Jul-Sep 08

July 2008		August 2008		September 2008
	28/07/08		25/08/08		29/09/08
	21/07/08		18/08/08		22/09/08
	14/07/08		11/08/08		15/09/08
	7/07/08		4/08/08		8/09/08
					1/09/08

Final preparations are underway for the staging of Wimbledon's oldest road race, the Geoff Moulden Wimbledon 10 which takes place on Sunday (October 5).

The race dates back to 1961 and is being staged for the 48th time this year. The start of the race is being brought forward this year to 10am. It begins with just over a lap of the running track at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium before runners race out of Wimbledon Park into Wimbledon Park Road. They then complete three circuits of a loop which take in Victoria Drive, Kingsmere Road, Inner Park Road, Parkside, Calonne Road, Burghley Road, Somerset Road and Church Road, past the All England tennis club, before returning along Wimbledon Park Road to finish where they started on the running track. The leading runners are expected to take around 50 minutes.

While postal entries have closed for this year's race, entries costing £15 each will be taken on the day. A total of £1200 in prize money is up for grabs with awards of £200 each for the men's and women's winners. Details can be found on the race website: www.wimbledonten.co.uk

The 2007 men's winner was Olympic marathon runner Huw Lobb who led from start to finish to clock 51 minutes 58 seconds. However, he was well outside the course record of 48:10 which was set by Hercules Wimbledon's own international Bob Holt in 1975.

First Hercules Wimbledon runner last year was Belal Aly who finished sixth in 56:18 to lead his club to victory in the team event. Other members of the winning team were Jamie Helmer 10th in 57:54 and veteran Peter Lee 20th in 1:01:58.

Hercules Wimbledon's Clare Grima was second woman 12 months ago in 1:08:56 behind women's course record-holder Lucy Hasell from Bristol and West (59:02). Hasell set the women's course record of 57:35 in 2006.

Three Hercules Wimbledon runners were among more than 28000 finishers in Sunday's Berlin Marathon where Ethiopian Haile Gabrselassie set a new world record of 2L03:59 for the 26 miles 385 yards distance.

Jonathan Dobson was 575th in a personal best of 2:50:42, veteran Peter Lee was 733rd in 2:53:41 and over 60 veteran Steve Badgery, who was first over 60 finisher in the 2007 Geoff Moulden Wimbledon 10 miles race, 3902nd in 3:19:25.

Also abroad, Hercules Wimbledon's Marilena De Luca posted a personal best time of 1:46:58 in the Monza Half Marathon in Italy.

Nearer home, veteran Stuart Fraser finished third out of more than 100 runners in the Wimbledon Common time trial on Saturday in 17:29.

Hercules Wimbledon's World age group champion Dion Harrison finished fifth out of 360 competitors in the Crystal Palace Triathlon less than half-a-minute behind the event winner in 58:09.

Opening leg runner Aidan Hogan was the best of the Hercules Wimbledon quartet in the South of England six-stage road relay championship at Aldershot on Sunday. He finished 16th, covering the six kilometres circuit in 18:58. Belal Aly (19:40), Richard Xerri (20:21), Alex Robinson (22:20), Mike Halman (20:00) and Jamie Helmer (20;49) completed the team.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club is staging a come and try it athletics weekend on Saturday and Sunday as part of Wimbledon Park's Festival of Sport.

The club's experienced team of coaches will be on hand on both days to welcome anyone who might have been inspired by the action in the recent Beijing Olympics - and who knows? One of the newcomers might even make it to the London 2012 in four years' time.

Both training days will be based at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday session will start at 12noon and last for three hours. Coaches will give anyone aged eight years and older who turns up the chance to have a go at throwing, high jumping and pole vaulting, and hurdling and sprinting. It would be an ideal opportunity for someone who used to compete in athletics to return to the sport - there is no upper age limit and, the session is free!

If those taking part enjoy the experience then they have the chance to have a serious crack at track and field athletics and join the only track and field club based in Merton

Sunday's activity, which takes place from 10am to 12.30pm, is aimed at a slightly lower age group as youngsters will be invited to join in Hercules Wimbledon's successful "7upsnovers" group from 10am to 12.30pm. This is confined to those between seven and 12 years. Again it is free.

Over 50 youngsters with their parents turned up Hercules Wimbledon's mini-Olympics Sports Day at the track last Sunday. They had go at the long jump, shot, discus and javelin, ran 600m - one and a half laps of the track - and finished off with a 75m dash before tucking into some well earned refreshments.

Teenage sprinter Jonathan Osbourne showed good form in the 27th Hercules Wimbledon open young athletes meeting at Crystal Palace with an individual double. Osbourne, winner of the bronze medal in the England boys under 15 200m championship last month, took the boys under 15 100 and 200m in 11.6 and 23.5 before anchoring the Hercules Wimbledon quartet to victory in the England athletics London Region's sprint relay. The team, which also include Poju Adesilu, Jose Costa and Nathan Safo-Barnieh won the title in 50.7.

Safo-Barnieh was also third and fourth in the 100 and 200m in 11.9 and 24.4. Costa won his 100m race and was second in his 200m event and threw the javelin a personal best of 42.93m in taking second place, while Adesilu was third in his 100m race.

