Jul-Sep 04

July 2004		August 2004		September 2004
	26/07/04		30/08/04		27/09/04
	19/07/04		23/08/04		20/09/04
	12/07/04		16/08/04		13/09/04
	5/07/04		9/08/04		6/09/04
			2/08/04

Hundreds of runners will be converging on Wimbledon Park athletics stadium on Sunday for the staging of Wimbledon's longest running road race - the 44th annual Wimbledon open 10 miles event organised by Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club.

Although postal entries for the event have already closed, entries are being taken on the day and anyone wanting to take part should turn up at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium at least an hour before the 11am start to give themselves plenty of time to register. Officials at Sunday's race will include Geoff Moulden who organised the first 10 miler at Wimbledon Park back in 1961, long before many of the runners taking part in Sunday's race were even born. The race has been staged every year since.

This year's race is getting civic recognition with the Mayor of Merton, Councillor Margaret Brierley, kindly agreeing to attend the event. She will set the runners on their way at 11am and watch them racing round the course before presenting the prizes at about 12.30pm.

Herman Mulder, from London Irish, who has won the race for the past two years, had yet to enter by the time postal entries close but his winning time last year of 52 minutes 39 seconds was well outside the course record of 48:10 set by Hercules Wimbledon's own Olympic athlete Bob Holt back in 1974. Hercules Wimbledon's first finisher in 2003 was Francis Staunton, who finished just outside the medals in fourth place.

Hercules Wimbledon runners did get among the prize winners in 2003 with cross country captain Steve Sinnott first veteran, Andy Waites second veteran, Peter Giles first veteran over 55 and John Thomas first veteran over 60.

Hercules Wimbledon face a hectic weekend as on Saturday they organise the opening East Surrey League event of the winter season, the annual Surrey cross country relays, on Wimbledon Common. The young athletes' under 13 race over just under two miles starts at 2.30pm with the under 15 and under 17 three lap and senior, junior and veterans four lap relays due off at 3pm.

Hercules Wimbledon's over 50 team was the most successful of the club squads in the annual South of England veterans road relays at Aldershot's Rushmoor Arena. They were the second Surrey team to close in finishing in eighth place. Hugh Saxby got the quartet off to a good start bringing them in eighth in 21:54. Martin Miller (22:37) and Maurice Sharp (24:17) lost a little ground but then former marathon international Steve Badgery brought them back into eighth place with the fastest time of the quartet, 21:49.

Hercules Wimbledon's veterans over 40 team of Martin O'Halloran (23:19), Simon Ingall (22:27), Tom Morris (23:06) and Steve Sinnott (21:25) finished 22nd and fifth among the Surrey teams in 1:30:17.

Entries are flowing in steadily for Wimbledon's longest running road race. Officials from Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club expect a bumper field to toe the starting line for the annual Wimbledon open 10 miles road race which is being staged for the 44th time on Sunday, October 3.

Athletes wanting to take part in the event still have time to enter as the closing date for postal entries is not until September 29. The race starts and finishes at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium and there will be medals for every finisher as well as a host of prizes.

Those qualifying for prizes are the first three men and women finishers, leading runners in the men's veterans over 40, over 50 and over 60 categories and leading runners in the women's veterans over 35, 45 and 55 categories.

Meanwhile, several Hercules Wimbledon road runners were in action in the Premier 10 kilometres road race at West Wimbledon on Sunday. Former marathon
international Steve Badgery, despite operating on a reduced training programme led the Hercules Wimbledon contingent home by taking the veteran over 50 prize in 36 minutes 31 seconds. He was 24th out of around 650 runners with clubmate Chris Coles 32nd in 36:44, veteran Eric Blackmore 50th in 38:23 and newcomer Joe Carter 61st in 39:03. The quartet were second in the team event.

Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in action were Maurice Sharp, third in the over 50 category in 39:55 and John Thomas, third in the over 60 category in 42:10.

Hercules Wimbledon's summer veterans track and field team John Webster lifted the Surrey veterans pentathlon title at Crawley on Saturday. His best individual efforts came in the discus and javelin where he threw 27.52 and 32.25 metres, respectively.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are sending teams to compete in the South of England road relay championships which are being staged at Aldershot on Saturday.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club, who only just managed to scrape into the Rosenheim League final at Tooting Bec last Wednesday after finishing fourth in the eastern division, showed underdogs can still triumph when they produced a stunning performance to lift the trophy for the first time in more than a decade. The success came weeks after Hercules Wimbledon's senior men's team had secured promotion in the Southern Men's League making 2004 one of the squads most successful seasons in recent years.

Hercules Wimbledon got off to a winning start with team captain Steve Davies taking the 400m hurdles in 57.6 seconds while javelin thrower Bekele Tola hurled the spear a winning 59.75 metres. Tola later took second place in the shot with 11.35 metres.

Dashing over to Tooting Bec from teaching at KCS, Wimbledon, inter-counties 10000m champion James Trapmore gained an impressive track double in the space of an hour winning the 1500 and 3000m in 4:10.6 and 8:54.0.

Teenager Ike Mba, vacating his usual jumping role, finished an impressive second in the 200m in 22.7, Mahmoud Ato Attaya was runner-up in the 400m in 52.3 and another teenager, Ross Savill was third in the 100m in 11.5. Meanwhile, Davies, after getting his breath back following his hurdles win, managed to gain valuable points in the high jump clearing 1.70 metres and former junior international 400m hurdler Austin Ferns came to the rescue in the triple jump clearing 11.39 metres for third place.

Going into the final event, the 4x200m relay, Hercules Wimbledon were just six points clear of their nearest rival but the quartet of Attaya, Jonathan Grayson, Richard Vanderpuije and Mba has to get the baton round safely to guarantee victory in the match. They came up trumps by taking the relay in 1:33.2 to lift the Rosenheim Plate, which has been contested every year since 1964, for the first time since 1993.

Hercules Wimbledon's Jade Lally broke the meeting record when she won the junior women's discus at Woking Athletic Club's Young Athletes open championships on Sunday. She also won the shot. Emily Martin won the under 17 100m, Ike Mba was second in the junior 200m and Amelia Richards second in the under girls 13 100m.

On the same night that Hercules Wimbledon track team achieved its victory at Tooting Bec, the club's top marathon runner, Adrian Marriott, was heading a 200-strong field home in the Summer five kilometres road race at Yeovil, Somerset. Marriott won by five seconds in 14min 49sec.

Hercules Wimbledon's supervet road runners lifted the silver medals in the Surrey County road relay championships held from the club's Wimbledon Park track headquarters on Saturday. Former marathon international Steve Badgery brought the men's over 50 team home in third place on the opening leg in 17:07. Hugh Saxby (17:08) moved into the silver medal
position which was held by Dennis Williams (18:42) and Martin Miller (17:35) on the remaining two laps.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are open their cross country programme by competing in the Blackheath Harriers Will Bolton Memorial open cross country relays at Sparrows Den, West Wickham on Saturday.

The annual Surrey County road relay championships are being staged from Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's track headquarters at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium on Saturday with scores of runners from clubs all over Surrey converging on the arena.

All the championships are being staged together with the first legs of the senior and veteran men and senior and veteran women all going off at 12noon. The course takes in a circuit which includes Wimbledon Park Road, Church Road, St Mary's Road, Arthur Road and Home Park Road before entering Wimbledon Park at the Home Park Road entrance. Hercules Wimbledon will have teams taking part.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club members were in action at the annual Veteran Athletic Club championships at Battersea Park. Best of the club contingent were triple Surrey champion Geoff Walcott and veterans summer captain John Webster. Webster broke the championship record in winning the over 65 javelin with 34.74 metres and completed the double by winning the hammer with 35.98 metres. Walcott had to settle for three second places behind European Masters medallist Wally Franklyn. Walcott took a hat-trick of men silver medals in clocking 12.18, 24.54 and 54.75 seconds in the men's over 50 100, 200 and 400m. Another Hercules Wimbledon medallist was Martin Miller who was second in the over 55 800m in 2:25.87.

Teenager Amelia Richards was the outstanding member of the Hercules Wimbledon team which took part in the Lily B League finals at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday. She gained a hat-trick of victories in the under 13 section winning the 100 and 200m in 14.2 and 29.2 and the long jump with 4.16 metres.

Lucy England also gained a hat-trick of wins in the under 17 events winning the 80m hurdles and javelin A competitions as well as the long jump B events. Emily Martin also competed in three events in the under 17 age group. She was second in the 100m and long jump and also runner-up in the shot with a personal best of 8.28 metres.

Nadia Abdulla had a busy afternoon in the under 15 events where she was runner-up in the javelin and third in the 100m and 75m hurdles.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's talented teenager Emily Martin helped Surrey to a narrow team win in a women's under 17 eight-sided inter-county match at Kingsmeadow Stadium, Kingston, on Sunday, competing in three events during a busy afternoon. Surrey clinched the match by winning the final track event, the 4x100m relay where the Hercules Wimbledon athlete ran a confident second leg to help Surrey comfortably win the event in 47.95 seconds, more than two seconds ahead of runners-up Hampshire. Earlier, Martin, the Surrey women's under 17 triple jump champion, who has enjoyed another successful summer season, took second place in the 100m B race in 13.09 and also gained valuable points by finishing fourth in the long jump with 5.32 metres. Her efforts helped Surrey win the match by just two points.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete to show good form has been Jade Lally, winner of both the Surrey junior women's discus and hammer-throwing titles at Kingsmeadow Stadium back in May. Competing at Tooting Bec on Saturday, she managed to produce the best discus throw of her life as she hurled it out to a winning 41.85 metres. Her throw added 32 centimetres to her previous best achieved at the South of England junior championships at Bedford in May and confirms her ranking as Britain's seventh best top junior women's discus thrower this summer.

Meanwhile, Hercules Wimbledon's Simon Ingall was the first veteran over 45 in the Last Friday of the Month five kilometres road race staged by Serpentine Runners' Club in Hyde Park on Friday. Ingall ran through steady rain to clock 18:33 in finishing 37th out of more than 200 runners. Hercules Wimbledon's cross country captain Steve Sinnott was also in action finishing 39th in 18:42 while another Hercules Wimbledon runner, over 50 veteran Ian Isherwood, was 138th in 22:28.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon compete in the Lily B League finals at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday, starting at 1pm.

Next Wednesday, Hercules Wimbledon's senior men's team will be in action in the Rosenheim League final at Tooting Bec, starting at 6.45pm.

Hercules Wimbledon are organising Wimbledon's longest running road race from Wimbledon Park on Sunday, October 3. The 44th annual Wimbledon open 10 miles road race is being staged from there starting at 11am. Entry details can be obtained here... entry form (in word) or pdf format or by ringing 020 8870 1196.

Three Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club athletes competed for Surrey in the eight-counties South of England senior inter-counties match at Hemel Hempstead and helped the men's team finish in third place.

Best of the trio was javelin thrower Bekela Tola who hurled the spear out to 60.42 metres, easily his best of the season. But, in a high standard competition in which the winner threw more than 70 metres, he could only finish in fourth place. Tola was called into the team at less than 48 hours notice after the first choices had withdrawn.

One of the busiest Surrey athletes of the afternoon was Hercules Wimbledon's team captain Steve Davies. He competed in no less than four events, starting off by taking second place in the 400m hurdles B race in a season's best of 57.2 seconds. He then finished third in the sprint hurdles B race in 16.4 and 400m B race in 53.8 before helping Surrey to third place in the 4x400m relay.

The third Hercules Wimbledon athlete in action at Hemel Hempstead was Steve Hadley who was called in at the last minute to compete in the 3000m steeplechase where he finished ahead of his Surrey team-mate to take seventh place in the A race.

Hercules Wimbledon's talented teenager Emily Martin has been selected to compete for Surrey in an under 17 inter-counties match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday. She will be in action in the long and triple jumps. Hercules Wimbledon runners were in action in the Surrey five kilometres road running championship at West Wimbledon on Sunday. Roy Burgess finished 12th in the senior men's race in 16min 17sec with supervet Martin Miller second in the over 55 category in 18min 41sec.

Hercules Wimbledon will be competing in the Rosenheim League final which will now be staged at Tooting Bec on Wednesday, September 8, starting at 6.45pm, after being postponed from August 18 due to unforeseen circumstances.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's youngsters ended the season with a flourish by clinching promotion to the top division of the Ebbisham Boys Young Athletes League in their final match at Kingsmeadow Stadium.

The small Hercules Wimbledon squad was rewarded for its hard afternoon's work providing nine winners in their match. The team's only athlete in the under 15 section, Jake Bodin, won the 800 and 1500m in 2 minutes 13.4 seconds and 4:36.8 and also took second in the 400m in 63.2.

The most talented member of the team, Jonathan Burgess, gained a fine hat-trick in the under 13 section. His best effort came in winning the 1500m in 5:02.5, just outside his personal best time. He also took the 400 and 800m races in 70.3 and 2:32.3. New signing Edmund Gaisie was another double winner taking the 100m and high jump and also finishing second in the 80m hurdles. while Tom Richards secured maximum points in the 100m by taking the B race. He also won the high jump B.

Another winner was Zak Swanson who took the javelin B event and was also second in the 200m B race. James Russell was third in the A race and was also second in the long jump A event. Tom Brandon gained valuable points with three second places in the discus and javelin A and hurdles B events. Matthew Burgess was second in the long jump B event.

Two other Hercules Wimbledon youngsters have also shown good form. Competing for Surrey in an under 15 inter-counties match at Abingdon, Douglas Hunt threw the hammer a personal best of 28.43 metres.

Meanwhile, Emily Martin just missed out on a medal in the AAA women's under 17 long jump championship at Birmingham but had the consolation of posting a lifetime best for the event. She leapt 5.62 metres to finish fourth in the competition. Her leap was eight centimetres better than her previous best. She was also in action in the triple jump where she leapt 10.77 metres to finish in eighth place.

At the other end of the age scale, Hercules Wimbledon supervet Geoff Walcott gained a hat-trick of wins for Surrey in an inter-counties match at Ashford, Kent. He took the over 50 100, 200 and 400m events in 12.3, 24.6 and 57.0.

Hercules Wimbledon's Adrian Marriott made a rare competitive appearance when he turned out in Yeovil Town five kilometres road race in Somerset where he finished third in 14:52.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes compete in their penultimate Lily B Girls League meeting at Guildford on Saturday, while on Sunday, the club's runners will be in action in the Surrey five kilometres road running championship at West Wimbledon.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's senior men's team clinched promotion in the Southern Men's League with an emphatic win in their final match of the season at Portsmouth.

The squad posted their top score of the season as they ran away with the match with 166 points, also equalling the best score in their division this summer, ahead of Havant (127), Blackheath and Bromley (91) and Medway and Maidstone (36). It means Hercules Wimbledon finished second in the Division Three South table and are one of two teams to gain promotion.

The enthusiastic contingent of Hercules Wimbledon athletes totally dominated the match winning 30 of the 38 events. One lap hurdlers Austin Ferns and Steve Davies got the team off to a fine start with good points as Ferns finished second in the A race in 54 seconds and Davies won the B event in 57.9. Later, Ferns took the flat 400 metres in 51.7 and then helped the 4x400 metres relay team to victory in 3min 32.7sec.

Teenager Ike Mba, who took a bronze medal in this year's English schools senior boys long jump championship, gained a fine individual hat-trick in the long jump (6.82 metres), triple jump (12.67 metres) and 400m B race. He also helped the sprint relay team to victory in 45.7. Another key member of the sprint relay team was Fred Agyarko who also took the individual 100and 200 metres in 11.0 and 23.0 with veteran Geoff Walcott taking second in the 100m B race in 12.0 and Jon Grayson winning the 200m B in 24.1. Grayson also completed the hat-trick taking the long and triple jump B events.

For once, Hercules Wimbledon scored well in the middle-distance events with Mahmoud Abo Attaya and Camille Duval, making his debut in the event, gaining maximum points in the 800m and Kieran White and Lance Power winning the 1500m A and B string events. There were also maximum points in the steeplechase through Steve Hadley and Barry White while Chris de Jager and Steve Davies swept to victory in the sprint hurdles.

Royden John and Bekele Toia also gained maximum points in the pole vault with John also winning the high jump B and Toia the javelin with a fine throw of 52.55 metres. Toia was also second in the shot.

Pensioner John Webster, the oldest member of the squad at 65, showed age is no barrier to winning. as he took the hammer A with John Brown winning the B with a season's best. Brown ended the season with a flourish as he also achieved two other season's bests in the discus and shot. Postman Francis Staunton, who dashed down to Portsmouth after spending five hours delivering letters in South London, posted a personal best in the 5000m.

Three Hercules Wimbledon athletes, Steve Davies (400m hurdles), Chris de Jager (long jump) and Steve Hadley (steeplechase), have been selected to represent Surrey in an eight-sided inter-counties match at Hemel Hempstead on Sunday (August 15). Next Wednesday (August 18). On Saturday (August 14), Hercules Wimbledon youngsters compete in this season's final Ebbisham Boys League match at Kingsmeadow Stadium. Next Wednesday (August 18), Hercules Wimbledon compete in the Rosenheim League final at Tooting Bec, starting at 6.45pm.

Emily Martin, Hercules Wimbledon's talented teenager, who picked up a silver medal in the AAA girls under 15 long jump at Sheffield last year, again competes in the AAA age group championships at Birmingham at the weekend. She is entered for the women's under 17 triple jump, where she is Surrey champion and the long jump, in which she won the silver medal at the Surrey championships.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's top woman race walker Estle Viljoen has received an unexpected invitation to attend this month's Olympic Games in Athens as a guest of the South African Ministry of Sport.

Viljoen, 34, thought her dream of appearing in Athens at this summer's Games were dashed when she suffered a leg injury which made it impossible for her to compete. Despite suffering considerable discomfort, Viljoen, who teaches at Haslemere School, Mitcham, tried to take part in several walking events in this country, including the Inter-Counties Championships at Bedford in May, only to find her injury inhibited her walking action and resulted in her suffering two successive disqualifications. Although she has been unable to train for walking, she has managed to keep fit by running and train at the Cannons fitness centre in Wimbledon.

Viljoen, said she was "absolutely surprised" to get the invitation to be a VIP at the Olympics from South Africa but she is looking forward to attending the opening ceremony and seeing some of the action. She will arrive in Athens next Wednesday (August 11), and hopes to meet most of the 32-strong South African athletics team while there. She is also hoping to stay for most of the athletics events.

Meanwhile, some of Hercules Wimbledon's aspiring Olympians showed good form when they turned out in their final National Young Athletes League match of the season at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday.

Top teenage long jumper Emily Martin, who has been ordered not to jump for a few weeks because of a bruised foot, instead switched to sprinting and won the women's under 17 100 and 200 metres races in impressive style in 12.7 and 26 seconds. She was also third in the shot. Team-mate Lucy England also had a busy afternoon finishing second in the long jump and javelin and third in the 300 metres hurdles.

Amelia Richards, in her first season in athletics continued to show useful form, taking the girls track athletes of the match award for her performances in the under 13 75 and 150 metres events where she clocked 10.3 and 20.5secs, respectively.

Best of the boys was Rufus Nugent who also took a break from long jumping to finish runner-up in the 200 metres in 24secs, and third in the 100 metres in 11.6sec. He also won the javelin with a useful 34.09 metres throw. Hercules Wimbledon gained maximum points in the under 17 800 metres with Mark Cooper and Dominik Leeson winning the A and B races. Cooper also won the 400 metres B race with clubmate Richard Vanderpuije finishing runner-up in the A race. Hercules Wimbledon's youngest winner was Edmund Gaisey who snatched victory in the boys under 13 100 metres with Douglas Hunt winning the under 15 hammer with 24.17 metres.

Hercules Wimbledon have qualified for the final of this year's Rosenheim League competition which will be staged at Tooting Bec track on Wednesday, August 18, starting at 6.45pm. Javelin thrower Bekele Tola was the outstanding Hercules Wimbledon athlete in the final east division match, also at Tooting Bec, winning the javelin with a season's best of 58.65 metres. He also won the shot.

Teenager Richard Vanderpuije clocked a lifetime best of 52.3sec in winning the 400 metres while veterans Geoff Walcott and Eric Blackmore were runners-up in the 200 and 3000 metres, respectively. David Fleming was also second in the 1500 metres and fourth in the 800 metres.

Hercules Wimbledon contest their final Southern Women's League match of the season at Croydon Sports Arena on Saturday, starting at 12.15pm with the first track event at 1.30pm.

One of Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's youngest athletes, Jonathan O'Halloran, gained a last minute call-up for Surrey for the annual South East of England under 13 inter-counties match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday.

O'Halloran, who is just 12, came in to plug a gap in the 800 metres and managed to help Surrey win the 12-county match by posting a lifetime best for the distance. He clocked 2min 34.5sec to slice half-a-second off his previous best time for the distance set at the Surrey championships in May. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate, Jonathan Burgess, who won a bronze medal in the county championship in May, was unavailable to represent the county as he was on holiday.

Meanwhile, Roy Burgess led the Hercules Wimbledon contingent home in the annual Elmbridge open 10 kilometres road race at Walton-on-Thames when he finished 10th out of a field of around 600 runners in 34min 3sec. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Steve Badgery was third veteran over 50 in 36min 48sec.

Hercules Wimbledon's track and field teams are facing a challenging weekend with the youngsters competing in their final National Young Athletes League match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday and the senior men travelling to Portsmouth for their final Southern Men's League match of the summer.

Going into the final fixture at the Mountbatten Stadium on Saturday, the men's team occupy one of the two promotion slots in their division and a good result in the final match will be cause for much celebration on Saturday night. Team captain Steve Davies is trying to muster the strongest possible team for the event. One piece of good news for Davies is that star long jumper Ike Mba, winner of a bronze medal at the recent English schools championships with a lifetime best of 7.04 metres in the senior boy's event, will be available for the match. Originally, he was planning to be on holiday.

The club's young athletes team have been holding their own in their division and team manager Nick Getting is hoping for a good final effort at Kingsmeadow in Sunday's final match which starts at 11.45am. Most of the youngsters who competed in the last match at Brunel University, Uxbridge are expected to be in action.

Once again, the outstanding individual there was teenager Emily Martin who gained a hat-trick of wins in the under 17 section winning the 100 and 300 metres and long jump. Her team-mate, Lucy England, who missed the last match because she was acting as a ball-girl at Wimbledon, hopes to be back for Sunday's final match. Newcomer Amelia Richards, continued her impressive series of appearances with Hercules Wimbledon by winning the under 13 75 metres B race.

Surrey 800 metres bronze medallist Jonathan Burgess continued his winning streak in league meetings by taking the 1500 metres in a time close to his best while Damien Robertson and Dominik Leeson secured maximum points in the under 17 1500 metres taking the A and B races, respectively. Matt Zaczek and Jack Kennedy also gained top points in the under 17 javelin winning the A and B contests while London Schools intermediate boys champion Rufus Nugent was a double winner in the under 17 100 metres and long jump A events.

Best of the Hercules Wimbledon athletes in the under 15 section were Jake Bodin who won the 3000 metres A race and Levi Durant, winner of the hammer B.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club veteran Geoff van Klaveren is celebrating winning a gold medal at the Welsh Masters championships at Cardiff's Leckwith Stadium.

Van Klaveren hurled the javelin out to a winning 38.40 metres and while he was delighted to take the over 40 title, he was less happy with his winning effort. "It is still not my best by a long shot but at least the distances are getting better," he said on his return to his Wimbledon home. He hopes he will be selected to represent Wales in a veterans international meeting later in the season. He also took the bronze medal in the shot with a throw of 8.40 metres.

His javelin throw in Cardiff was some distance further than his effort at the British Masters Championships at Birmingham at the end of June where he threw 35.52 metres for seventh place in his event. Hercules Wimbledon's veterans captain John Webster was also seventh in the over 60 category with a throw of 31.59 metres.

Hercules Wimbledon super vet Geoff Walcott missed out on a medal three times in the 100, 200 and 400 metres. Admittedly, all three titles were won by triple World Masters Champion Steve Peters as Walcott finished fourth in all three over 50 finals in 12.5, 25.16 and 54.77sec.

Hercules Wimbledon veteran sprinter Mark Baker was also disappointed as he finished only third in his heat of the over 40 100 metres in 12.3sec.

Baker is among a small contingent of Hercules Wimbledon athletes who was leaving this week for the European Masters Championships which are being staged in Denmark until August 1. Baker is due to compete in the over 40 100 and 200 metres.

Also making the trip are Peter Giles who is entered for the over 60 5000 metres and marathon and Vince Hancock who is down for the over 60 10000 metres.

Hercules Wimbledon's Roy Burgess showed winning form on the road as he led the field home in the annual Harry Hawkers eight miles road race at Thames Ditton. He clocked 43min 19sec to finish seven seconds clear.

Hercules Wimbledon gave another impressive team display in the fifth of this season's Rosenheim League East Division matches at Tooting Bec. Royden John took the sprint hurdles, Richard Vanderpuije the 400 metres and Jon Grayson the triple jump after finishing second and third in the 100 and 200 metres, respectively.

Next Wednesday (July 28), Hercules Wimbledon athletes return to Tooting Bec for the last of this season's East Division matches but the team is already guaranteed a place in the final which is being held at Tooting Bec on Wednesday, August 18. Next Wednesday's meeting starts at 7pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's superb young long jumper Ike Mba continued his outstanding season with a medal-winning performance in the English Schools track and field championships at Gateshead International Stadium.

Mba, the 16-year-old Surrey schools champion, who also took the silver medal at the South of England junior championships in May with a lifetime best of 7.01 metres, leapt even further as he clinched the senior boys long jump bronze medal with a superb 7.05 metres.

Mba's medal-winning effort made up for his disappointing showing in 2003 when he was 15th in the intermediate boys triple jump when he was one of the favourites for the title. His was the best performance by a quartet of Hercules Wimbledon athletes in action at Gateshead.

Competing for London, another talented teenager, Emily Martin, was hampered by an ankle injury and two opening no jumps in the intermediate girls long jump final. She knew she had to make a valid mark with her third effort, which she did, and then went on to clear 5.52 metres with her fifth attempt to take sixth place in the competition, just 22 centimetres outside a medal-winning position. Last year, she was fourth in the junior girls long jump so, if all goes well, she must be in with a medal chance in the 2005 English Schools championships.

The two other Hercules Wimbledon athletes at Gateshead, Jade Lally and Rufus Nugent, were competing at the English Schools championships for the first time. Lally, the Surrey senior girls champion, threw well to take sixth place in the discus with 37.86 metres, while Nugent, the London intermediate boys champion, was a little below his best this year with 6.18 metres in the long jump where he finished 11th.

Despite fielding a much depleted team in their penultimate Southern Men's League match of the season, Hercules Wimbledon are still in line for promotion. Adding to their injury woes, number one sprinter Ross Savill pulled a hamstring while warming up so it meant further last minute changes to the team. All-rounder Chris de Jager proved outstanding, filling the breach in the 100 metres, winning the sprint hurdles. finishing second in the triple jump and third in the long jump and also competing in the javelin and sprint relay.

With the club's top pole vaulters either injured or unavailable, 65-year-old John Webster came to the rescue by taking third place in the B competition. He also took second place in the javelin B competition. Former junior international Austin Ferns continued his return to form by winning the 400 metres hurdles in 55.3sec and the 400 metres B race in 52 second and then helped Hercules Wimbledon win the 4x400 metres relay with a 51.1sec leg.

Team captain Steve Davies anchored the 4x400 metres relay team home and also won the sprint hurdles B race, was second in the 400 metres hurdles B race and second in the high jump B. Remi Butler was second in the high jump A, while Keiran White, making his league debut, won the 1500 metres B race.

This is an important weekend for four Hercules Wimbledon Athletic club youngsters who have been selected to compete for their county teams in this weekend's English Schools track and field championships at Gateshead International Stadium.

Heading the quartet is 15-year-old Emily Martin who is London's sole representative in the intermediate girls long jump after taking the individual silver medal in the London Schools championships at Battersea Park.It will be Emily's third appearance in the English Schools Championships. In 2002, she finished sixth in the junior girls long jump with a leap of 5.15 metres at Nottingham. Last year, at Sheffield, she just missed out on a medal as she finished fourth in the junior girls long jump with 5,57 metres.

Another Hercules Wimbledon member in the London team is Rufus Nugent who has been selected for the intermediate boys long jump after winning the title at the London Schools championships with a leap of 6.24 metres.

Top long jumper Ike Mba, who took the silver medal in the South of England junior men's long jump championship at Watford in may with a personal best of 7.01 metres, competes for Surrey in the senior boys long jump event after taking the county schools title with 6.87 metres at Kingsmeadow Stadium in May.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete to win a Surrey title was Jade Lally. She took the senior girls discus with 40.60 metres and was selected to represent Surrey in that event at Gateshead.

Jade warmed up for Gateshead with a quartet of wins in her club's Southern Women's League match at Horsham. She won the senior discus with 39.35 metres, hammer with 31.82 metres, shot with 9.32 metres and triple jump with 9.78 metres.

Emily Martin was also in good form winning the senior 100 metres in 12.8sec and long jump with 5.38 metres. She was also second in the triple jump with 10.72 metres.

This weekend is also a testing for Hercules Wimbledon's Southern Men's League team. They come up against the only other unbeaten team in their division, the Channel Islands, in a crucial match at Bracknell on Saturday. Victory in the match would almost certainly guarantee the divisional title for the Hercules Wimbledon squad.

Hercules Wimbledon are also sending a team to the second of this season's Lily B League meeting at Sutton Arena on Saturday while the club competes in the fourth of this season's Southern Veterans League meetings at Battersea Park on Monday, starting at 6.30pm, and the fifth of the Rosenheim League East Division meetings at Tooting Bec next Wednesday (July 14) starting at 7pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS