Jul-Sep 07

July 2007		August 2007		September 2007
	30/07/07		27/08/07		24/09/07
	23/07/07		20/08/07		17/09/07
	16/07/07		13/08/07		10/09/07
	9/07/07		6/08/07		3/09/07
	2/07/07

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's runners warmed up for this weekend's South of England road relay championships at Aldershot with encouraging runs in their opening cross country match of the season in Richmond Park.

With strict instructions not to stray from designated footpaths or approach the deer due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak a few miles to the south on the Berkshire border, one of the club's newest recruits, Egyptian Hussein Aly led the scoring field home in impressive style to win the five miles race in 27 minutes 28 seconds.

Not far behind was clubmate Jamie Helmer finishing fifth in 28:05 with Phil Glynn seventh in 29:21 and Hugh Saxby, first veteran over 50, ninth in 30:31. Teenager Ed Saywell was down the field finishing 22nd in 36:55.

Meanwhile, over on Wimbledon Common, London schools junior boys 1500m champion Liam White continued to improve when he turned out in the weekly five kilometres time trial.

White, who will be 15 next month, improved his time for the course for the second consecutive weekend as he crossed the line third out of more than 60 runners in 17:25. His time took 11 seconds off his previous best set just seven days earlier and was the second highest age graded performance of the day.

At the other end of the age scale, Maurice Sharp was first over 60n veteran in 20:32 with Dennis Williams, runner-up in that category in 23:22.

Another Hercules Wimbledon runner, Annmarie Seymour was fourth woman on her first appearance in the race, just ahead of Williams, in 22:40.

Hercules Wimbledon's Amelia Richards completed her busy summer track and field season with a double success in the Lily B League Plate Final at Kingsmeadow. She won the girls under 15 long jump with 5.16m and also took the 75m hurdles in 12.4. She was also third in the shot. She also helped Hercules Wimbledon finish runners-up in the 4x100m relay.

Jade Brooks and Megan Brown gained maximum points in the under 15 1500m where they won the A and B string races, respectively, while Sharon Obayuwana won the 200m after finishing runner-up in the 100m. She was also third in the shot B.

Best of the under 13 athletes in action was Eleanor Smith-Hahn who won the 1500m and was runner-up in the 200m and long jump. She completed a busy afternoon by helping Hercules Wimbledon to second place in the 4x100m relay.

Hercules Wimbledon's bronze medal-winning Surrey road relay senior men's team will be in action in the South of England championships at Aldershot on Saturday where the club will also be fielding teams in the men's veterans over 40, over 50 and over 60 championships.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's top veteran sprinter Geoff Walcott has returned from the World Masters track and field championships in Riccione, Italy, with a hat-trick of medals - including two golds - and helped set two world records!

Walcott was a member of the gold medal winning British men's over 55 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams which both achieved world record-breaking performances with their performances. He ran the second leg for the sprint relay team which won in 46.16 seconds and then anchored the 4x400m relay team to their record-breaking victory in 3:43.59.

Earlier in the championships he took the individual bronze in the 400m. He looked good for a medal after winning his heat in 57.48, the third best time of the round. He then improved to clock 55.66 in his semi-final behind the eventual title winner, Bill Collins of the USA. Then, he went even faster in the final to clinch the bronze medal in 54.81.

Walcott, who had been hampered by a throat infection during the championships, was thrilled to have won his first individual world championships medal. But, for him not being 100 per cent he would have got far closer to his best time of 53.81 achieved at an open meeting at Tooting Bec in July which would have been good enough to take silver in Italy.

The bronze medal was also some consolation for him finishing fourth and just outside the medals in the 100m and fifth in the 200m in 24.65.

Hercules Wimbledon's Deon Coetzee warmed up for the forthcoming winter cross country season with a good run in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial where he took almost half-a-minute off his previous best time for the event. He was narrowly beaten for the honours in taking second place in 16:58, 24 seconds faster than his previous best time for the course.

Teenager Laim White, who won't be 15 until next month, also improved on his previous best time for the course in finishing sixth in 17:36 finishing just one second ahead of clubmate Neil Fraser who also posted a personal best time. White took 15 seconds off his previous best for the course while Fraser improved by 42 seconds.

At the other end of the age scale, Hugh Saxby, 53, produced the best age graded performance in finishing 10th in 17:52, slicing just two seconds off his previous best time.

