GREAT race walking conditions over the 2km course at Humberstone Park resulted in nine personal best performances being broken at the final round of the 2008 Hewitt Race Walking Cup Series held on Tuesday 17th June.
As the individual standings are based on a handicapping system which encourages all competitors to try to improve their best times during this 3 race Hewitt Race Walking Cup series these performances produced the closest of finishes in its history.
Fiona McGorum (University of Wales, Cardiff) took her record in the girl’s event to eighteen victories. Using this race as part of a training walk, she encouraged Jasmine Nicholls (Leysland), Emma Achurch (Blaby Stokes) and Gwenan Jones (Blaby Stokes) to carve chunks off their personal bests.
However, it was Samantha Vesty (Hall Orchard) who had another enormous personal best that catapulted her to the top of the girl’s league a solitary point ahead of Jones and Stokes team-mate, Kezia Brown.
The boys league was another close ”walked” affair. Fergus Jeffs improved by almost 45 seconds to take top boy’s handicap spot on the night. But it was Christopher Vesty (Rawlins College), registering another personal best with a well-paced walk, that took the title for an unprecedented fifth time. With brother and sister topping the final tables for the first time another record was set in this long established Leicester Walking club series.
Leading Results:
Boys
1 Christopher Vesty-Rawlins College-10:25
2 Fergus Jeffs-Blaby Stokes, Leics-13:53
3 Dominic Bishop-Blaby Stokes, Leics-13:55
4 Harry Birch-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:20
Boys League
1 Christopher Vesty (Rawlins) – 4 points
2 Fergus Jeffs (Blaby Stokes) – 6 points
3 Dominic Bishop (Blaby Stokes) – 10 points
Girls
1 Fiona McGorum-University of Wales Institute Cardiff-11:10
2 Jasmine Nicholls-Leysland High School-11:11
3 Emma Achurch-Blaby Stokes, Leics -11:40
4 Gwenan Jones-Blaby Stokes, Leics-13:54
5 Fiona Brown-Blaby Stokes, Leics -14:21
6 Nikita Bazylinski-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:56
7 Laura Jo Bazylinski-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:19
8 Samantha Vesty-Hall Orchard, Leics-15:23
9 Kezia Brown-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:13
10 Ellie Birch-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:02
Girls League
1 Samantha Vesty (Hall Orchard) – 10 points
2 Kezia Brown (Blaby Stokes) – 11 points
= Gwenan Jones – 11 points
4 Emma Achurch (Blaby Stokes) – 12 points
= Laura Jo Bazylinski (Blaby Stokes) – 12 points
BRITAIN'S Jo Jackson stormed to victory at the 8th Royal Leamington Spa Grand Prix of Race Walking, EAA Permit Meeting. She took the lead from the gun as she dominated the race to come home in her 2nd fastest ever time of 1.32.40 to become the first home winner of the Leamington Grand Prix.
She passed 5km in 23.27 and went through the halfway point in 46.26. She pulled well clear of 2nd place finisher Despina Zapounisdou of Greece in the second half. Jackson commented after the race that “She was happy to have had another good 20km performance ahead of Beijing.” Zapounisdou held on to book her place on the plane to Beijing in 1.33.23 ahead of Zuzana Malikova of Slovakia (1.35.14).
In the Men’s 50 Kilometres a fast early pace was cut out by Maik Berger (Germany) and Herve Devaux (France) as they passed 10km in 46.12. By the 20km point they had been joined by Arthur Brzozowski (Poland) and Segundo Panchez (Ecuador) as they passed 20km in 91.57. By the halfway mark they were still together in 1.54.56. Soon after the 35km point Berger began to crack as Devaux pushed the pace. Devaux began to pay for this effort as Brzozowski swept past him into the lead at the 40km point. He powered on to clock 3.52.09 and book his place on the Polish team to the Olympics. Davaux was passed by compatriot Cedric Housayye who clocked a new pb of 3.56.43.
In the Men’s 20 Kilometres the early pace was set by Benajmin Kucinski (Poland) and David Dominguez (Spain), Diogo Martins (Portugal) and Jose Diaz (Spain) who passed 5km in 20.50. By the halfway mark (42.00) Dominguez, Kucinski and Diaz had been joined by Irish duo Colin Griffin and Jamie Costin. By 15km it was down to a leading trio as Martins and Diaz had been disqualified. They were still together at the bell, but Dominguez pulled away over the last lap to record 1.24.16 as Griffin 1.24.16 took the Irish title ahead of Costin (1.24.37).
In the Junior Men’s 10 Kilometres Hagen Pohle of Germany dominated the race to clock 43.43, ahead of Paul Fitzpatrick of Ireland in a new personal best of 43.58. England’s Mark O’Kane clocked a new personal best of 47.34 in 5th place. Christian Elb made it a German double as she took the Junior Womens 10km in 49.13 ahead of Ireland’s Laura Reynolds (50.43) and Scotland’s Chelsea O’Rawe Hobbs (54.17).
In the inaugural Anglo-Celtic Cup Ireland took the title with 28 points, ahead of England (26) and Scotland (20).
ATHLETES from 19 different countries will be descending on the picturesque Victoria Park in Royal Leamington Spa on Sunday 15th June for the 8th Royal Leamington Spa Grand Prix of Race Walking.
The EAA Permit meeting represents the last chance for many walkers to qualify for Beijing and as such the event has attracted walkers from a record 19 different countries, ranging from India, Ecuador, Brazil and Columbia.
The event will be staged in Victoria Park, which played host to last year's successful European Cup Race Walking which saw 5 UK All Comers Records.
The event will also see teams from Ireland and Scotland taking on their English hosts in the first ever Anglo-Celtic Cup of Race Walking. The event will also see history made as it will also incorporate the Irish Senior Championships, the first time ever that and Irish Championships has been staged overseas.
In the Women's 20km event, Jo Jackson (Redcar Race Walking Club) who has been breaking British records for fun in the last few months will be competing in her last 20km before she competes for Team GB in Beijing. At the time of the last Olympic Games in Athens she was still a middle distance runner, an excellent example for talent transfer programmes ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.