Another Hercules Wimbledon winner was Eleanor Hahn-Smith who took the girls under 13 800m in 2:27.4 and third in the long jump and her 200m race. Felix Blanchard leapt a personal best 4.38m in winning the boys under 13 long jump and was also third in both his 100 and 200m races.

He also linked up with Emmanuel Obayuwana, Tim Livingstone and Olly Livingstone to secure the bronze medals in the London Region boys under 13 sprint relay in 60.6.

Hercules Wimbledon's Claire Grima was third in the Wimbledon Common time trial in 18:43. She posted the second best age-graded performance of the 108-strong field in taking 17 seconds off her previous best. Yuzo Saito also clocked a personal best in finishing 20th in 20:01 while Maurice Sharp was the first veteran over 60 finisher in 21:27. Peter Lee was the first veteran over 40 in the Bushy Park time trial in 17:32 with Steve Badgery first over 60 finisher in 18:39.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are competing are sending teams to compete in the South of England men's and veterans road relay championships at Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot, on Saturday. and also open the club's winter cross country season with an inter-club five miles cross country race in Richmond Park, starting near Sheen Gate at 2.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's senior women's team produced their best ever performance in the Surrey road relay championships at Wimbledon Park on Saturday and out their rival club's men's teams in the shade by snatching a set of team medals for the first time in the club's history.

Walking international Estle Viljeon, just a few days after returning from her honeymoon, ran the opening leg for the women's A team handing over in fourth place covering the 2.88 miles in 18 minutes 6 second

Steph Robson then stormed through on the second leg to take the team into a 15 seconds lead as she completed the lap in 17:30, the fourth best women's time of the day. Third leg runner Michaela Knespl slipped to second place with a time of 19:20 but still managed to keep the team in medal contention and anchor leg runner Claire Grima clinch the historic set of medals by completing the anchor leg in 17:38, the fifth fastest women's time of the day. The team's total time was 1:12:34.

Backing up the medal winning quartet, a second Hercules Wimbledon team also completed the four laps to finish a creditable 11th. Sally Maddocks was seventh on the opening stage in 19:22. Amandine King held that position completing stage two in 20:05 but Rowena Hornshaw (22:32) slipped to 10th place with Marilena De Luca (21:41) bringing the team home in 11th position in a total time of 1:23:40.

The senior men's team got closest to a set of team medals as they finished in fourth place. Kieran White made a solid start finishing third on the opening leg in 14:55, the 10th fastest men's time of the day. Teenager Andrew Penney then ran a solid second stage in 15:33 to hand over in fourth spot before Chris Coles (16:27) slipped to sixth.

Aidan Hogan then ran a storming fifth leg in 15:01, the 14th fastest men's time of the day, to bring the team back into medal contention, handing over in third spot but Mike Halman was unable to hold that placing on the anchor leg which he completed in a swift 15:18 to slip fourth place, bringing the team home less than three minutes behind the winners in a total time of 1:33:26.

Hercules Wimbledon had two other teams in the senior men's relay. The B team was 13th in 1:43:50. The six runners were John Querstret 18th in 17:31, Charlie Carrington 16th in 17:33, Lance Power 16th in 19:12, Geordie Logan 15th in 16:02, Belal Aly 13th in 15:33 and Ed Reed 17:59 on the anchor leg.

The C team was 17th in 1:50:52. Yuao Saito brought the team in 21st on the opening leg in 18:51, Neil Fraser moved up to 17th place with 16:58, over 60 veteran Maurice Sharp slipped to 18th with 20:29, over 55 veteran Martin O'Halloran clocked 19:07in slipping to 19th place with another over 60 veteran Martin Miller clocking 18:58 in moving up to 17th on the anchor stage.

Hercules Wimbledon also fielded a team in the men's over 50 championship which finished fifth in 1:19:38. Barry King was fifth on the opening leg in 20:27 with over 60 veteran Steve Badgery clocking the best time of the quartet with 17:24 on stage two. Ian Isherwood (22:51) and Stu Littlerwood (18:56) completed the team.

Over on Wimbledon Common, Hercules Wimbledon's Adam Van Denberg headed home a 133-strong field to win the weekly Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial for the first time in 17:23 while Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Stephen McDuell finished 16th in the Richmond Park time trial in 21:24.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are competing in the Lily B League Girls Finals at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday. On Sunday, Hercules Wimbledon are organising a 7upsnovers Olympics at their Wimbledon Park headquarters, starting at 9.30am. This is for youngsters between the ages of seven and 12

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club boasts a world champion after Dion Harrison made a successful trip to Holland for the World Long Distance Triathlon Championships.

Harrison, 28, won the 25 to 29 age category event covering the three disciplines in 6 hours 18 minutes 59 seconds. He took 1:06:08 to complete the four kilometres swim, 3:03:21 to complete the 120km bike ride, and 2:04:26 to cover the 30km road run.

Triathlon events are normally staged over much shorter distances and last month Harrison won the Mazda London title in 1:59:44. He finished ahead of almost 200 rivals completing the 1500m swim in 20:42, the 38kim bike ride in 1:01:15 and the 9.8km road run in 34:30.

At the beginning of last month, he was 26th out of almost 900 competitors in the Antwerp Ironman Triathlon in Belgium.

Persistence finally paid off for Hercules Wimbledon teenager Liam White in the Wimbledon Common time trial on Saturday. Competing in the event for the 15th time, White managed to snatch a win by just two seconds in 17:03.

White, 15, who was covered with mud by the time he reached the finishing line, headed home a large group of Hercules Wimbledon athletes. Neil Aitken was third of the 130 finishers in 17:35, Graeme Buscke sixth in 18:10 just four seconds ahead of Alex Robinson, Adam Van Denberg 16th in 18:44 and Deyan Knespl 25th in 20:00. He managed to beat his sister Michaela who was fifth woman in 22:14. Another Hercules Wimbledon runner Rebecca Stone was 14th woman in 24:48.

White was using the race as a final warm-up for next Sunday's 27th Hercules Wimbledon Young Athletes Open meeting at Crystal Palace. The meeting, due to be staged in April, had to be postponed because of a freak snowstorm. The meeting starts at 11am and runs through until 5.30pm. White showed he was in good track form when he finished runner-up in an 800m race at an open track meeting at Battersea Park in 2:10.69.

Hercules Wimbledon's James Trapmore beat more than 500 runners to win the Bushy Park time trial at Hampton Court for the 10th time in 12 appearances. However, Trapmore, recently returned from holiday in Mexico was well below his best time of 15:24 as he reached the finish in 16:39.
Another Hercules Wimbledon runner, Rowena Hornshaw, was close to her best time when she finished 11th woman in the Banstead Woods time trial in 24:27. She was just seven seconds outside her best for the course.

Hercules Wimbledon's over 55 veteran Stu Littlewood posted the fastest individual time in the Crooklog five kilometres road race at Bexleyheath of 19:25.

Hercules Wimbledon are facing a hectic weekend. Apart from organising their popular Young Athletes open meeting at Crystal Palace on Sunday in which hundreds of athletes from all over the country will be taking part, the club is also hosting the annual Surrey County road relay championships at their Wimbledon Park track headquarters. Hercules Wimbledon will be fielding teams in most of the championships. All relays start at 12noon.

Teenager Andrew Penney led a group of Hercules Wimbledon runners home in the weekly Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial on Saturday.

With the track and field season now over, 17-year-old Penney, who helped Hercules Wimbledon senior men's team gain promotion to the top division of the Southern Men's League, is now turning his attention to the autumn road running programme starting with the Surrey road relays at Wimbledon Park on Saturday, September 13.

Penney headed home a record 135-strong field in 16 minutes 53 seconds on his second appearance in the event. He was just two seconds outside his inaugural time when he finished runner-up. Teenage clubmate Liam White, back from a brief holiday break, was third in 17:43 with Graeme Buscke fifth in 18:04 and Chris Coles seventh three seconds later.

Hercules Wimbledon had five runners in the top 10 with another teenager Alex Robinson finishing 10th in 18:25. Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the event included Matthew Appleby 28th in 20:36 Bradlee Mulroe, one of the youngest runners in the event at 14, 55th in 22:23 and Marilena De Luca eighth woman in 23:00 on her first appearance in the event.

Hercules Wimbledon's over 60 veteran Steve Badgery once again posted the top age-graded performance in the Bushy Park time trial at Hampton Court where he finished 22nd out of 467 runners in 18:25. Clubmate Matt Fell was 12th out of more than 100 runners in the Richmond Park time trial in 18:57.

Three Hercules Wimbledon young guns helped Surrey win the South of England boys under 15 inter-counties match at Barnet Copthall Stadium, Hendon. Battling into a stiff headwind, Nathan Safo-Barnieh finished third in the 200m in 24.07 while clubmate Jonathan Osbourne finished fourth in the 100m in 11.82. Javelin thrower Jose Costa was ninth with a throw of 38.62m.

Four other Hercules Wimbledon athletes were also in action at Hendon. Representing Kent, Alex Bruce-Littlewood was third in the junior men's 2000m steeplechase in 6:05.84 while Geordie Logan, running for Surrey and one of the youngest runners in the race was 11th in 7:07.05. Nnamdi Odum was fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 13.70m, just outside his best and Rosemary Fernando was 11th in the junior women's 1500m in 5:22.67.

The day after competing for Surrey, Osbourne and Jose Costa were among a small group of Hercules Wimbledon athletes in action at a young athletes open meeting at the Terence McMillan Stadium, Plaistow.

Osbourne showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals as he won the under 15 100m in 11.54, faster than he managed at Hendon. Jose Costa was runner-up in the javelin 39.24m, also better than he had managed when representing Surrey and was also eighth in the 200m in a personal best of 24.95. His elder brother Luis was fourth in the men's under 17 javelin with 30.86m and fifth in the long jump w3ith 4.86m. Another Hercules Wimbledon youngster in action was Chima Odum who was fourth in both the under 15 long jump and javelin with 4.53 and 30.68m.

At the other end of the age scale, over 45 veteran Mark Baker was runner-up in his 400m race at an open meeting at Finsbury Park in 56.2, about half-a-second outside his personal best. Stephen McDuell was runner-up in the Veterans Athletic Club's over 40 800m championship at Kingsmeadow Stadium in 2:11.35 with Paul Wignall runner-up in the over 55 400m and Dennis Williams third in the over 60 1500m championship.

Baker wqas also second in his 400m race at an open meeting at Tooting Bec in a faster 55.64. Chima Odum won the boys under 15 shot and was third in the discus with personal bests of 11.30 and 27.65m. Safo-Barnieh was third in his 100m race in 12.11, Poju Adsilu seventh in his 100m race in 12.53 and Tom Meehan runner-up in his 100m race in 12.83. Middle-distance runner Aidan Hogan was third in his 800m race in 1:58.53.

Former top sprinter Frank Haque gained a surprise 70th birthday present when he turned up for his usual Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club training session at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium.

Dozens of athletes cheered as Haque, who has been coaching with the club for almost a decade, received an inscribed decanter from former club president and chairman Nick Getting, who currently manages Hercules Wimbledon's young athletes team. The award was to thank Frank for his valuable contribution to the club as a coach.

He trains some of the clubs young sprinters and throwers including Nathan Safo-Barnieh, who represented Surrey at the English schools championships last month and Jose Costa, the Surrey boys under 15 boys javelin champion.

Haque, who was something of all round sportsman, arrived in Britain from Pakistan in the 1960's and represented Glasgow University at both football and hockey while studying industrial management. He was predominantly a sprinter and as a youngster clocked 10.7 and 21.5 seconds for 100 and 200m, impressive times half-a-century ago. He attended the Pakistan training camps for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo but narrowly failed to make the athletics team.

Over the years, he has won numerous Surrey veterans titles, retiring after winning the over 60 200m, long and triple jump titles in 2003. In 1996 he won the UK Indoor over 55 veterans 60m title. Haque holds the Hercules Wimbledon over 60 100 and 200m, high jump, long jump, triple jump and shot records.

Although he has hung up his spikes, Haque, who joined Hercules Wimbledon in 1992, still keeps fit by going to a gym three times a week. He also regularly takes training sessions at Wimbledon Park track on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

The retired civil servant was delighted with his unexpected award. "It came as a complete surprise. Everyone kept it very quiet," he said.

Hercules Wimbledon are facing a hectic few weeks. The club is staging its 27th annual Young Athletes Open Meeting at Crystal Palace on Sunday, September 14. The meeting was postponed from the Spring after a sudden snowfall on April 6 forced its cancellation. Entries are still being received for the event, one of the top young athletes meetings in the country, which also incorporates England Athletics London Region young athletes relay championships. Information and an entry form can be found on the Hercules Wimbledon website www.herculeswimbledonac.org.uk

The previous day, Saturday, April 13, Hercules Wimbledon are involved in staging the annual Surrey road relay championships from their Wimbledon Park track headquarters starting at 12noon.

In October, Hercules Wimbledon are staging Wimbledon's longest running road race, the Geoff Moulden Wimbledon open 10 miles. Entries are already pouring in for the event. Hercules Wimbledon's own former international Bob Holt still holds the men's course record of 48:10 set in 1975 while schoolteacher Lucy Hasell posted the women's fastest time of 57:35 in 2006.

The race, which starts and finishes at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium is being staged on Sunday, October 5, starting at 11am. An entry form and further information can be found on the race website www.wimbledonten.co.uk

Teenager Rosemary Fernando is among a group of Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club athletes who will be in action for Surrey in an inter-counties meeting at Barnet Copthall Stadium, Hendon, on Sunday.

Fernando, who finished runner-up in the Surrey junior women's 1500m championship at Kingsmeadow Stadium has been selected for that event in the junior inter-county match while Geordie Logan and Nnamdi Odum have been invited to compete in the junior men's steeplechase and triple jump, respectively.

Also representing Surrey at Hendon will be three of club's most promising youngsters Jonathan Osbourne, NathanSafo-Barmiah and Jose Costa. They have been selected for the 100 and 200m and javelin, respectively, in the boys under 15 match.

Osbourne warmed up for the inter-county match by taking a bronze medal in the England age group championships at Birmingham. He was third in the 200m in 23.61 seconds after clocking a fasster 23.58 in his heat.

Two Hercules Wimbledon athletes were in action for Surrey in an under 17 inter-county match at Basildon. Liam White and Geordie Logan were both second in the 1500m and 1500m steeplechase events at Basildon in 4:22.43 and 5:00.87, respectively.

Hercules Wimbledon sprinter Dwayne Dowding gave another impressive display when he took the 200m at the Rosenheim League final at Tooting Bec. He won the 200m in 21.9 and was third in the 100m in 11.3. Another Hercules Wimbledon winner was Aidan Hogan who took the 800m in 1:57.7 while javelin thrower Bekele Tola was pipped by just one centimetre as he finished runner-up with 50.76m, well below his best.

Middle-distance runner Andrew Penney celebrated his 17th birthday by finishing runner-up in the 1500m in 4:12.5. Triple jumper Nnamdi Odum was third in the triple jump with 12.91m while Mike Halman was fifth in the 3000m in 9:06.3.

Surrey senior women's long jump bronze medallist Emily Martin took a break from her specialist event when she competed in a Southern Women's League match at Horsham. She won the 200m in 26.2 and was runner-up in the 100m in 12.7.

Meanwhile, her mun, Ann, who also helps to manage the team, played her part in the action by setting two cub records. She set new marks for the over 45 shot and discus.

Claire Grima raced away with the 3000m in 10:53.4 while Jennifer Fernando was second in the 400 and 800m races.

Hercules Wimbledon are looking for new members aged 10 and over to boost its women's team. Anyone interested should contact Mrs Pat Yeates on 020 8640 2078 or turn up at one of the Tuesday and Thursday evening training sessions from 6.30 to 9pm at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium.

Medena Knespl went one better than the previous week when she won the women's event at the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial on Saturday. She clocked 18:54 with Claire Grima finishing runner-up just six seconds later.

Over 65 veteran Steve Badgery again produced the top age graded performance in the Nushy Park time trial where he finished 17th out of more than 360 runners in 18:21. Clubmate Peter Lee was 13th in 18:07.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's president David Littlewood flew out this week to the Beijing Olympics where he is one of the senior officials for the nine-day athletics programme. Littlewood, who was chief photofinish official at the Aviva London Grand Prix meeting at Crystal Palace last month, is one of only three British officials involved in the Beijing athletics programme.

As he prepared for the 11 hour flight to the Chinese capital on Monday night, Littlewood explained he would be the international photo finish judge at the athletics and his job would be to ensure the readings of the photo finish results by the Chinese officials were correct. He was chosen from an international pool of eight photo-finish officials. He is also Britain’s only representative on the IAAF technical committee.

Although it is only the second time he has officiated at an Olympic Games - the previous time was in Barcelona in 1992 - he has attended 24 World championships and five Commonwealth Games as an official. However, while in Beijing, he will have little time to tour the city.

"There isn't a rest day in the programme as there used to be because of the requirements of television and I'm leaving the day after the athletics programme finishes," explained Littlewood. "However, I've been to Beijing three times before, twice as a tourist and once for a schools cross country international event."

Littlewood, who was a sprinter and long jumper in his younger days, representing Surrey and Leicestershire, qualified as an athletics official in 1957 while studying to become a teacher at Leicester University. Since then, he has become one of the top officials in the country. Since 1992, he has been secretary of the English schools athletics association and refereed the men's race in the London marathon for most of the 28 years it has been staged. He also edits the UK Athletics rule book.

He has been a top ranked track referee for many years and first became involved with the use of photo finish equipment in the late 1970's when it involved using various chemicals and liquids in contrast to the electronic equipment now in use which can now time to one-thousandth of a second. "At present, there is no qualification to be a photo finish judge but that is likely to change. I remember when I first officiated as a photo finish judge at Crystal Palace, I was up on the roof surrounded by bird dropping. It wasn't very pleasant."

With his heavy commitment to athletics, it's not surprising he hardly has time for a holiday. However, Littlewood is taking a week's break in Malaysia after he duties in Beijing are completed. "That will be my first holiday since 1991," he admitted.

Despite his status within the sport, Littlewood never forgets the grass roots and, whenever he can, he officiates at club and schools meetings. Just 24 hours before flying out to China, he officiated in the photo-finish room at an eight-sided inter-counties match hosted by Surrey at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday.

Three Hercules Wimbledon athletes helped the Surrey men's team to a narrow victory over Essex. Javelin thrower Bekele Tola, called into the team at the last minute, managed to win his event with a season's best of 59.39m. Teenager Jermain Olsasan, also a late replacement in the long jump, won the B event with a lifetime best of 6.76m while Dwayne Dowding was third in the 400m B race in 50.39 seconds before running the second leg for the Surrey 4x400m relay team which finished second.

Hercules Wimbledon's Medena Knespl took the silver medal in the Surrey five kilometres road running championship at West Wimbledon on Sunday in 18:32. Clubmates Ben Cummings, Andrew Penney and Neil Aitken were 11th, 12th and 14th out of more than 200 runners in the men's race. Alex Robinson was 27th, 24 hours after finishing sixth in the Wimbledon Common time trial. Former marathon international Steve Badgery was first veteran over 60 in 18:43. The previous day he was first over 60 veteran in the Bushy Park time trial.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's senior men's track and field team are on a roll! After winning their final Rosenheim League East Division match, they stormed to their best performance of the season when they won their sixth and final Southern Men's League Division Two match at Bromley to gain promotion to the top division. It is more than a decade since Hercules Wimbledon were in Division One. The last time was in 1997.

Despite suffering from a hamstring problem, former junior international Austin Ferns made a last minute decision to support the team effort and compete. But, his participation was not without its drama. After easing to a comfortable victory in the 400m hurdles B race, he decided to switch to the A race for the sprint hurdles. However, his hamstring problem restricted his ability to raise his lead leg and at the second flight his heel sent the hurdle flying and smashed the cross-bar. Ferns amazingly managed to keep on his feet and went on to win in a fine 15.9 seconds. He was rested for the 4x400m relay but the 10 points he secured proved invaluable for the team effort.

Once again, it was sprinter Dwayne Dowding who was the outstanding member of the team. After laying the foundations for success in the final Rosenheim, Dowding proved instrumental in securing the team success the club needed to secure promotion. He swept to a fine 100m victory in 11.0 before taking the 200m in 22.0 and anchoring the makeshift sprint relay team to third place. However, Dowding left his best till last clocking 49.6 to anchor the 4x400m team to victory in the final event of the day when the Hercules Wimbledon team had already secured victory.

Teenager Jermain Olasan secured maximum points in the 100m in winning the B race in a personal best of 11.4, just minutes after taking second place in the long jump. He then interrupted his triple jump competition to take second place in the 200m B race before running a leg of the sprint relay.

Aaron Mason, a member of the winning 4x400m relay team, also took second place in the 400m hurdles A race before winning the 400m B race. Teenager Andrew Penney, after an almost sleepless night on an RAF training course, managed to take second place in the 1500m with Ben Cummings, making his Southern League debut, taking second in the B race. Mike Halman and Justin Kelly were runners-up in the 5000m A and B races, Steve Hadley second in the sprint hurdles B race and Esmond Ferns second in the 800m B race.

Earlier Kelly was thrown into the high jump where there was no other competitor and managed to pull off a totally unexpected win clearing 1.65m.

There was plenty of other drama and mishaps apart from Austin Ferns smashing the hurdle. Aidan Hogan looked on his way to win the 3000m steeplechase when he took a fall after he was obstructed by another competitor as he negotiated the water-jump on the penultimate lap. Despite being badly grazed and having the wind taken out of him, Hogan pluckily picked himself up and, encouraged by his team-mates, managed to finish a vital runner-up. Lance Power was also second in the B race. Earlier, Hogan had clocked just outside two minutes in finishing third in the 800m A race.

Hamed Agboke was fully expected to win the 400m A race but he finished last! Per Nystrom was expected to be well placed in the hammer but managed only one valid throw and was last. However, he later finished second in the discus with a Hercules Wimbledon veterans record of 37.80m with Bekela Tola taking second in the B competition, and won the javelin B where Tola was just pipped in the A competition where he threw a fine 55.03m. Nystrom also won the shot with Tola fourth in the B event.

In a truly team effort, Dominic Getting, who took time off from preparing for his wedding next month, was third in the pole vault A and hammer B, Michael Adjei-Tabirade was second in the long jump B, Power third in the triple jump and fourth in the pole vault B events.

Match result: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 130; 2 Brighton and Hove 120; 3 Croydon 112; 4 Dartford 99; 5 Dacorum and Tring 71. Final standings: 1 Enfield and Haringey 28; 2 Brighton and Hove 26; 3 Hercules Wimbledon 26; 4 Luton United 25.

Hercules Wimbledon's Medena Knespl and Claire Grima were the first two women in the Wimbledon Common time trial on Saturday. Jon Fairs, Alex Robinson and over 50 veteran Hugh Saxby were second, fourth and fifth in the men's race.

Hercules Wimbledon contest the Rosenheim League final at Tooting Bec next Wednesday (August 13) starting at 6.45pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club ended their mid-week Rosenheim League Eastern Division programme by winning the sixth and final match at Tooting Bec with a tremendous team victory to qualify for this year's final which will be staged at Tooting Bec on Wednesday, August 13.

Outstanding Hercules Wimbledon athlete was sprinter Dwayne Dowding who stormed to victory in the 100m in 11 seconds and the 200m in 22.1 before running a superb anchor leg in the 4x200m relay. Taking over some 20m behind the leading team he swept round the bend and down the finishing straight victory five metres clear. His hat-trick laid the foundations for Hercules Wimbledon's team success. No athlete finished lower than third in any of the 12 events.

Another Hercules Wimbledon winner was Aidan Hogan who dominated the 2000m steeplechase to win by more than 20 seconds in 6:20.5. He later turned out in the 3000m where he took third place.

Having his first race of the season, Esmond Ferns finished runner-up in the 800m, Kieran White was also second in the 1500m while Aaron Mason took third spot in a closely contested 400m race.

Despite having problems with his run-up, teenager Michael Adjei-Tabirade also took second place in the long jump and, just days after discarding his crutches after missing most of the summer season, thrower Bekele Tola took second spot in both the shot and javelin. Tola had to endure several weeks in plaster after breaking a bone in his foot during a training session.

The victory provided a big boost to Hercules Wimbledon's hopes of gaining promotion to the top division of the Southern Men's League with the final match being held at Norman Park, Bromley, on Saturday. Most of the victorious Rosenheim League squad will be in action at Bromley where Hercules Wimbledon will be aiming to clinch promotion with another win. Match result: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 68; 2 Belgrave 64; 3 Herne Hill 61; 4 Croydon 53; 5 Striders of Croydon 41; 6 Serpentine 33.

Also at Tooting Bec, Hercules Wimbledon youngster Jonathan Osbourne, followed up his sixth place in the English schools junior boys 100m championship by breaking the club's under 15 record 200m record in clocking 23.0 in a non-scoring race. At the other end of the age scale, Angela Kikugawa broke the Hercules Wimbledon women's over 45 800m record with a time of 3:29.0.

Hercules Wimbledon's Liam White warmed up for this weekend's under 17 Inter-Counties match at Basildon on Sunday by racing to third place in the Wimbledon Common time trial on Saturday. He clocked 17:16 in finishing 26 seconds behind Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Ben Cummings who finished second on his debut appearance in the event in 16:50. Alex Robinson was seventh in 18:11 and Medena Knespl 14th and first woman in a personal best time of 19:11, taking three seconds off her previous best time for the event.

White runs in the 1500m for Surrey on Sunday while clubmate Geordie Logan wins his first county vest in the 1500m steeplechase.

Hercules Wimbledon over 60 veteran Steve Badgery had a busy time last weekend. On Saturday he posted the top men's age graded performance in the Bushy Park time trial finishing 18th out of almost 400 runners in 18:20 less than 24 hours after finishing 20th out of more than 500 runners in the Wedding Day seven kilometres road race in 25:39. He posted the top age graded performance, beating all the over 50 veterans, in winning the over 60 veterans prize.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters compete in their final Ebbisham Boys League match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday.

Twelve-year-old Tim Livingstone set a new club boys under 13 discus record when he won the event at the Ebbisham Boys League match at Croydon with a throw of 20.49m. His throw added more than two metres to the previous club best set by Tom Brandon at an Ebbisham League match at Walton in 2005.

Livingstone had a busy time at the meeting at Croydon also winning the 800m in a personal best of 2 minutes 21.8 seconds and taking second place in the long jump with a personal best of 4.32m.

Meanwhile, the quartet of Jose Costa, Nathan Safo-Barnieh, Tom Richards and Jonathan Osbourne set a new club under 15 record in winning the 4x200m relay in 1:38.6. Their time smashed the previous best of 1:41.8 set by Carlos Mujica, David Baker, Nigel Stanley and Martin Giraud at Kingsmeadow in 1992.

Osbourne, who finished a fine sixth in the Sainsbury's English Schools junior boys 100m final, also tasted individual success in winning the 100m in 11.6 while Costa won his 400m race in a personal best of 55.8 and was second in both the high jump and javelin.

Other Hercules Wimbledon winners at Croydon were Ed Saywell in the under 15 800m in a personal best of 2:09.3, Tom Meehan in the under 15 100m, and David Stables in the under 15 1500m and high jump. Saywell was also second in his 400m race while newcomer Chima Odum was second in his under 15 shot competition and third in the triple jump on an encouraging debut appearance for Hercules Wimbledon.

Also at Croydon, Andrew Clarke was second and third in his under 15 shot and 100m events.

At the other end of the age range, former marathon international Steve Badgery was in record-breaking form in the Elmbridge open 10km road race at Walton-on-Thames on Sunday. He smashed the Hercules Wimbledon veterans over 60 record with a time of 36:34 to post the top age graded performance of more than 600 runners in the race. His time is puts him at the top of the 2008 over 60 UK 10km road rankings. He finished 44th overall and beat all the over 50 veterans apart from the winner in that category.

Badgery, 61, erased the Hercules Wimbledon club record of 37:30 set by Peter Giles in the Barry Jones 10km road race in 2005 and now holds all five Hercules Wimbledon over 60 road running records from five miles to the marathon. He also holds the over 60 5000m record on the track.
Also in the Elmbridge 10km event, Hugh Saxby clocked a personal best of 37:03 in finishing second in the over 50 category, 29 seconds behind Badgery, while Maurice Sharp was seventh in the over 60 category in 42:38.

Claire Grima clocked the best Hercules Wimbledon time for the distance this summer when she women's race in the Wimbledon Common time trial on Saturday in 19:28. Clubmate Anna Garnier was third and first over 50 woman veteran with the top age-graded women's performance of 22:59 with Hannah Fernando sixth woman in 24:35.

Over at Dorney Lake, Eton, Hercules Wimbledon's Peter Lee finished 35th out of more than 450 competitors in the Steelman Triathlon which was won by Olympic oarsman James Cracknell.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes travel to Horsham for their fourth Southern Women's League meeting of the season on Saturday while some of the club's youngsters will be in action for Surrey in an under 13 inter-counties match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday.

While Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's seniors were battling their way to victory at Ilford, some of the club's most talented youngsters were showing good form in the Sainsbury's English Schools track and field championships at Gateshead.

Teenager Nathan Safo-Barnieh broke the Hercules Wimbledon boys under 15 200m record in winning his junior boys heat at Gateshead in 23.24 seconds. However, he just failed to make the final finishing third in his second round race in a slightly slower 23.51. His heat time erased the Hercules Wimbledon club record set by Scott Fuller in 1985.

Fellow sprinter Jonathan Osbourne who trains with Safo-Barieh under Hercules Wimbledon coach Frank Haque at Wimbledon Park twice improved on his best 100m time at the championships. He was fourth in his first round race in a personal best of 11.52, was slightly slower with 11.56 in finishing fourth in his semi-final and then speeded up to take sixth place in the final in 11.46. That puts him second on the club all-time list ahead of Mike Powell, who later gained international status, but just outside Martin Giraud's 1992 record of 11.4.

Alex Bruce-Littlewood just missed out on a medal in the senior boys 2000m steeplechase finishing fourth in 6:03.52, Jermaine Olasan was close to his best in leaping 6.70m with his final attempt in the senior boys long jump, where he was fifth, with triple jumper Nnamdi Odum taking sixth place in the senior boys triple jump with 13.76m, to equal his lifetime best set in a Southern League match at Thurrock in June.

A sixth Hercules Wimbledon athlete at Gateshead, Laim White, came up against tough opposition in the intermediate boys 1500m. Despite improving on his lifetime best with 4:10.90, he was knocked out in the opening round where he was eighth in his heat and narrowly missed making the final.

Hercules Wimbledon's top sprinter, Dwayne Dowding, also found the opposition strong in the Olympic trials and UK Championships at Birmingham. Surrey silver medallist Dowding was just outside his best time of 21.8 in clocking 21.98 in the 200m heats.

Over at Ilford, the weakened Hercules Wimbledon's senior team despite being without Dowding, White, Odum and Olasan, managed to snatch a narrow victory in a tough match in which just six points covered the top three teams.

Outstanding was all-rounder Ove Lindekleiv who contested no less than nine events winning the sprint hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot, discus and javelin. He was also second in the pole vault, beaten on count-back, and third in the hammer and also ran legs in the 4x100 and 4x400m relay.

Team captain Steve Davies gained a hat-trick of wins taking the 110m and 400m hurdles B races and high jump B before running in both relays. Other winners were Cale Edmunds (100m B), Simon Cook (shot B), John Brown (hammer B), Dominic Getting (pole vault B) and Andrew Penney (800m B).

The win has lifted Hercules Wimbledon into a promotion place with just one match remaining. Match result: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 128; 2 Ilford 123; 3 Walton 122; 4 City of Norwich 95; 5 Oxford City 62.

Hercules Wimbledon runners also showed good form on the road. James Trapmore raced to victory ahead of a 400-strong field in the Bushy Park time trial in 15:32 with Steve Badgery first over 60 veteran finishing 12th in 18:09. Adam Przedrzymirski returned to racing after a spell off through injury to finish fifth in the Richmond Park time trial in 19:31 with Jon Fairs taking second place in the Wimbledon Common time trial in 17:06.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon stage a National Young Athletes League match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday, starting at 11.30am, and are in action in the final Rosenheim League East Division match at Tooting Bec next Wednesday, starting at 6.30pm.

Five Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club youngsters are competing in the annual Sainsbury's English schools track and field championships at Gateshead this weekend.

Sprinters Jonathan Osbourne and Nathan Safo-Barnieh and will be in action for Surrey in the junior boys 100 and 200m respectively after winning the gold medals in the Surrey schools championships at Kingsmeadow Stadium on June 14. Three Hercules Wimbledon athletes are also in the London team. They are Jermaine Olasan and Nnamdi Odum in the senior boys long and triple jump events and Liam White in the intermediate boys 1500m.

White, who won the London schools title at Battersea Park last month in a personal best of 4 minutes 11 seconds, warmed up for Gateshead with runs over 800 and 1500m in the fourth of this season's Rosenheim League meetings at Tooting Bec. Odum also had his last competition before Gateshead at Tooting Bec, winning the triple jump with 13.70m.

Osbourne and Safo-Barnieh showed good form for Merton in the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Hercules Wimbledon's James Trapmore gained an impressive hat-trick in the Rosenheim League meeting. He took the 800, 1500 and 3000m in 2:06.7, 4:13.1 and 8:53.0 in the space of just over an hour.

Surrey 200m silver medallist Dwayne Dowding warmed up for this weekend's UK championships at Birmingham with an outstanding 400m debut. He took the race in 49.6 and then later won the 200m in 22.9 before running the anchor leg for the 4x200m relay team. Also at Tooting Bec, Surrey junior men's long jump silver medallist Cale Edmunds was third in the 100m in 11.7.

Continuing her return to fitness after injury, Jennifer Fernando was a comfortable winner of the women's 800m in 2:22.5.

Hercules Wimbledon runners dominated the annual Jim Braben 10 kilometres road race on Wimbledon Common on Sunday with Mike Halman and Medena Knespl, back from studying in the United States, winning the men's and women's races, respectively.

Over in Central London, Hussein Ahmed posted the best Hercules Wimbledon performance this year over the distance when he finished eighth out of several thousand runners in the British 10km road race from Hyde Park Corner to Whitehall in 32:57. He finished less than three minutes behind race winner Stefani Baldini from Italy.

Teenager Andrew Penney made an impressive debut in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial on Saturday when he finished runner-up out of 60 runners in 16:51. He was just three seconds ahead of Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Jon Fairs who finished third.

Naomi Warner won the women's race in the Bushy Park time trial at Hampton Court in 17:51 just behind her Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Richard Xerri who sliced two seconds off his previous best time for the course in finishing 11th out of 361 runners in 17:48. Over 60 veteran Steve Badgery posted the best age-graded performance in finishing 15th in 17:56, also taking two seconds off his previous best time.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action in a Southern Men's League and Lily B Girls League meetings at Ilford and Guildford, respectively, on Saturday, and an Ebbisham Boys League match at Croydon on Sunday. Next Monday, Hercules Wimbledon's older athletes compete in their final Southern Veterans League match at Battersea Park.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS