 100 points ahead of the 3rd placed athlete. The 4th event was to be the Long Jump. Once again, the second longest jump from all the athletes, of a very impressive 4.04 metres, secured Tyron a score of 212 points and an overall total of 947 points. At this point the implausible almost seemed possible, with Tyron leading the field by 17 points. But, coming into the last event of the 800m, Tyron knew that he was about to run his most difficult event. With no real training over this very demanding event Tyron knew he was up against it. As the gun went it was clear early on that Tyron was going to struggle to hold on to his lead. Tom Early from Colwyn Bay set off in the lead and dragged other athletes with him, but, Tyron couldn’t hold on and he came home in 3 min 09 sec and only 19 points for the event. With the other 3 athletes directly below Tyron grabbing in excess of 150 points each, Tyron slipped from 1st to 4th place and just out of the medals. This was a cruel finish for Tyron in a meeting that he had dominated in places and held his own in the other events coming through to the 800m.
With more training over the winter and improved endurance training it is expected that Tyron can make an early break through in this event and we hope to see Tyron on the medal platform as early as 2007.