She will attempt to become the first British Woman ever to take the Leamington Grand Prix Title. She will face tough competition from Greek Despina Zapounidou and Agnieszka Dygacz from Poland.
In the Men's 20 Kilometres Daniel King will lead the English team in the Anglo-Celtic Cup. He will be looking to make up for the disappointment of being disqualified at the World Cup and build on his Olympic 'B' standard performance over 50 Kilometres he recorded earlier this year. Amongst the favourites for the event will be Irish duo Colin Griffin and Jamie Costin, Diago Martins of Portugal, Spaniard Jose Diaz and Pole Benjamin Kucinski. The Men's 50 Kilometres will see walkers from Ecuador, France, Hungary and Sweden looking to qualify for the Olympic Games.
The Men's 50 Kilometres gets the programme under way at 9.00am. The event is being supported by Warwick District Council, England Athletics, Renault, Gatorade, Aqua Pura, Integrated Hydraulics, XLR8, NP Aerospace and Leeds Metropolitan University.
IN his quest to win the Hewitt Cup for an unprecedented fifth time, Christopher Vesty (Rawlins College) set another personal best time in the second round of the 2008 Hewitt Race-Walking Cup Series held at Leicester’s Humberstone Park. In a tight battle for the other podium placings, Rory Chandler (Blaby Stokes) narrowly beat team-mates Dominic Bishop and Fergus Jeffs.
Jasmine Nicholls (Leysland) secured her third consecutive win in the girl’s race. Blaby Stokes Striders, Emma Achurch and Gwenan Jones took huge chunks off their personal bests and were also rewarded with style awards by the judges.
The final race of the competition promises to be very exciting with close finishes in both girls and boys leagues guaranteed. Christopher Vesty leads Fergus Jeffs by 3 points. In the girl’s standings last year’s Champion, Emma Achurch is locked on equal points with the promising Laura-Jo Bazylinski with Samantha Vesty and Kezia Brown just one point off the pace.
Leading Results:
Boys
1 Christopher Vesty (Rawlins College) 10:50
2 Rory Chandler (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 14:51
3 Dominic Bishop (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 14:53
4 Fergus Jeffs (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 14:57
5 Harry Birch (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 15:54
Boys League
1 Christopher Vesty (Rawlins) – 2 points
2 Fergus Jeffs (Blaby Stokes) – 5 points
3 Dominic Bishop (Blaby Stokes) – 7 points
= Rory Chandler (Blaby Stokes) – 7 points
Girls
1 Jasmine Nicholls (Leysland High School) 11:36
2 Emma Achurch (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 11:54
3 Gwenan Jones (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 14:32
4 Fiona Brown (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 14:48
5 Laura Jo Bazylinski (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 15:33
6 Samantha Vesty (Hall Orchard, Leics) 15:56
7 Nikita Bazylinski (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 16:28
8 Kezia Brown (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 16:33
9 Ellie Birch (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 16:47
Girls League
1 Emma Achurch (Blaby Stokes) – 6 points
= Laura Jo Bazylinski (Blaby Stokes) – 6 points
3 Kezia Brown (Blaby Stokes) – 7 points
= Samantha Vesty (Hall Orchard) – 7 points
5 Gwenan Jones – 9 points
Round 1
With a fine personal best time, Christopher Vesty (Rawlins College) won the first race of the 2008 Hewitt Cup series and improved his unbeaten sequence to seven in this long-established Leicester Walking Club event. Dominic Bishop (Blaby Stokes) held off team-mates Fergus Jeffs and Rory Chandler to take second place.
Jasmine Nicholls (Leysland) continued her “run” of good form with a victory in the girl’s race. Last year’s Champion, Emma Achurch (Blaby Stokes) and Fiona Brown took the other podium positions.
In this competition the individual standings are based on a handicapping system that encourages all competitors to improve, or get close to, their best times over the 3 race series. Half of the walkers bettered their previous best times while all the others were within 45 seconds of their records.
Vesty’s performance was just enough to give him an early lead over Bishop in the league standings. In the girl’s table it was a trio from the Blaby Stokes Striders stable (Sophie Naylor, Laura Jo Bazylinski and Kezia Brown) that head up the charts ahead of Sam Vesty. Judges’ style awards were presented to Laura-Jo, Sophie and Fergus.
Boys
1 Christopher Vesty (Rawlins College) 10:55
2 Dominic Bishop (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 13:49
3 Fergus Jeffs (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 14:46
4 Rory Chandler (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 15:05
Boys League
1 Christopher Vesty (Rawlins)
2 Dominic Bishop (Blaby Stokes)
3 Fergus Jeffs (Blaby Stokes)
4 Rory Chandler (Blaby Stokes)
Girls
1 Jasmine Nicholls (Leysland High School) 11:53
2 Emma Achurch (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 12:46
3 Fiona Brown (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 14:00
4 Gwenan Jones (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 15:06
5 Aimee Holloway (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 15:09
6 Laura Jo Bazylinski (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 15:35
7 Samantha Vesty (Hall Orchard, Leics) 16:01
8 Nikita Bazylinski (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 16:29
9 Sophie Naylor (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 16:32
10 Kezia Brown (Blaby Stokes, Leics) 16:34
Girls League
1 Sophie Naylor (Blaby Stokes)
2 Laura Jo Bazylinski (Blaby Stokes)
= Kezia Brown (Blaby Stokes)
4 Samantha Vesty (Hall Orchard)
5 Emma Achurch (Blaby Stokes)
LEICESTER WALKING CLUB celebrated medal successes at the 2006 Midland Track Championships held at Tamworth.
However, the celebrations were curtailed following UWIC student and 2006 AAA bronze medallist Fiona McGorum who was forced to pull out of the Senior Women's 5k with a recurrence of a hip injury, this after she was leading at the halfway stage. Team-mate, Sue Rey, finished fifth in 35mins 29secs.
Leicester's medallists were Jasmine Nicholls, Maks Orzel and Emma Achurch.
Nicholls claimed gold in the Under-15 Girls 3km in a time of 18:03. Orzel won Silver in the Under-15 Boys 3km (18:06) and Achurch secured bronze in the Under-13 Girls' 2km in 12:46.
In the Senior Men's 10km, Leicester's Mark Wall was fourth in 54:03, his team-mate Chris Berwick fifth (57:24) and Hinckley's Paul Haydon, who represents Nuneaton, finished sixth in 62:28.
RUSSIAN Dennis Nizhegorodov claimed a superb home victory taking over a minute and a half off Australian Nathan Deakes’ World Record with a time of 3hrs 34mins 14secs to finish ahead of compatriot and World 20km Record Holder Vladamir Kanaykin in the Men’s 50km race at the 23rd IAAF World Race Walking Cup held in sweltering conditions in Cheboksary.
The Great Britain team was represented by twin brothers Daniel and Dominic King from Colchester Harriers who both set out to improve on their performances in Dudince at the end of March, with the Olympic ‘A’ Standard of 4 hours as their target.
Daniel set of with purpose and walked in a large group passing 5 Kilometres in 23.53 in 46th position, with his brother Dominic King just behind. Daniel passed the 10 Kilometre mark in 47.11 in 42nd position, well inside the 48 minutes required for sub 4 hours. Dominic was just behind in 47.38 in 47th.
However, disaster struck for both athletes as after 20km Daniel picked up his first disqualification card from the judges. Meanwhile Dominic was beginning to slip back from the required pace as he passed the same mark in 1.37.06 (69th).
Both walkers were suffering by the midway point with Daniel suffering from sickness and receiving a second card from the judges. Behind him Dominic was beginning to really suffer as he passed 30km in 2.30.33. Competing well inside the Olympic ‘A’ standard, Daniel unfortunately received his final disqualification card at the 38km point.
Dominic meanwhile soldered on passing 40km in 3:28.40 (69th) and maintained his from to come home in 60th in 4.25.26. At the front, roared on by a home crowd in excess of 30,000
In the Women’s 20 km the home country’s dominance of the World Walking Cup came full circle when Olga Kaniskina reigned supreme in the women’s 20km from start to finish. The only downturn for the World champion in Osaka was the single second that denied her country of their third World record of the weekend.
Kaniskina strained for the line, no doubt aware that anything under 1:25:41 would net her an extra $50,000 to go with the first prize of $30,000, but heartbreakingly stopped the clock just a heartbeat beyond the magical time.
Britain’s Joanne Jackson made a positive start and went through 5km in 22.58 (35th). Yet she too succumbed to stomach cramps, which made it very difficult for her to take on fluids.
She gradually slipped back through the field as she passed halfway in 47.28 in 50th position, and pulled through in the last 5 Kilometres to come home in 45th in 1:37.56. She was very disappointed with her performance.
THE Junior Men’s 10km, the first race of the 23rd IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Cheboksary, Russia, went to form with Russia predictably opening the weekend with a win.
But the one blip, if you can call it that, was the home-gown athlete with the second-fastest time this year not only prevailed, but claimed a World junior record while he was at it.
Aleksey Bartsaykin had team-mate Edikt Khaybullin beaten long before the end, even though the latter had the fastest time of the year going into the race. In fact, 19-year-old Bartsaykin decided it was going to be his day with a lap-and-a-half to go when he snapped the string that joined him to a group of four.
The Russian then sprinted to open up a gap of 15 metres from team-mate Denis Strekov and Spaniard Luis Torla. The lead doubled by the bell, but it then looked as if Bartsaykin was happy to settle for just a glorious win in front of thousands of his countrymen.
He drunk in the applause going into the final turn, but he was also travelling at a tremendous pace. With a 100 metres to go he turned on the afterburners to crash through the line just under the magical 40:00 and claim the vacant World record.
The Chinese, Ding Chen thundered past Strelkov for silver, who in turn, was too quick for the Spaniard Torla. Early on, a group of eight enjoyed a relatively easy first 2km in around 8:02, with all the form walkers showing up front.
Indeed, such was the pushy pace, the field of 50-plus walkers was blown apart with large gaps from first to last. Even though most walkers in the race had PBs not exceeding 50:00, by the last lap of five around the lakeside setting, the backmarkers were already being lapped.
It was no surprise that Khaybullin was suffering, despite his superfast time in the Russian Championships and disappeared on the last lap. The only surprise to spectators was that Bartsaykin had time to wave to crowds, and still claim the fastest ratified time ever by a junior man.
The winner’s major concern wasn’t whether he would break the World record, but whether his pole position was in danger from a team-mate.
Bartsaykin said: “I didn’t think about the World record. However, I though another Russian might win. “I didn’t know which one, but certainly thought any threat would come from our team, with 200m left, I realised there was no-one behind me. But it was only 50m from the line I realised the World record was on.”
Great Britain’s Ben Wears finished 38th, this after he had made a positive start, passing 3km in 12.59 in 30th place. At the front the Russian duo of Strelkov and Bartsaykin lead a group of 6 through halfway in 20.21.
However, Wears bright start was threatened when he began to suffer from a major stitch at the 4 km point, and between 4 and 6km lost over a minute, as he passed halfway in 52nd position in 23.07.
Recovering from his stitch in the second half, he was able to get going again and began to move through the field. He came home in a creditable 38th place in a Seasons Best of 45.22.
Wears said after the race “I am very disappointed as I am in great shape at the moment. The stitch came on after 4km and I could do nothing for 2km. Fortunately I was able to get going again in the last 4km as it wore off”.
JASMINE NICHOLLS representing the Leicester Walking Club secured a bronze medal finish at the National Young Athletes Grand Prix Championships held at Victoria Park, London.
Nicholls recorded a time of 18mins 10secs in the Under-15 Girls' 3km in the race won by Ashford's Kelsey Howard in 16:42.
Chris Vesty was fifth in 29:26 in the Under-17 Boys 5km, whilst, Samantha Vesty was 13th in 15:58 in the Under-13 Girls 2km.
In the senior races, Mark Wall was eighth in the Men's 5km in 26:32 and fifth in the veterans 3km in 15:36.
Helen Middleton was second in the women vets 3km in 17:40, and fourth in the senior 5km in 30:14. Sue Rey was sixth in the vets 3km in 20:37 and eighth in the 5km in 34:24.
JASMINE NICHOLLS extended her unbeaten run to six races this year at Under-15 level with victory in the 2008 Jeff Ford Memorial Walks Young Athletes Grand Prix meeting in Sheffield.
The Leicester Walking Club junior won the 3km race in a time of 18mins 20secs to finish ahead of her nearest rival by more than two minutes on a new twisting course surrounding the Don Valley Stadium.
There were also bronze medals for club-mates Emma Achurch in the Under-13 Girls 2km in 13:06, Mark Wall in the Men's 5km in 31:26 and Helen Middleton in the Women's 10km in 60:49.
Leicester's Women's team captain Sue Rey set personal-best times over 5km and 10km with 32:18 in 11th and 66:00 taking fourth position respectively.
FIONA McGORUM representing the Leicester Walking Club claimed a fine silver medal on her debut at the National 20km Championships held at a cold and snow covered Earls Colne in Essex on Sunday 6th April.
The 19-year-old UWIC student clocked a time of 1hr 58mins 53secs to finish runner-up to Diane Bradbury representing Tonbridge AC (1:57.18).
McGorum's performance combined with Helen Middleton (fifth in 2:10.10) and Sue Rey (sixth in 2:17.58) ensured Leicester also won the team title.
BLABY STOKES STRIDERS race walking squad successfully retained the Chris Smith race walking league team title. This league format continues to be a runaway (or should that be “walkaway”!) success - a record 78 walkers from 40 schools competed during the 4 race series. With an impressive 25 of them achieving the gold standard, 23 the silver and 20 getting bronze indications are that schools race walking standards continue to rise.
Holly Smith (Cadbury College) notched up her second victory ahead of training partner Keera Rayment (City Tech.) with Jasmine Nicholls (Leysland, Leics) third quickest on the night. Antonio Cirillo (Neath) became the first male walker to win all four races in a season ahead of Mark Pratt (All Saints, Sheffield) and Matthew Duncan (Franklin College, Grimsby).
The individual leagues were closely contested as they are based on a handicapping system, which encourages all competitors to improve, or get close to their best performances, over the 4 race series. In a closely contested event, Rebecca Chambers (Greenhill, Sheffield) just held on to win the girl’s league by 3 points from Eleanor Mills (Grace Academy, Birmingham) with Katherine Jolley (Brantwood, Sheffield) just pipping Gwenan Jones (Blaby Stokes) for third place.
Similarly the outcome of the boy’s title was only decided in the final race. With another personal best time, Rory Chandler (Blaby Stokes, Leics) came out on top ahead of team-mate Dominic Bishop. Shaun Cohen (Handsworth Grange, Sheffield) squeezed out Antonio Cirillo (Neath) for third place overall.
Full Results:
Boys
1-Antonio Cirillo-Neath Port Talbot College-9:45; 2-Mark Pratt-All Saints, Sheffield-10:36; 3-Matthew Duncan-Franklin College, Grimsby-11:24; 4-Eddie Brebner-King Ecgberts, Sheffield-11:28; 5-Nathan Duncan-Hereford School, Grimsby-12:26; 6-Maks Orzal-Leicester Grammar-12:55; 7-Shaun Cohen-Handsworth Grange, Sheffield-13:43; 8-Rory Chandler-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:16; 9-Dominic Bishop-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:17; 10-Fergus Jeffs-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:36; 11-Harry Birch-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:15;12-Charlie Arnold-Queen Elizabeth, Atherstone-15:33; 13-Peter Bilson-SHEAF-17:17; 14-Adam Timson-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:45; 15-Ryan Horne-Alderman Smith-17:50; 16-Harry Stain-Market Drayton Junior-17:56; 17-Ben Timson-Blaby Stokes, Leics-18:15
League (points after 4 races)
1-Rory Chandler-168; 2-Dominic Bishop-163; 3-Shaun Cohen-158; 4-Antonio Cirillo-155; 5-Fergus Jeffs-150; 6-Maks Orzal-120; 7-Mark Pratt-96; 8-Nathan Duncan-94; 9-Andy Friend-93; 10-Tyler Bower-92
Girls
1-Holly Smith-Cadbury College-10:19; 2-Keera Rayment-City Tech College, Kingshurst-11:09; 3-Jasmine Nicholls-Leysland H.S., Leics-11:48; 4-Eleanor Mills-Grace Academy Chelmsley Wood-12:43; 5-Gabrielle Terry -Hull Collegiate-12:52; 6-Emma Achurch-Blaby Stokes, Leics -13:14; 7-Caitlyn Akers-H.S. Academy, Sheffield-13:40; 8-Cassandra Tingey-Sharlands Collegiate Academia, Smethwick-14:02; 9-Rebecca Chambers-Greenhill, Sheffield-14:37; 10-Chloe Pateman-Greenhill, Sheffield-14:57; 11-Katherine Jolley-Brantwood, Sheffield-15:03; 12-Jessica Warren-Burbage Junior-15:11; 13-Gwenan Jones-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:16; 14-Eve Stain-Heartshill HS, Nuneaton-15:25; =-Eden Backhouse-Market Drayton Junior-15:25; 16-Lisa Costelow-Blaby Stokes, Leics -15:42; 17-Laura-Jo Bazylinski-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:01; 18-Jessica Mills-Marston Green Junior, Birmingham-16:25; 19-Nikita Bazylinski-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:36; 20-Ellie Birch-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:53; 21-Sophie Naylor-Blaby Stokes, Leics-18:08; 22-Kezia Brown-Blaby Stokes, Leics-18:08; =-Rosie Parsons-St Josephs Junior, Nuneaton-18:53; 24-Elisze Streton-Barwell Junior-18:53
League (points after 4 races)
1-Rebecca Chambers-170; 2-Eleanor Mills-167; 3-Katherine Jolley-147; 4-Gwenan Jones-145; 5-Holly Smith-138; 6-Jasmine Nicholls-136; 7-Chloe Pateman-134; 8-Laura-Jo Bazylinski-131; 9-Maria Walker-130; 10-Cassandra Tingey-129
Overall Team Standings:
1 Blaby Stokes “A”, Leics-358; 2 Blaby Stokes “B”-312; 3 Greenhill, Sheffield-304; 4 Blaby Stokes “C”-264; 5 Market Weighton, E. Yorks-227; 6 Blaby Stokes “D”-202; 7 Blaby Stokes “E”-175; 8 Grace Academy, Chelsley Wood-167; 9 University of Wales-162; 10 Michael Drayton “A”, Nuneaton-159; 11 Handsworth Grange, Sheffield-158; 12 Neath Port Talbot College-155; 13 Brantwood, Sheffield-147; 14 Cadbury College, W. Midlands-138; 15 Leysland High School, Leics-136; 16 Blaby Stokes “F”-134; 17 Sharlands Collegiate, Smethwick-129; 18 Burbage Junior-125; 19 Leicester Grammar-120; 20 HS Academy, Sheffield-113; 21 Blaby Stokes “G”-109; 22 King Ecgberts, Sheffield-106; 23 Franklin College, Grimsby-104; 24 All Saints, Sheffield –96; 25 Hereford School, Grimsby-94; 26 City School, Sheffield-92; 27 City Tech. Kingshurst-80; 28 Croft Junior-78; 29 Heartshill High, Nuneaton-78; 30 Rawlins College, Leics-72; 31 Michael Drayton “B”, Nuneaton-71; 32 Queen Elizabeth, Atherstone-67; 33 Blaby Stokes “H”-65; 34 St Edmunds Campion, Erdington-61; 35 Wolfreton School, E. Yorks-60; 36 Marston Green Junior, Birmingham-57; 37 Kingstanding, Birmingham-51; 38 Hull Collegiate-36; 39 Thistly Meadow, Leics-31; 40 Blaby Stokes “I”-28; 41 cSilverdale School, Sheffield-22; 42 Hall Orchard, Leics-19; 43 Alderman Smith’s, Nuneaton-18; 44 Beauchamp College, Leics-16; 45 Barwell Junior-8; 46 St Joseph’s Junior, Nuneaton-7; 47 SHEAF-6; 48 Lacely’s Junior, Nuneaton-5; 49 Blaby Stokes “I”-5; 50 Nicholas Chamberlain, Nuneaton-2
HARBOROUGH'S England international Toni Boa successfully defended her 3,000 metres race-walking title at the British Masters Indoor Championships held at London’s Lee Valley Athletics Centre.
The F45 veteran crossed the line in a time of 17mins 15.74secs to retain her title with ease. This was her first race-walk event since the 2007 World Masters Championships last September when she led Team GB team to the Gold medal, and followed her previous day's efforts when she was the second Senior women for Harborough over 8k in the Saucony English National Cross-Country Championships at Alton Towers.
In other events at Lee Valley Boa’s club-mate Andy Wilkinson finished fourth in the M40 Pole Vault competition with an indoor best height of 3.30m.
JO JACKSON broke the eight-year-old British 20km race-walking record by a healthy margin with victory at the Australian Championships in Melbourne on Saturday (23rd February).
The 23-year-old Redcar athlete, competing as a guest, clocked a time of one hour 31 minutes 40 seconds - an Olympic Games 'A' qualifier - to smash Lisa Kehler's previous best of 1:33.57.
Jackson, who has developed into the country's first international-class walker for many years, decimated her previous fastest time of 1:36.28.
She finished well clear of Australia's Kellie Wapshott and Claire Woods, who also produced lifetime best marks of 1:32.57 and 1:33.02 in Fawkner Park.
It was Jackson's third and most important success since beginning a spell of warm-weather training and competition in Australia.
Jackson won a 3km walk in Canberra last month then, competing as a guest, claimed the New South Wales 5km title in Sydney.
HELEN MIDDLETON representing Leicester Walking Club went within 14 seconds of winning the RWA National 10-mile title at Enfield after leading for nine-and-three-quarter miles.
Middleton, competing in her first national championship after less than a year in the sport, recorded a time of 97mins 51secs but was edged out into second place by Hillingdon's Anne Bellchambers (97:37).
Middleton, however, had the consolation of a team Gold as Leicester team-mate Sue Rey and Sarah Lightman finished in fifth (108.10) and seventh (113.19) respectively.
The Leicester Men's team of Mark Wall (13th in 87:53) and Chris Berwick (16th in 90:10) finished in sixth place overall.
TEAM captain Mark Wall led the Leicester Walking Club to victory at the Midland 10km Championships held at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium.
In a race won by Tamworth's Mark Williams, Wall finished third in a time of 54mins 21secs, and there was strong back-up from Chris Berwick, fourth in 55:52, and Rod Dunne, 7th in 58:43.
In the Women's 5km, victory went to Olympian Lisa Kehler, of Wolverhampton, Leicester's Fiona McGorum took Silver in 27:04 and led her team to Bronze behind Wolverhampton and Birchfield.
Leicester's Helen Middleton was seventh in 29:41 and third scorer Sarah Lightman was 10th in 32:51, five seconds and one place ahead of team-mate Sue Rey.
DIFFICULT conditions affected times throughout the country in the third round of this popular postal 2km. Race Walking League. Holly Smith (Cadbury College, W.Midlands) secured her first Chris Smith League win after notching up runners up spots in the previous two races. Fiona McGorum (U.W.I.C.) and Kathryn Granger (King Ecgberts, Sheffield) took the other podium places.
In the Boys event Antonio Cirillo (Neath Port Talbot College) made it a hat trick of wins in this current series with Mark Pratt (All Saints, Sheffield) and Matthew Duncan (Franklin College, Grimsby) finishing in second and third respectively.
Although Market Weighton (E.Yorks) headed the team league on the night ahead of Michael Drayton School in Nuneaton and Leicestershire’s Blaby Stokes, it is the Stokes Striders team that takes a healthy lead into the final race of the series.
The individual leagues are closely contested as they are based on a handicapping system, which encourages all competitors to improve or get close to their best performances over the 4 race series. Rebecca Chambers (Greenhill, Sheffield) leads the Girl’s individual standings by 6 points from Eleanor Mills (Grace Academy, Birmingham) with Maria Walker (Market Weighton, E.Yorks) only two points further back.
Antonio Cirillo (Neath) leapfrogged over Rory Chandler (Blaby Stokes, Leics) to top the individual Boy’s league with Shaun Cohen (Handsworth Grange, Sheffield) just 3 points off the pace in third place.
Full Results:
Boys
1-Antonio Cirillo-Neath Port Talbot College-9:02; 2-Mark Pratt-All Saints, Sheffield-10:29; 3-Matthew Duncan-Franklin College, Grimsby-11:29; 4-Tyler Bower-City School, Sheffield-11:33; =-Eddie Brebner-King Ecgberts, Sheffield-11:33; 6-Andy Friend-University of Wales Institute Cardiff-11:40; 7-Nathan Duncan-Hereford School, Grimsby-11:46; 8-Maks Orzal-Leicester Grammar-12:59; 9-Shaun Cohen-Handsworth Grange, Sheffield-13:37; 10-Thomas Wagg-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:38; 11-Rory Chandler-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:43; 12-Fergus Jeffs-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:44; 13-Dominic Bishop-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:53; 14-Harrison Stephen-Thistly Meadow, Leics-15:13; 15-Peter Bilson-SHEAF-16:54; 16-Ben Timson-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:25; 17-Charlie Arnold-Queen Elizabeth, Atherstone-18:26; =-Jacob Bowyer-Queen Elizabeth Primary, Atherstone-18:26; =-Harry Stain-Market Drayton Junior-18:26
League (points after 3 races)
1-Antonio Cirillo-139; 2-Rory Chandler-132; 3-Shaun Cohen-129; 4-Dominic Bishop-125; 5-Fergus Jeffs-116; 6-Maks Orzal-98; 7-Andy Friend-93; 8-Tyler Bower-92
Girls
1-Holly Smith-Cadbury College-10:30; 2-Fiona McGorum-University of Wales Institute Cardiff-10:36; 3-Kathryn Granger-King Ecgberts, Sheffield-11:06; 4-Jasmine Nicholls-Leysland H.S., Leics-12:01; 5-Keera Rayment-City Tech College, Kingshurst-12:06; 6-Gabrielle Terry -Hull Collegiate-12:21; 7-Emma Achurch-Blaby Stokes, Leics -12:54; 8-Maria Walker-Market Weighton, East Riding of Yorkshire-12:58; 9-Eleanor Mills-Grace Academy, Chelmsley Wood-13:06; 10-Toni Webley-Kingstanding, Birmingham-13:20; 11-Chelsea Walker-Market Weighton, E.Yorks-13:21; 12-Caitlyn Akers-H.S. Academy, Sheffield-13:53; 13-Cassandra Tingey-Sharlands Collegiate Academia, Smethwick-14:16; 14-Lisa Costelow-Blaby Stokes, Leics -14:23; 15-Fiona Brown-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:32; 16-Rebecca Chambers-Greenhill, Sheffield-14:43; 17-Eve Stain-Heartshill HS, Nuneaton-14:51; 18-Gwenan Jones-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:03; 19-Grace Tharrold-Market Drayton Junior-15:12; 20-Eden Backhouse-Market Drayton Junior-15:12; 21-Chloe Pateman-Greenhill, Sheffield-15:45; 22-Katherine Jolley-Brantwood, Sheffield-15:55; 23-Jessica Warren-Burbage Junior-15:56; 24-Jessica Mills-Marston Green Junior, Birmingham-16:08; 25-Nikita Bazylinski-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:28; 26-Amy Sanders-Croft Junior-16:49; 27-Sophie Naylor-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:37; 28-Laura-Jo Bazylinski-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:38; 29-Eva Maddison-Blaby Stokes, Leics-18:24; 30-Kezia Brown-Blaby Stokes, Leics-18:24; =-Rosie Parsons-St Josephs Junior, Nuneaton-18:27; =-Elise Streton-Barwell Junior-18:27
League (points after 3 races)
1-Rebecca Chambers-138; 2-Eleanor Mills-132; 3-Maria Walker-130; 4-Gwenan Jones-120; 5-Cassandra Tingey-114; 6-Jasmine Nicholls-112; 7-Katherine Jolley-110; 8-Holly Smith-107
Overall Team Standings:
1 Blaby Stokes “A”, Leics-280; 2 Blaby Stokes “B”-242; 3 Greenhill, Sheffield-233; 4 Market Weighton, E. Yorks-227; 5 Blaby Stokes “C”-209; 6 Michael Drayton “A”, Nuneaton-197; 7 Blaby Stokes “D”-179; 8 University of Wales-162;9 Blaby Stokes “E”-152; 10 Neath Port Talbot College-139; 11 Grace Academy, Chelsley Wood-132; 12 Handsworth Grange, Sheffield-129; 13 Blaby Stokes “F”-115; 14 Sharlands Collegiate, Smethwick-114; 15 Leysland High School, Leics-112; 16 Brantwood, Sheffield-110; 17 Cadbury College-107; 18 Leicester Grammar-98; 19 Blaby Stokes “G”-94; 20 City School, Sheffield-92; 21 Franklin College, Grimsby-86; 22 Burbage Junior-84; 23 HS Academy, Sheffield-79; 24 King Ecgberts, Sheffield-79; 25 Croft Junior-78; 26 Hereford School, Grimsby-77; 27 All Saints, Sheffield -75; 28 Rawlins College, Leics-72; 29 St Edmunds Campion, Erdington-61; 30 Wolfreton School, E. Yorks-60; 31 Blaby Stokes “H”-60; 32 Heartshill High, Nuneaton-59; 33 City Tech. Kingshurst-52; 34 Kingstanding, Birmingham-51; 35 Queen Elizabeth, Atherstone-47; 36 Marston Green Junior, Birmingham-42; 37 Thistly Meadow, Leics-31; 38 Hull Collegiate-30; 39 Blaby Stokes “I”-28; 40 Silverdale School, Sheffield-22; 41 Hall Orchard, Leics-19; 42 Beauchamp College, Leics-16; 43 Alderman Smith’s, Nuneaton-14; 44 Michael Drayton “B”, Nuneaton-7; 45 Lacely’s Junior, Nuneaton-5; 46 Blaby Stokes “I”-5; 47 SHEAF-5; 48 St Joseph’s Junior, Nuneaton-5; 49 Barwell Junior-5; 50 Nicholas Chamberlain, Nuneaton-2
IN a joint initiative to improve the level of international performances, the Swedish and British National Race Walking Squads joined forces for a squad camp staged at Leeds Metropolitan University.
The squads benefited from being able to train together as well as discuss training and coaching methods. Both squads were involved in sessions on strength and conditioning. Members of both squads hope the camp will assist in their preparations for the forthcoming IAAF World Cup of Race Walking in Cheboksary in Russia in May and the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The joint initiative was coordinated by Dr Ian Richards as Senior Lecture in the Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education at Leeds Met and was made possible by the support of Malcolm Brown the Director of Sport at the University.
The Swedish squad also benefited from being able to tap into the expertise of Brian Hanley a Lecturer in Biomechanics. Brian is already working with both the Great Britain and Irish National Squads. Utilising the specialist equipment in the Carnegie Research Institute enables a number of tests to be conducted using force plates built into a treadmill, high speed cameras and EMG recorders.
This provides walkers with a full analysis of technique and the movement of their joints and muscles. Both squads also benefited from individual feedback from Brian Hanley on a study undertaken at the 2007 European Cup Race Walking in Leamington Spa which involved capturing all the competitors at various points during the 5 races.
This is the biggest and most comprehensive study of the biomechanics of race walking at a major event ever undertaken. The athletes and coaches from both Sweden and Great Britain enjoyed the experiences of working together and will benefit significantly from the feedback from the biomechanical analysis.
Both parties are keen to develop this partnership further as they prepare for Cheboksary and Beijing and in the long term to use the expertise and support of Leeds Met to assist British and Swedish race walkers develop into medal prospects for 2012.
LEICESTER WALKING CLUB athletes collected two Northamptonshire and four open titles at a meeting at Kettering.
Mark Wall won the Northamptonshire 10k in a time of 56mins 3secs and Helen Middleton claimed the women's title in 60:57.
Sue Rey won the Women's Open 5km in 34:26, whilst three juniors also won with Jasmine Nicholls in the Under-15 Girls 3km in 20:27, Emma Achurch in the Under-13 Girls 2km in 12:56, and Maks Orzel in the Under-15 Boys 2km in 12:59.
LEICESTER WALIKING CLUB won the overall 10k team handicap and were second in the 5k team handicap at the final Midland Winter League meeting held at Tamworth.
Men's captain Mark Wall won the overall mixed 10k handicap from Women's captain Sue Rey, who was second.
UWIC student Fiona McGorum claimed the individual title with victory on the day in 56mins 47secs.
Two juniors claimed Silver medals when Jasmine Nicholls, in the Under-15 Girls 3k, clocked 18:05, narrowly losing the league title by one second.
Emma Achurch was also second in the Under-13 Girls, smashing her personal-best for 2k with 12:22, the first time she had broken 13 minutes.
In the annual Midlands awards announced on the day, Jill Eve won the George & Beatrice Carr Trophy for the most-improved female walker.
Leicester Women were also awarded the Claire Powell Trophy, based on results achieved earlier in the season.
Leading Results:
Men 10k
4 Mark Wall (Leics) 55:05, 6 Paul Hayden (Nun) 61:31
Women 10k
4 Sue Rey (Leics) 66.17
Men 5k
5 Mark Wall (Leics) 27:57
Women 5k
6 Helen Middleton 29:57 (2nd overall handicap), 9 Sarah Lightman 33:12, 10 Sue Rey 34:06
Women Scratch Teams:
1 Wolverhampton, 2 Leicester
BLUSTERY conditions around the United Kingdom meant that only a handful of competitors in the second 2 km race of this popular postal Race Walking League beat their personal bests.
Antonio Cirillo (Neath Port Talbot College) took his second successive Chris Smith league win with a fine time of 9mins 8secs. Previous league champions Mark Pratt (All Saints, Sheffield) and Chris Vesty (Rawlins College, Leics) finished second and third respectively.
In the girls event Fiona McGorum (UWIC) took her total of wins in the Chris Smith League format to seven. With 6 runners-up spots and 4 thirds in her seventeen appearances she is the most successful walker the league has seen. Holly Smith (2nd - Cadbury College, West Midlands) and Kathryn Granger (3rd - King Ecgberts, Sheffield) retained the positions they achieved in the season’s opening event.
With 69 young walkers already registering times, this league format continues to flourish and indications are that competition will be fierce in all the categories when the league resumes early in 2008.
Both leaders of the individual leagues hold narrow two point leads. Currently, the promising Rory Chandler ((Blaby Stokes) tops the individual boy’s league over Antonio Cirillo. Shaun Cohen (Handsworth Grange) has two walkers from the Stokes squad (Fergus Jeffs and Dominic Bishop) challenging him for third place.
The girl’s league sees Cassandra Tingey (Sharlands Collegiate) leading training partner Eleanor Mills (Grace Academy) with Rebecca Chambers (Greenhill, Sheffield) and Jasmine Nicholls (Leysland HS, Leics) chasing hard.
Blaby Stokes Striders have their “A” and “B” teams at the top of the team league having stretched their lead over Greenhill School, Sheffield.
Full Results:
Boys
1-Antonio Cirillo-Neath Port Talbot College-9:08; 2-Mark Pratt-All Saints, Sheffield-10:31; 3-Christopher Vesty-Rawlins School, Leics-11:25; 4-Tyler Bower-City School, Sheffield-11:35; 5-Andy Friend-University of Wales Institute Cardiff-12:45; 6-Maks Orzal-Leicester Grammar-13:13; 7-Alex Thorne-Wolfreton School, E. Yorks-13:56; 8-Shaun Cohen-Handsworth Grange, Sheffield-14:05; 9-Rory Chandler-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:31; 10-Thomas Wagg-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:43; 11-Callum Naylor-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:44; 12-Fergus Jeffs-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:45; 13-Callum Bloxham-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:22; = Dominic Bishop-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:22; 15-Harrison Stephen-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:01; 16-Christopher Johnson-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:04; 17-Harry Birch-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:12; 18-Alfie Martin-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:45; 19-Harry Sayers-Blaby Stokes, Leics-16:58; 20-Charlie Arnold-Queen Elizabeth, Atherstone-17:01; 21-Jon Athon-Alderman Smith’s, Nuneaton-17:01
Individual Standings (after 2 races)
1-Rory Chandler-102; 2-Antonio Cirillo-100; 3-Shaun Cohen-85; 4-Fergus Jeffs-79; 5-Dominic Bishop-79; 6-Maks Orzal-75; 7-Christopher Vesty-72; 8-Tyler Bower-63
Girls
1-Fiona McGorum-University of Wales Institute Cardiff-10:15; 2-Holly Smith-Cadbury College-10:26; 3-Kathryn Granger-King Ecgberts, Sheffield-10:37; 4-Jasmine Nicholls-Leysland H.S., Leics-11:29; 5-Keera Rayment-City Tech College, Kingshurst-11:35; 6-Gabrielle Terry -Hull Collegiate-11:59; 7-Danya Sarayreh-Silverdale School, Sheffield-12:04; 8-Eleanor Mills-Grace Academy, Chelmsley Wood-12:56; 9-Cassandra Tingey-Sharlands Collegiate Academia, Smethwick-13:07; 10-Emma Achurch-Blaby Stokes, Leics -13:31; 11-Maria Walker-Market Weighton, East Riding of Yorkshire-13:56; 12-Lisa Costelow-Blaby Stokes, Leics -14:06; 13-Chelsea Walker-Market Weighton, E.Yorks-14:13; 14-Kara Sanders-Croft Junior-14:30; 15-Fiona Brown-Blaby Stokes, Leics-14:44; = Caitlyn Aker-H.S. Academy, Sheffield-14:44; 17-Rebecca Chambers-Greenhill, Sheffield-15:02; 18-Gwenan Jones-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:04; 19-Niamh Sculley-St Edmunds Campion, Erdington-15:24; = Aimee Holloway-Blaby Stokes, Leics-15:24; 21-Eden Backhouse-Market Drayton Junior-15:25; 22-Katherine Jolley-Brantwood, Sheffield-15:38; 23-Jessica Mills-Marston Green Junior, Birmingham-15:57; 24-Jessica Warren-Burbage Junior-16:25; 25-Chloe Pateman-Greenhill, Sheffield-16:32; = Laura-Jo Bazylinski-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:00; 27-Sophie Naylor-Blaby Stokes, Leics-17:00; 28-Sam Vesty-Hall Orchard, Barrow-17:51; = Imogen Nicholls-Blaby Stokes, Leics-18:56; 30-Eva Maddison-Blaby Stokes, Leics-18:56; 31-Kezia Brown-Blaby Stokes, Leics-19:16
Individual Standings (after 2 races)
1-Cassandra Tingey-102; 2-Eleanor Mills-100; 3-Rebecca Chambers-95; 4-Jasmine Nicholls-91; 5-Gwenan Jones-84; 6-Katherine Jolley-83; 7-Maria Walker-81; 8-Laura-Jo Bazylinski-77
Team Standings:
1 Blaby Stokes “A”, Leics-193; 2 Blaby Stokes “B”-169; 3 Greenhill, Sheffield-156; 4 Blaby Stokes “C”-155; 5 Blaby Stokes “D”-137; 6 Market Weighton, E. Riding-128; 7 Blaby Stokes “E”-118; 8 Michael Drayton. Nuneaton-108; 9 Sharlands Collegiate, Smethwick-102; 10 Neath Port Talbot College-100; = Grace Academy, Chelsley Wood-100; 12 University of Wales-97; 13 Leysland High School, Leics-91; = Blaby Stokes “F”-91; 15 Handsworth Grange, Sheffield-85; 16 Brantwood, Sheffield-83; 17 Blaby Stokes “G”-76; 18 Leicester Grammar-75; 19 Cadbury College-74; 20 Rawlins College, Leics-72; 21 Franklin College, Grimsby-69; 22 City School, Sheffield-63; 23 St Edmunds Campion, Erdington-61; 24 Wolfreton School, E. Yorks-60; = Blaby Stokes “H”-60; 26 Croft Junior-52; 27 All Saints, Sheffield –50; 28 Burbage-46; 29 HS Academy, Sheffield-44; 30 Queen Elizabeth, Atherstone-41; 31 City Tech. Kingshurst-39; 32 King Ecgberts, Sheffield-38; 33 Hereford School, Grimsby-32; 34 Blaby Stokes “I”-28; 35 Hull Collegiate-24; 36 Marston Green Junior, Birmingham-23; 37 Silverdale School, Sheffield-22; 38 Heartshill High, Nuneaton-19; = Hall Orchard, Leics-19; 40 Beauchamp College, Leics-16; 41 Alderman Smith’s, Nuneaton-14; 42 Lacely’s Junior, Nuneaton-5; = Blaby Stokes “I”-5; 44 SHEAF-4; 45 Nicholas Chamberlain, Nuneaton-2; 46 St Joseph’s Junior, Nuneaton-1; = Blaby Stokes “J”-1
Fiona McGorum
2006 AAA 5,000m Bronze medallist - Leicester Walking Club
Photo by Tim Watt.
-- back to top --
4 July 2008 – Stockholm, Sweden – A clash between Usain Bolt, Jamaica’s World record holder in the 100 metres and his fellow countryman, the former World record holder Asafa Powell, is set for the DN Galan - IAAF World Athletics Tour - on 22 July at Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium.
4 July 2008 - Nairobi, Kenya - Commonwealth Games Champion Lucy Wangui Kabuu won the 10,000 metres final on a cool sunny morning during the first day of the Kenyan trials for the Beijing Olympics today at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.