Taking a break from race walking, Estle Viljoen was second woman in 19:23 while her Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Dennis Williams was first veteran over 60 in 23:00. Six days earlier, Viljoen, who teaches at Haslemere Primary School, Mitcham, lifted the South of England women's 10 kilometres race walking at Earls Colne. She clocked 52:03, well outside her best this year of 50:53 in Coventry in March. She finished fourth overall in the race which also incorporated the Race Walking Association and UK Championships. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon open their cross country season with a five miles race in Richmond Park on Saturday. The race starts near Sheen Gate at 2.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon's road runners came away with a set of bronze medals in the annual Surrey Road Relay championships which were staged from the club's track headquarters at Wimbledon Park on Saturday.

First leg runner Jamie Helmer got the team off to a solid start as he came in seventh at the end of the opening lap in 15 minutes 29 seconds, just 40m seconds behind the leaders. Even though he clocked a slower 16:18, second leg runner Deon Coetzee moved through to sixth place on the second leg before Justin Kelly, with the fastest Hercules Wimbledon time of the day of 15:03 got Hercules Wimbledon into bronze medal position.

Fourth leg runner Kieran White consolidated Hercules Wimbledon's bronze medal position covering the 2.8 mile lap in 15:23 with Arnaud Claverie (16:37) and Gary Blesson (16:11) completing the medal winning team. The sextet thus repeated their medal-winning performance in 2006.

Newcomers Belal Aly (15:13) and Hussein Ahmed (15:05) made impressive debuts for Hercules Wimbledon running for the non-scoring B team. Other runners in the B team were Andrew Penney (15:45), Laim White (16:22), Deyan Knespl (17:03) and Neil Fraser (16:22).

Hercules Wimbledon also had a C team in action comprising veteran Dan Bodin (16:31), Phil GFlynn (16:21), Martin O'Halloran (18:36), Will Spooner (19:32), Charlie Carrington (19:32), Charlie Carrington (18:03) and Geordie Logan (18:11).

Hercules Wimbledon senior women's finished sixth with anchor leg runner Rosemary Fernando (19:43) clocking the fastest time of the quartet. Other members of the team were Jennifer Fernando (20:04), Anastasia Hancock (20:22) and Micheala Knespl (19:44).

A third member of the Fernando family, Hannah, was in action for the women's B team. She ran the opening leg in 20:34. Other members of the team were Serena Brotherton (21:29) and Katy Luffingham (25:34).

Veteran schoolmaster Maurice Sharp gained the medal for the fastest individual time in the veterans over 60 event with a time of 19:27. Anchor leg runner Hugh Saxby was the fastest member of the veteran over 50 team which finished ninth. First leg runner Stu Littlewood was 10th on the opening leg in 19:32 with Barry King (20:00) holding 10th place, Ian Isherwood (22:10) slipping to 11th before Saxby clocked 17:10 on the final stage.

Hercules Wimbledon veteran sprinter Geoff Walcott had a torrid time in his opening event at the World Masters Championships in Riccione, Italy. After winning his first round men's over 55 100m heat in 12.16 and finishing second in his semi-final in a faster 12.07, the third best time of the round, he was confident of at least a medal in the final.

However, Walcott, who went to Italy with a slight injury, was unable to produce his opening round form in the final where he just missed out on a medal by three-hundredths of a second, trailing home in 12.27 in what was his slowest time of the three rounds. Had he been able to repeat either his first or second round times in the final he would have returned with a silver medal.

His medal hopes were revived when he won his first round 200m heat on Sunday. He headed the field home in the fifth race in 24.63, a time beaten by only two other first round sprinters. However, they received a set-back when he qualified for the final in finishing second in his semi-final on Monday in a slower 24.70, only the sixth best time of the semi-final round.

Hercules Wimbledon's double British Masters champion Geoff Walcott is challenging for world honours when he competes in the World Masters track and field championships which started in Riccione, Italy, on Tuesday.

Walcott, the British over 55 200 and 400m champions, has high hopes of getting among the medals when he competes among the best in the world. He holds the British over 55 400m record with 53.81 seconds at Tooting in July. His record breaking run showed he is returning to his best form.

Before flying out to Italy this week, Walcott, a member of British medal-winning relay teams at World indoor and outdoor championships, admitted: "I've still got a few twinges but once I start competing I'm quite sure they won't cause any problems."

As a precaution he decided to miss the Veterans Athletic club championships at Kingsmeadow where several of Hercules Wimbledon's more seasoned athletes managed to come away with a handful of medals.

Martin Miller set two Hercules Wimbledon age records in winning the men's over 60 400m in 65.9 and the 800m in 2:23.8. He was also second in the 1500m. Hercules Wimbledon's veterans team manager John Webster won the over 65 hammer with 34.51m, and picked up a hat-trick of silver medals finishing second in the long jump, pole vault and javelin.

Another Hercules Wimbledon pensioner, Kevin Burnett also secured four medals finishing second in the over 65 discus and third in the hammer, javelin and shot. Another Hercules Wimbledon winner was Dan Pescod who took the over 35 5000m in a championship record time of 18:30.0 while former marathon international Steve Badgery was runner-up in the over 60 5000m in only a slightly slower time, 18:43.5, to put him second on the Hercules Wimbledon all-time list, with Mike Kortenray taking the bronze medal.

Hercules Wimbledon triathlete Gary Blesson beat more than 400 runners to win the Arundel Castle 10 kilometres road race in Sussex in 36:53.

Teenager Emily Martin was in action for the South of England in the Home Countries Inter-Territorial Match at Barnet Copthall Stadium, Hendon, on Sunday. She finished third in the long jump and triple jump B competitions with leaps of 5.29 and 10.71m, helping the South to second place in the women's match behind Scotland.

It was a busy weekend for Emily. The previous day she competed in a four individual events in a Southern Women's League match at Basildon. She won the senior women's long and triple jumps with a slightly better leaps of 5.31 and 11.07m, was second in the 100m in 12.9 and third in the shot with 8.66m before helping the sprint relay team to second place.

Twins Jennifer and Rosemary Fernando were also in action on the track with Jennifer taking second in the 800m and third in the 400m and Rosemary second in the 400m B and 3000m. Jennifer was also third in the javelin.

Natasha Skeet and Jade Brooks both scored wins in the under 15 events. Natasha took the 75m hurdles and long jump as well as finishing third in the 100m while Jade won the 100m B, was second in the javelin and third in the javelin.

Hercules Wimbledon host the annual Surrey road relay championships from their Wimbledon Park track headquarters, starting at 12noon. Hercules Wimbledon runners will be in action in most of the races for men and women seniors and veterans.

The 47th staging of Wimbledon's longest running road race takes place on Sunday, October 7.

Entries are already being received for the annual Geoff Moulden Wimbledon 10 miles road race which starts from Wimbledon Park athletics track at 11am on October 7. There is still plenty of time to enter the race and would be runners can either enter on line or download and print off an entry form by visiting the race website: www.wimbledonten.co.uk

Last year Mark Steinle, the Olympic marathon runner from Blackheath and Bromley, led from the start to win in a fast 49 minutes 54 seconds. However, his time was well outside the course record of 48:14 which was set by Hercules Wimbledon's own Bob Holt in 1975. The women's race last year was won by Bristol and West's GB marathon international Lucy Hasell in a course record time of 57:35.

There will be bonus prizes for anyone beating either of these course records - £100 for the men's and £50 for the women's. This will be on top of the £100 prize for the men's and women's winners, £50 for the runners-up and £25 for those finishing third. Full details of the prize list and course are on the race website.

There is a 500 limit on the field but race organiser Richard Xerri has pleaded to people entering through the post to use A5 sized envelopes or smaller. "I would ask people not to send their entry in an A4 envelope with a first class stamp," said Xerri. It is personally costing me 6p and a £1 handling charge and a visit to the sorting office each time someone failed to put the correct large stamp on an A4 envelope."

He added: "I don't want angry athletes wondering why they have no number. An A5 envelope or smaller with an A5 SAE for return and first class stamp will do the job." Competing as a non-scorer in one of the 800m races, Martin Miller broke the Hercules Wimbledon over 60 club record with a time of 2:27.1. He eclipsed the previous mark of 2:29.4 set by Peter Giles at Battersea Park in August 2004.

Two Hercules Wimbledon athletes were in action for Surrey in a senior inter-counties match at Portsmouth. Hercules Wimbledon's men's team captain Steve Davies was in action in the 400m hurdles where against tough opposition he posted a lifetime best of 56.4 to finish seventh in his race. His time took three-tenths of a second off his previous best in a Southern Men's League match at Tooting Bec last month and ranks him joint eighth on the Hercules Wimbledon all-time list for the event.

Teenager Emily Martin finished fourth in the women's long jump with a leap of 5.59m and also gained valuable points by finishing fifth in the javelin.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete in form is long jumper Jermain Olasan. He achieved a personal best leap of 6.58m in finishing third for Surrey in an under 17 inter-county match at Barnet Copthall Stadium, Hendon. It added 29 centimetres to his previous best for the event.

Also in action for Surrey was sprinter Praf Nargund who finished fourth in his race in 23.3.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are sending a team to Basildon for their final Southern Women's League match of the season.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's James Trapmore was the outstanding individual runner at the annual Rosenheim League final at Kingsmeadow Stadium. Within the space of two hours Trapmore managed an impressive hat-trick of wins on the track to boost his club's overall team effort.

Trapmore, a teacher at King's College School, Wimbledon, achieved the first leg of his hat-trick in the 800 metres. He hang back during the opening lap but then came powering through in the home straight to win by more than five metres in 2 minutes 1.8 seconds.

Less than an hour later he was off again, this time in the 1500m. He was soon pounding out the pace and proved a convincing winner in 4:14.5, finishing 10 metres clear of the field. He set off on his hat-trick bid just 40 minutes later in the seven-and-a-half lap 3000m.

Trapmore still had sufficient in reserve to emerge a comfortable winner in 8:51.3, again winning comfortably by more than 10 metres. He headed home a posse of Hercules Wimbledon runners with Adam Przydrzmirski third in 9:05.4, Jamie Helmer sixth in 9:36.0 and teenager Neil Fraser 11th in 9:57.8.

Naomi Warner, making her Hercules Wimbledon debut, won the women's race in 10:03.5, the fourth best time by a Hercules Wimbledon runner behind the club record of 9:48.6 set by Bridget Cushen more than 40 years ago in 1966. Second and third in the club rankings are international Jeina Mitchell with 10:00.2 in 1990 and another teenager Christine Hodgson with 10:02.5 in 1993.

Another Hercules Wimbledon winner was Dwayne Dowding who sprinted home well clear of his rivals to take the 200m by more than five metres in 22.3. Earlier he was third in the 100m where, in a blanket finish he was just one-tenth of a second behind the winner.

Dominic Getting was fourth in the pole vault, Michael Adjei-Tabirade and Ross Savill fifth in the long jump and 400m and Bekele Tola and pensioner John Webster sixth in the discus and hammer.

Competing as a non-scorer in one of the 800m races, Martin Miller broke the Hercules Wimbledon over 60 club record with a time of 2:27.1. He eclipsed the previous mark of 2:29.4 set by Peter Giles at Battersea Park in August 2004.

Three members of the Knespl family were in action in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial on Saturday. Leading the family trio home was 16-year-old Deyan who finished 13th out of almost 70 runners in 19:14, some way off his best time for the course of 18:47. He finished two places ahead of his older sister Medena who was runner-up in the women's race and just two seconds outside her best for the circuit with 19:16. Michaela Knespl, the youngest runner in the race at 14, was also close to her best time in finishing 34th in 21:59, just four seconds slower than her fastest time for the course.

At the other end of the age range, another Hercules Wimbledon runner, Dennis Williams was second over 60 veteran in 22:50 finishing in 38th place.

Over at Hampton Court, Hercules Wimbledon's Peter Lee was first veteran in finishing 14th out of more than 300 runners in the Bushy Park five kilometres time trial in 17:49. He also took 21 seconds off his previous best time for the course. Former marathon international Steve Badgery was first veteran over 60 in 19:22.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's road runners were in outstanding form in the Surrey five kilometres road running championships which were decided around the hilly roads of West Wimbledon on Sunday.

A few weeks after scoring a victory in the Wimbledon Common time trial, Justin Kelly led the yellow and scarlet-vested runners home as he lifted his first Surrey medal in finishing second in 15 minutes 54 seconds, just 12 seconds off the gold medal. His impressive run led Hercules Wimbledon to silver medals in the team contest with Kieran White finishing sixth in 16:09 and Jamie Helmer 19th in 17:08.

Just one place behind and just missing a team medal was Deon Coetzee in 17:11 with Arnaud Claerie finishing in 17:18 with Neil Fraser having a good run to finish 28th in 17:54.

Estle Viljoen, the international walker, showed her competence as a road runner as she took finished second woman veteran in 19:15 with Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Pete Giles finishing in 19:19 to take the men's over 60 title.

Three Hercules Wimbledon youngsters were in action in the England Athletics age group championships at Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield, over the weekend.

It proved a roller coaster two days for English schools junior girls long jump silver medallist Amelia Richards, a week after making an impressive international debut for Wales in the Celtic Games meeting in Ulster.

She failed to register a valid attempt in the long jump but managed to clock a lifetime best time in the 100m where she was third in her first round heat in 12.41. She then just failed to make the final as she finished fifth in her semi-final race in a slower 12.7. Her previous best was 12.5.

She just missed out on a medal in the 75m hurdles final. She was second in her heat in 11.69 to get through to the final as fourth fastest. She speeded up in the final where she was fourth in 11.52, just outside her lifetime best of 11.5 set in a National Young Athletes League meeting at Kingsmeadow Stadium in June. She also had a go at the triple jump, in the older under 17 age group, where she 12th with 10.12m.

Richards is down to compete for Surrey over 100m in the South of England under 15 inter-counties match at Barnet Copthall Stadium, Hendon, on Sunday.

Fourteen-year-old Joe Toomey, who narrowly failed to make the Surrey team to compete in the English schools championships, made a dramatic breakthrough over 1500m where he managed to reach the boys under 15 final. Toomey finished sixth in his heat in 4:18.90 to slice almost seven seconds off his previous best and a time which has only been beaten by one Surrey athlete this summer. His run also lifted him from 43rd to 15th in this summer's UK rankings for his age group in the event. Unfortunately, Toomey was unable to repeat his improvement in the final where he finished seventh in 4:33.60.

His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate, Liam White, was just outside his best time as he finished seventh in his heat in 4:27.80. White, who previously had the better time, is running over the distance for Surrey in the under 15 inter-county match at Hendon on Sunday.

Hercules Wimbledon veteran Dan Bodin took four seconds off his previous best time when he finished seventh out of 337 runners in the Bushy Park five kilometres time trial at Hampton Court on Saturday in 17:31. Supervet Martin O'Halloran was 48th and first over 50 finisher in 20:34.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club athletes will battle it out for the honour of winning the Rosenheim Plate which is being contested for the 44th time at Kingsmeadow Stadium next Wednesday (August 15), starting at 6.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon clinched their place in the final with another good series of performances in the final east division match at Tooting Bec.

Having his first race of the season, Justin Kelly led from the gun to win the 2000m steeplechase by almost half-a-lap in 6 minutes 28.9 seconds. Kelly also putt the shot were he was fifth. Deon Coeztee was runner-up in the high jump before just being pipped in the 1500m, while Gabriel Aning and Aaron Mason were both fourth in their 400 and 800m races.

Jamie Helmer was also fourth in the 3000m. Ka Cheun To was third in the long jump.

The Plate was first contested in 1964 after former Hercules Wimbledon president, the late Jim Braben, returned with it after he had taken a group of athletes on a trip to Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany. It was presented to him there and he decided to donate it to the club for a mid-week competition. Hercules Wimbledon have won it five times, the last occasion being at Tooting in 2004.

Hercules Wimbledon's English schools long jump silver medallist made an impressive international debut for Wales in the Celtic Games meeting at Antrim Forum, BVelfast, on Saturday. She was runner-up in the girls under 16 long jump with 5.45, just nine centimetres behind the winner, but then went on to anchor the Welsh quartet to victory in the sprint relay with a fine third leg. She took over the baton in third spot but then stormed through to put the Welsh team on the winning road.

Richards faces another stern test this weekend when she competes in the England age group championships at Sheffield.

At the other end of the age range, Hercules Wimbledon's Hugh Saxby posted the top age graded performance in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial on Saturday. Saxby, 53, finished fourth overall in 17:54 to slice six seconds off his previous best time for the course. Two other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the event were Charleen Baird who was fifth in the women's race and John Wasbrough who was second over 65 finisher.

Martin Miller set two Hercules Wimbledon age records when he competed in a Veterans AC meeting at Twickenham. He set new club over 60 marks in the 800m and one mile with times of 2:16.5 and 5:37.6.

Kieran White warmed up for Sunday's Surrey five kilometres road running championship in West Wimbledon by clocked the best time this year by a Hercules Wimbledon runner over the distance. White finished eighth out of more than 300 runners in the Manchester Sizzler race at Sale in 16:16.

Hercules Wimbledon's former South African walking international Estle Viljoen, who has now opted to walk for Britain, won a bronze medal in the UK Championships women's 5000m track walk at Manchester's SportCity. Viljoen, who teaches at Haslemere Primary School, Mitcham, was thrilled with her medal as it was her first competitive walk for more than two months after being sidelined by an injury.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's Geoff Walcott emerged from a spell hampered by injury to break the UK Veterans over 55 400m record at an open meeting at Tooting Bec.

Walcott, who was 55 in April, clocked 53.81 seconds to erase the previous mark of 53.98 which has stood since 1987. His performance showed he is now returning to his best form after he was forced to delay the start of his summer season due to injury. His time was just outside his best set last season when he won a bronze medal in the European veterans over 50 400m championship in 53.89.

Walcott, one of Hercules Wimbledon’s leading veteran athletes and a member of the British medal-winning relay teams at World indoor and outdoor championships, followed up his record-breaking run with a double title-winning performance at the British Masters championships at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium. He was again in record-breaking form in the 400m where he took the over 55 title in 54.67 to chop almost a second off the previous championship record of 55.4. He also took the 200m in 24.44 and was runner-up in the 100m in 12.27.

Another Hercules Wimbledon veteran, Mike Kortenray, who won the South of England two miles title in 1968, is still winning medals almost four decades later. He was runner-up in the over 60 5000m in 21:01.66 to place third on the Hercules Wimbledon all-time list for the event. Clubmate Martin Miller just missed out on medals but had the consolation of setting two Hercules Wimbledon club records in finishing fourth and fifth respectively in the over 60 800 and 1500m in 2:28.39 and 5:05.02.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete in medal-winning form was former South African international Estle Viljoen, who has now opted to walk for Great Britain. She finished third in the women's 5000m walk at the Norwich Union World trials and UK Championships at Manchester's SportCity on Sunday in 25:03.84.

Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery was another veteran in form as he took the men's over 60 prize in the annual Wedding Day seven kilometres road race in Bushy Park, He clocked 27:26 to finish 53rd overall out of almost 500 finishers. Hercules Wimbledon's Steph Robson was sixth in the women's race in 26:45.

Hercules Wimbledon veteran Gary Blesson finished just outside the frame in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial on Saturday with 14-year-old Liam White, the London schools junior boys 1500m champion, not far behind finishing sixth in 17:52.

Medena Knespl was first woman in 19:14, leading three members of her family across the finishing line. Her younger sister, Michaela, was third woman in 21:55 while their mother Marina was eighth woman finisher in 24:59.

Another Hercules Wimbledon runner in action on the road was Andy Thwaites. He finished a good 15th out of more than 600 finishers in the Dartford half-marathon in 1:25:56.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes are competing in their final Southern Men's League match at Reading on Saturday while on Sunday, the club's athletes will be in action in the third of this season's Ebbisham Boys Young Athletes League matches at Kingsmeadow Stadium, Kingston. The match starts at 1.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's top teenage long jumper Amelia Richards is to make her international debut for Wales in the Celtic Games at Antrim Forum, Belfast, next month.

Richards, who is the latest in a long line of Hercules Wimbledon athletes to gain representative honours for their country is the sole Welsh representative in the girls under 16 long jump and is also in the squad for the 4x100m relay. The match, on August 4, is between Wales, Scotland, Ulster and Ireland.

Her selection continues what has so far proved an outstanding season for 14-year-old Richards who took the silver medal in the English schools junior girls long jump championship at Birmingham. This season she has also won the Surrey girls under 15 100, 200m and long jump titles, the London schools junior girls 100m and long jump titles, the South of England girls under 15 long and triple jump titles and the London and South East Schools pentathlon titles.

She warmed up for her international debut by competing for Hercules Wimbledon in a National Young Athletes League match at Sutton Arena on Sunday. She won the girls under 15 75m hurdles in 11.5 seconds, equalling her personal best for the event, and was second in the high jump and 100m with 1.45m and 12.7.

Eleanor Smith-Hahn was another winner taking the girls under 13 1200m, while Jennifer Fernando took the 1500m B race after finishing third in the 200m A race. Her twin sister Rosemary was runner-up in the 1500m A and 200m B races and also won the javelin B event.

Hercules Wimbledon gained maximum points in the boys under 15 1500m through London schools junior boys champion Liam White (4:29.0) and Joe Toomey (4:32.0). Paul Stables won the 400m B race.

Triple jumper Nnambi Odum made a winning debut for Hercules Wimbledon with a leap in the under 17 event of 12.89m while Shola Olojo took the B string event with 12.02m. Jermain Olasan was runner-up in the long jump with 5.83m and also second in the discus B event with Jonathan Dwonga taking second spot in the A competition. Derek Frempong was also second in the discus with Ishael Lawrence winning the B event. Frempong was also second in the 100m hurdles A race with Olasan taking the B event.

There were maximum points in the boys under 17 1500m through Andrew Penney (4:34.5) and Jonathan O'Halloran while Charlie Carrington was a runaway winner of the 3000m. Sprinter Praf Nargund continued his return to form after injury by taking the 200m in 22.7 with Olasan finishing second in the B race.

Hercules Wimbledon's Steph Robson made an impressive return to racing after injury by winning the Standard Chartered Great City five kilometres road race in the City of London in 18:01. She won comfortably by 20 seconds.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes are competing in the Norwich Union trials and AAA Championships at Manchester and the British Masters Championships in Birmingham.

Hercules Wimbledon teenagers Amelia Richards and Emily Martin were both celebrating this week after striking medal-winning form at the Sainsbury's English schools track and field championships at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium.

It was 14-year-old Richards who came closest to snatching a title as she took silver in the junior girls long jump with a leap of 5.38m, just nine centimetres behind the winner. She achieved her best leap of the competition with her opening attempt but she was slightly disappointed not to have taken the gold medal as her performance was well below her best this summer of 5.56m.

However, she did go one better than last year when she took bronze in the championships.

By coincidence, Martin also achieved her best leap of the senior girls long jump competition with her opening attempt but she was also well below her best of 5.80m. Her best effort of 5.62m. secured a bronze medal to add to her impressive collection of English schools medals. While the long jump was staged in fine weather, it was pouring with rain for the heats of the 4x100m relay on Friday. While she brought the team home in a qualifying third place in her race, unfortunately, the team was disqualified because of a takeover infringement by two other athletes. Otherwise, another medal might have been on the cards for the Hercules Wimbledon youngster.

A third Hercules Wimbledon athlete in action at Birmingham, Liam White, as expected, found it hard going in the junior boys 1500m. Although he was last in his heat in 4 minutes 27.23 seconds he was not that far off his lifetime best time of 4:25.2.

Hercules Wimbledon's Luke Jones was the first teenager in the Elmbridge 10 kilometres road race at Walton-on-Thames in 38:48. At the other end of the age scale former marathon international Steve Badgery was first over 60 in a faster 38:19 with his Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Peter Giles second in 40:31 while Hugh Saxby was third in the over 50 category in 37:19.

Meanwhile, Hercules Wimbledon athletes had another good team result in their fifth Southern Men's League match of the season at Tooting Bec. Sprinters Dwayne Dowding and Rob Mullard secured maximum points in the 200m taking the A and B races in 22.1 and 23.1. Earlier, Mullard was second in the 100m B race with Ross Savill third in the 100m A race. Savill, filling in for Hercules Wimbledon's injured top 400m runner Hamed Agboke, finished second in the 400m B race with Matt Parsons runner-up in the A race.

Earlier team captain Steve Davies clocked a personal best 56.7 in finishing second in the 400m hurdles. He was also second in the sprint hurdles and runner-up in the high jump before anchoring Hercules Wimbledon to a comfortable victory in the 4x400m relay. Other members of the quartet were Dowding, Parsons and over 55 veteran Geoff Walcott.

Earlier, Dowding ran the anchor leg to help the sprint relay team to second place, sharing the winning time of 44.0. Other members of that quartet were Savill, Mullard and teenager Jermain Olsason, making Southern League debut. Olason also took second place in the triple jump and third in the long jump.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon host their final National Young Athletes League match at Sutton Arena on Sunday, starting at 11.30am while on Monday the club's more seasoned athletes compete in their final Southern Veterans League match at Battersea Park, starting at 6.30pm. Next Wednesday (July 25th), Hercules Wimbledon are contesting the final Rosenheim League East Division match at Tooting Bec, starting at 7pm.

Three Hercules Wimbledon youngsters are chasing prestigious English schools titles when they compete in the national championships at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium this weekend.

Leading the trio are seasoned English schools competitor Emily Martin and fellow long jumper Amelia Richards who will be making her second appearance in the championships.

Richards will be hoping to continue her impressive season so far when she carries London's hopes in the junior girls long jump where she took the bronze medal last year with a then lifetime best of 5.35m. Since then, she has improved to 5.56m which ranks her second for her age group in the UK this year and so she will be certainly going for gold at the weekend.

Fellow teenager Martin is another medal prospect in the senior girls long jump where she holds the Surrey title. She will certainly be aiming to improve on her fifth place last year when she jumped 5.48m.She has improved her best to 5.80m this summer when she just missed out on a medal in the England championships at Bedford with a performance that broke the Hercules Wimbledon club record of 5.77m set by Lucy Atumuo in 1998. She currently ranks sixth for her age group in the country and so she must stand a good chance of at least returning with a medal.

London junior boys 1500m champion Liam White, who has showed an impressive improvement this summer, is in the London team for Birmingham. White, who had a best of 4 minutes 58.1 seconds before the start of the season has lowered his personal best to 4:25.2 but he will probably have to go faster than that to get through the opening round heats in Birmingham.

Hercules Wimbledon teenager Alex Bruce-Littlewood had an impressive 1500m win in the fifth Rosenheim League Eastern division match of the season at Tooting Bec. He sat in on the leader before sprinting hard down the home straight to win by more than 40 metres in 4:11.9. Other Hercules Wimbledon winners were Dwayne Dowding in the 200m in a personal best of 22.4 and Hamed Agboke in the 400m in 52.3.

Continuing his return to fitness after injury, Praful Nargund was third in the 100m in 11.7 while fellow teenager Jermain Olasin was third in the triple jump with 11.85m.

Hercules Wimbledon will be hoping to maintain their improvement in their fifth Southern Men's League match at Tooting Bec on Saturday after a good result in their fourth match at Kingsmeadow. There, the Hercules Wimbledon team secured maximum points in the triple jump through Royden John and Jon Grayson. John also won the long jump in which Grayson was second. John was also runner-up in the sprint hurdles.

Team captain Steve Davies won the 400m hurdles with Steve Hadley second in the B race. Davies also won the sprint hurdles B race and was second in the high jump. Dwayne Dowding was second in the 200m with Rob Mullard third in the B race. Dowding and Mullard were third and fourth in the 100m and they then linked up with John and Deji Alli to win the sprint relay.

Matt Parsons was runner-up in the 400m with Hamed Agboke winning the B race and they linked up with team captain Davies and South of England 400m hurdles champion Austin Ferns to easily win the 4x400m relay.

In the throwing events, Bekele Tola won the javelin with Stuart Milton second in the B competition. Tola and Milton were second in the shot A and B events and John Brown was runner-up in the hammer.

Saturday’s match at Tooting Bec starts at 12noon. Hercules Wimbledon are hosting a Lily B League match at Sutton Arena on Saturday, starting at 12.15pm

Hercules Wimbledon youngsters gave another impressive display when they provided two of the Athlete of the Match award winners in their third National Young Athletes League match at Perivale.

London schools junior boys 1500m champion Liam White boosted his chances of running for the London team in the English schools championships at Birmingham later this month when he took the boys under 15 1500m race in 4 minutes 25.2 seconds, slicing 2.6 seconds off his previous time for the distance which was achieved in winning the London title at Battersea Park.

White's run resulted in him getting the male track athlete of the match award. It lifted him to fifth on the Hercules Wimbledon all-time list for the event. He managed to beat clubmate Joe Toomey for the first time although, to be fair, Toomey who won the B race in 4:30.0, was suffering from a slight injury.

Hercules Wimbledon newcomer Jermain Olsan was awarded the male field event athlete of the match award for his long jump performance of 6.29m which ranked him 14th on the club's men's under 17 all-time list. He also performed well in the triple jump with a leap of 11.67m and won the 100m hurdles B race. That secured maximum points in the event as Derek Frempong won the A race. Frempong also won the discus and was third in the javelin.

Another Hercules Wimbledon winner was Will Spooner in the 400m hurdles B race. Later, he was third in the 1500m steeplechase. Jonathan Dwonga won the shot B event while Michael Adjei-Tabiride took the men's under 17 long jump B competition.

Ed Saywell and Tommy Village gained maximum points in the boys under 15 800m event in taking the A and B races while Saywell also took the high jump B and was third in the 80m hurdles A race. Brothers Jose and Luis Costa dominated the boys under 15 javelin event taking the A and B striung contests.

There were maximum points in the under 13 800m with Charlie Williams and Emmanuel Obayuwana taking the A and B events. Obayuwana was also second in the 75m hurdles.

Twin sisters Jennifer and Rosemary Fernando were again in impressive form taking the women's under 17 A and B races in 2:24.4 and 2:31.5. Rosemary was also second in the 100 and 300m, B races with Jennifer third and fourth, respectively, in the A competitions.

Ali Borthwick had a busy time in the girls under 15 events winning the high jump with a personal best clearance, taking third in the 200m B race and finishing fourth in the javelin. Eleanor Smith-Hahn won the girls under 13 800m and was runner-up in both the 75 and 150m races.

Hercules Wimbledon teenager Amelia Richards qualified for the English Schools girls under 15 pentathlon final at Exeter in September by winning the South East round of the event at Barnet Copthall Stadium, Hendon, with a new Hercules Wimbledon club record. She amassed 3037 points during the five discipline contest, adding almost 200 points to her previous lifetime best for the event. She also achieved a personal best shot of 8.54m.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action in their fourth Southern Women's League match of the season at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday. On Monday, Hercules Wimbledon compete in their third Southern Veterans League match at Battersea Park, starting at 6.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS