Apl-Jun 08

April 2008		May 2008		June 2008
	28/04/08		26/05/08		30/06/08
	21/04/08		19/05/08		23/06/08
	14/04/08		12/05/08		16/06/08
	7/04/08		5/05/08		9/06/08
					2/06/08

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's top woman race walker Estle Viljoen emerged from a torrid few months to gain her make her British debut in a veterans international match against France and Belgium at Ashford, Kent.

Viljoen, 37, who teaches at Haslemere Primary School, Mitcham, went down with pneumonia a year ago and then, just two months ago, she suffered broken ribs when fell off a chair she was standing on.

Previously, the South African-born walker has turned out for her native country and in that capacity won the All African women's 10km track walking title a few years back. With all the problems she has encountered it wasn't surprising she was some way off her best at Ashford and although she finished fourth she was the first of the four British representatives in the event covering the 3000m in 15 minutes 32.13 seconds.

A few days later, she appeared in front of a BBC TV camera which was filming for a programme on race walking to take the gold medal in the Veterans Athletic Club's five miles road walk championship in Battersea Park in 42:20.

"I never gave up. You must never give up however low things seem to be," said Viljoen who has another cause to celebrate - she's getting married in South Africa in a few weeks time before moving into a new home with her new husband in South Wimbledon. "Hopefully, it'll be a new beginning and there's a lot more for me to achieve."

Viljoen proved her versatility as both a runner and walker when she won the women's event in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial on Saturday. She clocked 19:38 to finish 10th out of almost 100 runners and post the top age-graded performance. It was her sixth win in 10 appearances in the event. Hercules Wimbledon's Graeme Busch was third in the men's race in 18:34 with Yuzo Saito 13th in 20:17. John Wasbrough was second veteran over 65 in 27:00.

Surrey senior women's long jump bronze medallist Emily Martin had a busy time in a Southern Women's League match at Croydon Sports Arena. However, she gave her specialist event a miss as she won the 200m in 26.4, was second equal in the high jump with 1.40m, was second in the javelin with 24.76m and fifth in the discus.

Surrey girls under 15 200m bronze medallist Sharon Obayuwana was runner-up in both the under 15 100 and 200m in 13.5 and 27.8.

Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery had a busy weekend. On Sunday, he took the veterans over 60 prize in the Surrey 10 kilometres road running championship at Petersham finishing 44th out of 464 finishers in 38:19. The previous day he posted the top age-graded performance in the Bushy Park five kilometres time trial. He finished ninth out of 364 runners in 18:06. He finished one place behind his Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Peter Lee who was first over 40 veteran in 17:54.

Also at Petersham, Hercules Wimbledon's Naomi Warner won the women's title in the Surrey 10km championship in 35:54 while Neil Aitken was 14th in the men's race in 34:58 and Chris Coles 36th in 37:42. Maurice Sharp just missed out on a medal in the over 60 age group where he finished fourth in 44:21, just 12 seconds behind the bronze medallist.

Keith Hylands competed in the 1500m in a Southern Veterans League match at Battersea Park on his 60th birthday. He clocked 5:21.9 to finish third and post the fourth fastest ever time for the distance by a Hercules Wimbledon 60-year-old.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action in the British Masters track and field championships at Birmingham on Saturday and Sunday while some of the club's youngsters will be competing in the London Balfour Beattie London Youth Games athletics at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's youngsters turned in another fine effort in their third UK National Young Athletes League meeting at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Sunday. The club's two outstanding athletes were Eleanor Hahn-Smith and Nathan Safo-Barnieh who scored a hat-trick of wins apiece. Hahn-Smith, who won three bronze medals at the Surrey track and field championships, won the girls under 13 800m (2 minutes 38.9 seconds), high jump with a personal best of 1.30 and long jump (3.76m). She was also helped the 4x100m relay team to second place.

This completed a busy weekend for Hahn-Smith who the previous day had also achieved a hat-trick in an open meeting at Tooting Bec. She posted a personal best of 2:29.8 in winning the girls under 13 800m and also won the 100 (14.0) and high jump (1.28m).

Safo-Barnieh, who clinched his place in the Surrey team to compete in the English schools championships at Gateshead next month by winning the junior boys 200m in a personal best of 23.68, took the boys under 15 100m B race in 12.4, the 80m hurdles (13.4) and discus B before helping the 4x100m relay team to victory.

Another member of that winning quartet was Jonathan Osborne who won the 100m A race in 12.2 and also booked his ticket for Gateshead by winning the Surrey schools junior boys 100m on the same track the previous weekend in a personal best of 11.69. Liam White, still regaining his fitness after dislocating his knee playing football which truncated his winter racing season, continued to progress with a double victory on the track. White won the 1500 A and 3000m B races in 4:50.1 and 11:48.1. White was also third in the 800m in 2:11.3. He will also be in action in the English schools championships after winning the intermediate boys 1500m title at Battersea Park the previous weekend in a personal best of 4:11.0.

Avalon Howard-McCrow, Geordie Logan and Jose Costa were also double winners for Hercules Wimbledon on Sunday. Howard-McCrow won the girls under 13 70m hurdles and long jump B and was also second in the high jump B. Logan won the men's under 17 3000m and 1500m steeplechase in 11:48.1 and 5:04.0. He was also third in the triple jump. Costa won the boys under 15 200m (25.6) and javelin with a personal best of 40.68m and was also second in the high jump. His elder brother Luis was second in the under 17 javelin and fourth in the long jump.

One of the most impressive Hercules Wimbledon wins came in the girls under 13 1200m where Emma Headley gained a runaway triumph. She crossed the line in 4:18.2, 22 seconds ahead of the second finisher. Tom Richards won the boys under 15 200m B race as well as helping the sprint relay team to success, Max Cooper won the under 13 1500m B race and Ed Saywell took the under 15 80m hurdles B race and was also runner-up in the 800m in a personal best of 2:11.8 and second in the shot B. Another winner was Mayeni Aki-Sawyer who won the girls under 13 75m B race and also took second place in the 70m hurdles. Maria Rogan finished third in the women's under 17 200 and 300m, with Sharon Obayuwana runner-up in the girls under 15 100 and 200m and third in the shot.

Hercules Wimbledon runners led the field home in the weekly Wimbledon Common time trial on Saturday providing the first three runners over the finishing line. The race was won by Deon Coetzee in 17:39 from Stuart Fraser (17:42) and Chris Coles (18:10).

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes compete in their third Southern Women's League and fourth Southern Men's League meetings at Croydon and Stevenage, respectively, both on Saturday. On Sunday, the club's youngsters contest their first Ebbisham League match at Sutton Arena while next Wednesday (July 2), the club contests the fourth of this season's Rosenheim League matches at Tooting Bec.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's senior men's team produced another good result in their third Southern League Division Two match at Thurrock to keep up their push for promotion.

Outstanding individual effort came from Surrey 200m silver medallist Dwayne Dowding who took the 200m in a lifetime best of 21.8 seconds. Dowding, who made the dash across London after completing his postman's round in Wimbledon, also helped the 4x100m relay team to victory in 45.9. Other members of the quartet were Jon Grayson, Steve Hadley and Dominic Getting. Team captain Steve Davies got Hercules Wimbledon to a winning start on the track by taking the 400m hurdles in 58.8 seconds. He later finished fourth in the 110m hurdles before running the second leg for the winning 4x400m relay team. Matt Parsons and Hamed Agboke, two other members of the winning squad, also posted sound individual runs in the 400m finishing second and first in the A and B races, respectively. As well as winning both relays, Hercules Wimbledon ended the match on a high by taking maximum points in the 3000m steeplechase through Justin Kelly and Aidan Hogan. Earlier Kelly and Hogan finished second in both the 800m A and B races. Kelly showed his versatility by also finishing fourth in the javelin.

Triple jumper Nnamdi Odum, having his first competition of the season, produced a lifetime best leap of 13.76m to win his event with Jon Grayson securing maximum points by taking the B string competition. Grayson was also third in the 200m B race, fourth in the long jump and fifth in the 100m. Making their Southern League debut's Neil Aitken and Andrew Penney gained good points in the 5000m. Aitken was runner-up in he A race while Penney, who had turned up to run in the 800m, but was switched to fill a gap in the team, won the B race. Kieran and Liam White (no relation) were third in both the 1500m A and B races. Newcomer Simon Cook, also making his Southern League debut, had a busy afternoon, taking second in the javelin B and third in the high jump B as well as competing in the shot and discus. Deon Coetzee was fourth in the high jump A, Dominic Getting and Lance Power, fourth in the A and B pole vault and veteran John Webster and Getting fourth in the A and B hammer with Getting also competing in the shot and discus as well as running a leg of the 4x400m relay. Power also competing in the long jump B event.

Hercules Wimbledon's seasoned athletes returned with a bagful of medals from the Surrey Veterans track and field championships at Kingsmeadow Stadium. The collection included seven golds. Former marathon international Steve Badgery broke the Hercules Wimbledon age club record in winning the over 60 5000m in 17:43.5. Mike Kortenray took the bronze medal exactly 40 years after he won the Southern two miles track title at Motspur Park. Pensioner John Webster clinched three gold medals in the over 65 triple jump, hammer and javelin while other successes came from Mark Baker (over 45 400m), Peter Lee (over 40 5000m), and Stu Littlewood (over 55 1500m). Littlewood also won a silver in the 5000m while Hugh Saxby got two silvers in the over 50 800m and long jump and took bronze in the 1500m where he finished behind clubmate Steve Newton.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes compete in their third UK National Young Athletes League meeting at Kingsmeadow Stadium while the club will also have athletes in action in the England Athletics under 23 and junior championships at Bedford. On Monday June 23), the club's older athletes compete in the third of this season's Southern Veterans League Mid-London Division meetings at Battersea Park, starting at 6.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's youngsters gave another solid display in their second UK National Young Athletes League meeting of the season at Parliament Hill Fields, North London.

By racking up more than 20 wins, the boys narrowly won their section of the match by just six points. Jon Osborne and Nathan Safo-Barniah showed good form in the under 15 track events, Safo-Barniah winning the 100m in a swift 11.8 seconds, the same time as clubmate Osborne who took the Arace to win maximum points. Osborne also won the 200m in 24.3 and the shot B and Safo the 80m hurdles. Osborne and Safo-Barniah were also members of the winning 4x100m relay team. Other under 15 winners were Ed Saywell (800m and 80m hurdles B), Tom Meehan (long jump and discus B), Tim Brown (high jump) and Brad Mulroe (1500m B). Brad Mulroe and Ed Saywell linked up with Ejaz Mutoka and Cannor Callaghan to win the under 15 4x400m relay.

Making his debut for Hercules Wimbledon, Antonio Douglas won the under 17 100m hurdles and was also second in the high jump while Liam White completed an impressive middle-distance double taking the 800 and 1500m races in 2:07.7 and 4:48.1.

Paul Stables secured maximum points in the two events by taking the B races. Geordie Logan was another double winner in the 3000m and 1500m steeplechase.

Only under 13 winners were Tim Livingstone (800m in 2:25.2) and Robert Richards (75m hurdles B). Best of the girls, who also posted six wins, was treble Surrey bronze medallist Eleanor Hahn-Smith, who won the girls under 13 1500m and long jump. Sharon Obayuwana and Jeanne Mbimbu won the girls under 15 200m A and B races, Dalia Seraly the girls under 13 150m B race and Emma Headley the girls under 13 1500m B race.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon youngsters are in action in the London and Surrey schools championships at Battersea Park and Kingsmeadow, respectively. Most of the club's runners will be in action for the Merton team.

Hercules Wimbledon runners gained numerous successes at the Merton schools championships which were staged at Wimbledon Park. Jonathan Osborne took the intermediate boys 100m in 12 .0 ahead of clubmate Nathan Safo-Barnish (12.1). Safo-Barnish won the 80m hurdles (13.3) and was second in the triple jump, while Osborne also won the long jump. Antonio Douglas won the high jump (1.60m) while Tom Meehan won the 100m B race and was second in the 800m and third in the 400m B event. Katie Kemp won the intermediate girls 800m, Michaela Knespl took the 1500m ahead of clubmate Jade Brooks, and the shot B.

Hercules Wimbledon's Justin Kelly led from gun to tape to win the 800m at the third of this season's Rosenheim League East Division matches at Tooting Bec. He cocked 1:59.2 and also finished fourth in the 400m. Clubmate Ben Cummings won the non-scoring 800m race, while Naomi Warner won the women's 3000m race in 10:15.1.

Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery posted another fast time in the Bushy Park five kilometres time trial on Saturday. He was top veteran over 60 finishing 16th out of almost 450 runners in 18:43.

Also on the road, Gary Blesson finished 13th out of more than 1300 runners and top veteran in the Bognor Prom 10km roads race in Sussex in 35:36.

Surrey long jump champion Royden John leads a contingent of Hercules Wimbledon athletes competing in the South of England senior and under 20 championships at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Saturday and Sunday.

Hercules Wimbledon also compete in the fourth of this season Rosenheim League matches at Tooting Bec next Wednesday (June 18).

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's Surrey long jump bronze medallist Emily Martin showed good all-round form in the Southern Women's League match at Twickenham securing a hat-trick of wins.

She won her specialist event, the long jump, with a leap of 5.28m and also came out top in the javelin with a eprsonal best of 23.90m and 200m where she clocked 25.7 seconds. She was also fifth in the shot.

Marathon runner Claire Grima was the only other Hercules Wimbledon winner in the senior track events taking the 3000m in 10:49.8.

Three of Hercules younger athletes also showed winning form with Sharon Obayuwana, joint winner of the under 15 100m in 13.5, Eleanor Smith-Hahn the 1500m in 5:25.2 and Georgia Mathieson the javelin with 22.58m. Obayuwana was also third in the 200m and shot with a personal best of 7.68m. Another Hercules Wimbledon youngster in action was Connie Rose who finished fifth in the under 15 800m.

Laure Duval had a busy time in the senior events finishing second in the 200m B and third in the 100m and high jump A events. She was also fourth in shot B. Jennifer Fernando was second in the 400m and third in the 800m A races with her twin sister Rosemary taking fourth place in the 1500m. They then linked up with Grima and Jade Brooks to finish fourth in the 4x400m relay.

Brooks was also third in the 400m B race while Natasha Skeet who was fourth in the long jump and fifth in the 100m events.

Skeet was the most successful Hercules Wimbledon athlete in the opening Lily B League match at Tooting Bec. She won the under 17 100m in 14.7 and also took the long jump with a personal best of 3.95m. Brooks was another Hercules Wimbledon winner taking the javelin and also finishing runner-up in the 200 and 300m, while Katie Kemp was runner-up in the 800m.

Obayuwana was second in the under 15 100m and third in the 200m and shot B events. Jeanne Mbimbu was second in both the 100 and 200m B races and fourth in the long jump A competition while Georgia Haigh was fourth in the 800m.

Smith-Hahn won the under 13 1500min 5:18.7 and was runner-up in the long jump B. Avalon Howard-McCrow was second in the under 13 long jump A competition and fourth in the 100m A race. Marie Thomas was fifth in the B event. Maire Gilmartin was fourth in the 800 and 70m hurdles while Ella Dobson was second in the 800m B race and Georgia Prescott was fourth in the shot.

Hercules Wimbledon contest their second Lily B League match at Sutton Arena on Saturday with the Southern Men's League team competing in their third match of the season at Thurrock on the same day. On Monday, the club's older members compete in their second Southern Veterans League meeting at Twickenham, starting at 6.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery produced the best age graded performance in the weekly Bushy Park five kilometres time trial at Hampton Court. Badgery was first veteran over 60 finisher clocking 17:58 to improve on his previous best time for the course by 21 seconds. He finished 14th out of more than 400 runners. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Peter Lee was top veteran over 40 finishing eighth in 17:43.

Kieran White posted the fastest five kilometres time by a Hercules Wimbledon runner this year when he finished third in the Charndon five kilometres road race in Oxfordshire in 15:58. Teenager Alex Robinson also showed good form in finishing fourth in the Wimbledon Common time trial in 18:34. He was the first junior man in the 112-strong field to cross the line. Clubmate Estelle Lambert, making her debut in the event, was sixth woman in 22:58. John Wasbrough was top over 65 finisher in 26:43.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's top middle-distance runner Medena Knespl is continuing to show record-breaking form in the USA.
In the past few weeks she has twice broken her own Hercules Wimbledon women's 5000m track record and also posted lifetime best times for 3000m.
Her latest club record-breaking feat came when she competed in the women's 5000m race in the New England Collegiate Championships in Durham, New Hampshire.

Knespl clocked 16 minutes 51.01 seconds to take 10 seconds off her previous best of 17:01.26 achieved in the Stanford Invitational meeting at the beginning of April. In that race she took more than 40 seconds off her previous club record of 17:45.80 set at the New Balance Collegiate Indoor Meeting in New York in February. Her 5000m time ranks her 12th among UK athletes this season.

Despite turned up ankle during a training run a few days before the race and competing with her foot still black and blue from the bruising, 20-year-old Knespl managed to post a lifetime best 3000m time in the Princetown University meeting in New Jersey. She clocked 9:52.17 to shave more than a second off her previous best of 9:54.65in the Brown Springtime Invitation Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, at the end of April.

It is not the first time Knespl has been in the wars. She actually ran in the New Balance Collegiate Indoor Meeting in New York with two broke arms! A few days before the race she was leading a packing of runners from Boston University, where she is currently studying, on a training run. She tripped over a wire and in order to break her fall she put out both hands and the impact of the fall fractured both her arms.

Calling all throwers!! Hercules Wimbledon's throwing coaches John Webster and Frank Haque are organising a throwing morning at the club's Wimbledon Park track base this Sunday, June 1. The throwing session, which is open to both experienced throwers and novices, men and women, will start at 11am and run through till 1pm.

Hercules Wimbledon's Peter Lee won the veterans prize when he finished third out of 500 runners in the Staines 10km road race. Lee clocked 35:58 finishing just half-a-minute behind the winner. Clubmate Ray Owens was 20th in 39:32.

Hercules Wimbledon's Hugh Saxby was the first veteran over 50 in the Wimbledon Common time trial. He was fourth in 17:45, less than a minute behind the race winner. Meanwhile, teenager Alex Bruce-Littlewood finished third in the junior men's 2000m steeplechase in the British Milers Club's Nike PB Classic Meeting at Watford in 6:08.1.

Hercules Wimbledon are organising the third of this season's Rosenheim League eastern division matches at Tooting Bec next Wednesday (June 4). The meeting starts at 6.45pm with the high jump and hammer. The first track event, the 100m hurdles, is at 7pm.

Hercules Wimbledon had three winners in the second of this season's Rosenheim League matches. Hamed Agboke won both the 100 and 400m while James Trapmore took the 800m.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes are in action in a Southern Women's League match at Twickenham on Saturday while on Sunday the club's youngsters contest their second National Young Athletes League match at Parliament Hill Fields, North London.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's youngsters made a fine start to their National Young Athletes League programme at Kingsmeadow Stadium with a record 31 wins.

Nathan Safo-Barnieh, who made such an impressive showing in the Surrey Sportshall competitions during the winter, made an impressive outdoor debut for Hercules Wimbledon in winning the boys under 15 80m hurdles and 100m B races and then running the opening leg of the winning 4x100m relay.

Another Sportshall exponent, Ed Saywell, enjoyed a hat-trick of wins taking the 800m A, 80m hurdles B and shot B events. Siblings Sharon and Emmanuel Obayuwana had a win apiece taking the girls under 15 100m and boys under 13 long jump.

Four other winners in the girls under 13 events were Dalia Serafy, who took the 150m, Sydney Henderson (800m), Eleanor Smith-Hahn (1200m) and Rebecca Stone (long jump).

Jose Costa won the boys under 15 200m and javelin before anchoring the 4x100m relay team to a swift 48.7 seconds victory while his older brother Luis won the under 17 400m B before also anchoring the under 17 4x400m relay team, which also included Liam White, Geordie Logan and Paul Stables, to success.

White also gained an individual track double in the 800m A and 1500m B while Joe Toomey took the 1500m A race. Logan also took the 1500m steeplechase while Stables won the 800m B.

The other two members of the winning boys under 15 4x100m relay team also gained individual successes on the track. Jonathan Osbourne won the 100m while Tom Richards took the 200m B race.

Other winners in the boys under 15 events were Ijaz Matoka (400m B), Connor Callaghan (1500m B), James Russell (high jump B), Alex Watson (discus A) and Tom Meehan (discus B).

Apart from Emmanuel Obayuwana, Hercules Wimbledon also had three boys under 13 winners. They were Tim Livingstone (shot A), Noiman Naaem (shot B), and Max Allison (long jump B).

Hercules Wimbledon's next National Young Athletes League match will be on Sunday, June 1, at Parliament Hill Fields.

Hercules Wimbledon's Aaron Mason was a member of the winning Oxford side in the annual University athletics match at Iffley Road. Mason, who is in only his first season of hurdling, was third in the 400m hurdles, ran in the 200m hurdles and helped Oxford win the 4x400m relay.

This weekend, several Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action in the UK Inter-Counties track and field championships at Bedford on Sunday and Monday while others will be competing in the South of England under 15 and under 17 championships at Ashford, Kent, on Saturday and Sunday.

On a busy weekend for athletics, the club's older members will be in action in the Surrey veterans track and field championships at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday with some of the youngsters in the opening Lily B League meeting at Tooting Bec, also on Saturday.

Hercules Wimbledon athletes came away from the annual Surrey track and field championships at Kingsmeadow Stadium with a bagful of medals.

Best of the Hercules Wimbledon contingent in action was former junior international 400m hurdler Austin Ferns who smashed the championship record in retaining his Surrey title with an outstanding run.

Ferns secured his place in the Olympic trials at Birmingham in July by posting the third best time this season by a UK athlete. He swept over the 10 flights of hurdles in an impressive 52.66 seconds, significantly faster than his 53.23 last year and just inside the championship record of 52.7 set in 1995.

Another impressive Hercules Wimbledon winner was veteran long jumper Royden John. He managed to snatch the gold medal by just two centimetres with the last of his six attempts, after lying in silver medal position for the opening five rounds. He leapt out to 7.28m, his best long jump performance for 16 years and comes just a week after he posted his best 100m time since 1992 of 11 seconds.

Both Ferns and John are automatic choices for Surrey team to compete in the UK Inter-Counties Championships at the end of the month.

Making it a hat-trick of titles for Hercules Wimbledon athletes was teenager Jose Costa who took the boys under 15 javelin with a throw of 39.79m.

Another outstanding performer on the track was sprinter Dwayne Dowding who took the silver medal in an extremely competitive 200m final. Dowding looked medal-winning material as he won his heat in a lifetime best of 21.95, breaking the 22 second barrier for the first time. He then took his semi-final in 22.06, also inside his previous best of 22.1 set last season and then clocked 22.05 to take the silver medal by just five-hundredths of a second in the tightest of finishes.

Cale Edmunds leapt 6.32m to take the silver medal in the junior men's long jump and three other Hercules Wimbledon silver medallists were Liam White, continuing his return after injury, clocking 9:38.42 in the men's under 17 3000m, Rosemary Fernando in the junior women's 1500m in 5:10.93 and Tim Livingstone in the boys under 13 800m in 2:22.26.

Busiest and most successful in medal terms of the Hercules Wimbledon contingent in action at the Surrey championships was Eleanor Smith-Hahn. She secured a hat-trick of bronze medals in the under 13 girls 200m (29.28), 800m (2:33.23) and 1500m (5:11.27). She had a hectic two days also finishing fourth in the long jump and fifth in the 100m.

Three other Hercules Wimbledon bronze medallists were Emily Martin in the senior women's long jump (5.57m), Michael Adjei-Tadirade in the junior men's long jump (5.90m) and Sharon Obayuwana in the girls under 15 200m (27.87).

There was some near medal misses too with Steve Davies in the senior men's 400m hurdles, Jennifer Fernando in the junior women's 800m, and Jose Costa in the boys under 15 400m all finishing in fourth place.

Hercules Wimbledon's James Trapmore was the outstanding individual in the opening Rosenheim League East Division meeting of the season at Battersea Park. Within he space of two hours he won four events, the 800m followed by the 400m and 10 minutes later the 1500m and finally the 3000m. He then successfully defended his Coombe Hill five miles road race title in Kingston on Sunday.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in their second Southern Men's League match at Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Saturday. They will be looking to repeat their first match victory at Kingsmeadow Stadium.

Hercules Wimbledon Young Athletes Open meeting which was cancelled on April 6 due to a sudden snowfall and adverse weather, will now be held on Sunday, September 14 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

Hercules Wimbledon chairman Fred Green said: "It was, obviously, a great disappointment to both the club and the 800 or so individuals who had entered the meeting. He added: "In considering our response to this unfortunate turn of events, we were heartened by the level of enthusiasm and affection for the meeting expressed by the athletes and coaches we contacted, all of whom were keen for us to find an alternative date.

"As a result, we are pleased to announce that the 27th edition of our meeting has been re-scheduled for Sunday, September 14 at Crystal Palace. All existing entries will stand, and anyone entered for April 6 need do nothing except turn up on September 14. We will, of course, also be accepting new entrants and an entry form will be put on the Hercules Wimbledon website www.herculeswimbledonac.org.uk as soon as possible."

"We are looking forward to seeing as many of the previously entered athletes as possible on September 14 when we hope the weather will be more suited to track and field athletics than winter sports."

Hercules Wimbledon's Medena Knespl, currently studying at Boston University, achieved another impressive performance stateside when she competed in the Bwon University Sprintime Invitation Meeting at Providence, Rhode Island.

She took second place in the women's 3000m in a personal best of 9 minutes 54.65 seconds. Her time took almost eight seconds off her previous best for the distance set in the USA in April. Her time also lifts her from fourth to second on Hercules Wimbledon's all-time list behind Bridget Cushen's club record of 9:48.6 set in 1966, 21 years before Knespl was born.

Hercules Wimbledon's top senior athlete, Emily Martin, has a busy time in the club's opening Southern Women's League match at Kingsmeadow Stadium. She warmed up for this weekend's Surrey championships by winning the senior long jump with 5.37 metres, taking second place in the 100m in 13.0, fifth in the shot with 8.63m and sixth in the javelin.

Twins Jennifer and Rosemary Fernando were third and second, respectively in the 800m A and B races. Jennifer was also fourth in the 1500m and fifth in the 400m while Rosemary also competed in the javelin B event before they linked up with Hannah Long and Caroline Hicks to take third spot in the 4x400m relay. Earlier, Hicks and Long were in action in the 3000m.

Sharon Obayuwana showed useful form in the girls under 15 sprint events. She was third in the 100m in 13.6 and second in 200m in 27.8. Clubmate Eleanor Smith-Hahn was second in the 200m B race and third in the 1500m A race.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action in the Surrey track and field championships at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, the club's older athletes will compete in their opening Southern Veterans League Mid London division match at Battersea Park, starting at 6.30pm.

Scores of runners will be converging on Wimbledon Park athletics stadium on Bank Holiday Monday for the annual Barry Jones five miles road race staged by Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club.

Hercules Wimbledon has staged a road race on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend since 1982. It was originally over 10 kilometres but, two years ago, the club decided to reduce the distance to five miles, for safety reasons. Previously, the course went past the busy shopping centres and District Line stations at Southfields and Wimbledon Park. Due to increased traffic and parking, it was decided these congested areas were best avoided.

In 2006, the course was changed. It starts, as usual, on the athletics track, and goes along Wimbledon Park Road, Church Road, St Mary's Road and Home Park Road. Runners then enter Wimbledon Park through the Home Park Road entrance, follow the footpaths parallel to the railway line, past the cafeteria and the Revelstoke Road entrance car park, before leaving the park through the Wimbledon Park road entrance to start the second lap. At the end of the second lap, the runners return to the track and the finishing point.

Hercules Wimbledon's Ian Horrocks was the first winner of the race over the reduced distance when he crossed the line in 26 minutes 12 seconds in 2006. Clubmate James Trapmore was third in 26:49

Henry Dodwell from Highgate Harriers clocked a faster 26:07 in winning the race last year when Horrocks finished in fifth place. Herne Hill's Ceri Diss also set a course record in winning the women's race in 31:09.

The last winner of the race over the previous 10km distance was Hercules Wimbledon's own Ethiopian-born Dereje Kebede who smashed the course record with a superb 30:29 victory. Sadly, Kebede died suddenly in June 2006 and therefore was unable to fulfil his aim of competing for Britain.

The race is named in memory of a long serving official, Barry Jones, who served as the club secretary from 1992 to 1996.

Incorporated within the race are the Merton borough championships. Two trophies were donated by the then Mayor of Merton, Councillor Barry Edwards, in 1990, to be presented to the first man and woman who lived in Merton.

The race starts at 11am on Monday. Entries are being taken on the day but runners wishing to take part need to report to register at least an hour before the start. There are prizes for the leading finishers and category winners and medals for all finishers.

Hercules Wimbledon's Kieran White and Mike Halman won the Bushy Park and Wimbledon Common tiem trials on Saturday. White headed home a 446-strong field to win in 16:17. White improved on his previous best time for the course by 31 seconds snatching victory by just one second. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Steve Badgery posted the top age-graded performance as first over 60 finisher in 28th place in 18:40.

A week after winning the inaugural Bramhall Park time trial in Cheshire, Halman headed home a record field of 123 runners on Wimbledon Common. He clocked 16:14 on his first appearance in the event to win by more than a minute. Teenager Liam White continued to make progress after injury as he finished just outside the frame in fourth spot in 17:49 with clubmate Matt Fell 14th in 18:52.

Hercules Wimbledon's Stu Littlewood was first over 55 veteran in the Serpentine five kilometres road race in Hyde Park in 19:48.

Hercules Wimbledon face a busy weekend. In addition to organising the Barry Jones road race on Monday, they host their opening Southern Men's League match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday, starting at 1pm, while the club's youngsters are also at Kingsmeadow on Sunday in action in their opening National Young Athletes League match, starting at 11.45am.

Hercules Wimbledon's athletes both young and old were in impressive form in their opening outdoor track and field meetings of the summer at Kingston-upon-Thames and Battersea Park.

The club's top male long jumper Royden John set a club veterans record in the annual Sward Trophy meeting staged in chilly, wintry conditions at Kingsmeadow Stadium. John also produced the best leap by a UK veteran this year as he leapt 6.93m to take runners-up spot. He was also runner-up in the pole vault B competition.

Dominic Getting was fourth in the pole vault A and fourth in the hammer B, while John Brown was fifth in the hammer A contest as well as competing in the shot and discus. Only winner on the track was Arnaud Claverie who took the 2000m steeplechase B race with Adam Przedrymirski finishing fourth in the A competition.

Despite the inclement weather. sprinters Dwayne Dowding and Praf Nargund were close to their best as they finished fourth in the 200m and fifth in the 100m in 22.34 and 11.54 seconds, respectively. After leading the field during the early stages, Belal Aly, running barefoot, faded to finish fourth in the 3000m in 9:15.29. and 22.34. Aidan Hogan ran a steady race to take fourth place in the 200m in 2:01.2.

Meanwhile, over at an open meeting in Battersea Park, 11-year-old Eleanor Smith-Hahn produced a quartet of wins, all lifetime bests. She took the girls under 13 100m in 14.61, 200m in 29.8, 800m in 2:37.4 and long jump with 3.70m.

Smith-Hahn will be in action again when she competes for Hercules Wimbledon in their opening Southern Women's League match at Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday. The meeting starts at 12noon with the first track event at 1pm and runs through to about 5.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon teenager Liam White continued his return to fitness with an encouraging run in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial. White, who was forced to miss several weeks of racing after dislocating his knee playing football, finished third in 17:38. Triathlete Yuzo Saito was 28th in 21:02 and Dennis Williams first veteran over 60 in 23:57.

Former marathon international Steve Badgery was the first over 60 veteran in the Bushy Park time trial near Hampton Court in 19:34 Amandine King was 10th in the women's race in 21:36.

On the road, Hercules Wimbledon's Stuart Fraser showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals as he ran away from his rivals to win the City of London Quarterly five miles road race in the Square Mile by two seconds in 16:51. Meanwhile, over 50 veteran St Littllewood finished fifth in the Veteran Athletic Club's first five miles road race of the summer in Battersea Park just ahead of over 45 veteran Tom Morris with over 60 veteran Dennis Williams 16th in 38:08.

Mike Halman was also in winning form as he took the inaugural Bramhall Park five kilometres time trial near Stockport, Cheshire, in 16:23, posting the best age-graded performance. Sally Maddock was second in the women's race in 21:16.

Hercules Wimbledon runners were out on the roads of the capital for Sunday's Flora London marathon with the club's athletes in action in both the main marathon race from Blackheath to The Mall and the Adidas Mini-Marathon over the final three miles of the main course.

There were outstanding performances by the club's two representatives in the women's race, Claire Grima and Zoe Pike. Grima ran a sound tactical race and although having to run through a heavy hailstorm in the closing stages finished 43rd in a lifetime best of 2 hours 55 minutes 36 seconds, posting the second best women's marathon time by a Hercules Wimbledon runner. Her time took more than a minute off her previous best of 2:56:56 when finishing 50th in the 2006 London race and was just 32 seconds outside the Hercules Wimbledon club record set by Sarah Massey in 1999. Her half-marathon time of 1:15:17 also took nine minutes off the Hercules Wimbledon women's half-marathon record.

The only other Hercules runner in the women's race, Zoe Pike, also clocked a lifetime best as she finished two places behind Grima in 2:56:26, to set a new club women's veteran record. Her time was also more than two minutes better than her previous best of 2:58:42 set when taking 66th place in the 2005 London race. It smashed the previous Hercules Wimbledon veterans record set by Mel Jones in the London race in 1994.

The two Hercules Wimbledon women ran contrasting races with Grima going off fast and Pike having a much steadier run. Grima ran the first half of the race more than 25 minutes faster than the second while Pike, who was more than 13 minutes behind her clubmate at half-way, ran the second half of the race more than a minute quicker than the first to get within 50 seconds of Grima. They were 34th and 38th British finishers in the women's race.

Best of the Hercules Wimbledon men was Justin Kelly who finished 239th on his marathon debut in 2:42:45. Jamie Helmer was 443rd in 2:49:14, almost there minutes faster than he managed in the London race in 2005 and veteran Peter Lee 520th in 2:51:06, an improvement of almost three minutes on his run in the London race in 2006. John Querstret finished inside three hours taking 990th place in 2:58:57 while Steve Badgery was third veteran over 60 in 2:59:38.

Hercules Wimbledon's former English cross country champion Dave Clarke, now 50, clocked 3:13:41 on his London debut, running round with his wife, Francesca. It was his first marathon since winning the Stockholm race in 1989 in 2:13:34, which still stands as the Hercules Wimbledon club record.

Hercules Wimbledon had a bumper crop of 36 runners in the London borough mini-marathon races, mostly running for Merton. Best of the bunch was Alex Bruce-Littlewood who was third in the senior boys race in 15:15, just seven seconds behind the winner, leading Bromley to third team place. Joe Toomey led the Merton team in finishing 22nd in 16:20, Liam White, in only his second race since dislocating his knee playing football, was first for Wandsworth taking 26th place in 16:30.

Geordie Logan was seventh in the intermediate boys race in 16:54 and Tim Livingstone 13th and top Wandsworth finisher in the junior boys race in 18:51.

Highest placed Hercules Wimbledon runner in the girls races was Eleanor Smith-Hahn who was sixth in the junior event in 19:48 just ahead of clubmates Emma Headley (20:02), Connie Rose 12th in 20:50 and Maire Gilmartin 22nd in 21:33, who helped Wandsworth to second team place. Ella Dobson was 23rd for Merton in 21:35.

Rosemary Fernando was 27th in the senior girls race in 19:59 with Michaela Knespl 16th in the intermediate girls race in 19:40.

Hercules Wimbledon open their summer track and field season on Saturday when they compete in the Kinnaird and Sward Trophies meeting at Kingsmeadow Stadium.

A freak snow storm hours before the start of the 27th Hercules Wimbledon Young Athletes Open Meeting at Crystal Palace on Sunday morning forced its cancellation.

Hercules Wimbledon organisers and officials arriving at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre found that, after several hours of steady snow, the athletics track and infield were several inches deep in it.

At the same time, the Crystal Palace authorities advised that by health and safety standards holding staging the meetings in the conditions would be "high risk" and they felt unless the situation improved it would have to be cancelled.

Although the forecaster were predicting the weather would improve in the afternoon, it was still snowing at the time the meeting was scheduled to start and, even before then, a decision was taken to call the meeting off.

Field referee Peter Crawshaw said: "There is no way I would have allowed the throws and jumps to take place. Even if we could have cleared the snow from the sector lines there was always a severe risk that officials in the discus and javelin events would fall over as they attempted to get to where the implements had landed. It is obviously regrettable, but I feel there is no choice."

Track referee David Littlewood said: "The track was covered in snow and we could not see the lane lines so there was no chance of sprints being held. Even if the snow had melted in time for the start of the meeting, which it hadn't, the volume of water left on the track would have created another hazard and would have to be swept away before the track could be used."

Meeting Organiser Martin Bexley said: "Regrettably, these were unforeseen circumstances beyond the club's control, for which Hercules Wimbledon AC can only apologies." Hercules Wimbledon's management committee will discuss the situation at it's next meeting on Monday where the possibility of re-staging the meeting later in the year.

It is the first time the annual meeting, which was first staged almost 30 years ago, has had to be cancelled. The decision was even more unfortunate this year because athletes from five foreign countries - Cuba, Czech Republic, Malta, Norway and Poland - were due to take part. Instead of racing on the Crystal Palace track, they were confined to training in the sports centre's indoor arena.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action in the Flora London marathon and the Adidas mini-marathon on Sunday. Over 60 veteran, Dennis Williams, who has contested all but one of the London races since they were first staged in 1981, will be making his 27th appearance. Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in action from Blackheath to The Mall include two sub-three hour women marathoners Clare Grima and Zoe Pike, Deon Coetzee, Phil Glynn, Justin Kelly, former marathon international Steve Badgery, Alastair Brown and the youngest of the Hercules Wimbledon contingent 22-year-old Alex Urban.

Hercules Wimbledon president David Littlewood will once again be referee for the men's elite and championship race a role he has carried out for more than 20 years.

A large Hercules Wimbledon contingent led by 15 to 17-year-old trials winner Joe Toomey and runner-up Alex Robinson, 15 to 17-year-old girls top three Rosemary Fernando, Hannah Long and Caroline Hicks, and top three in the 11 to 12-year-old race Eleanor Smith-Hahn, Rebecca Stone and Avalon Howard-McGrow will be representing Merton in the mini-marathon over the last section of the marathon course from Southwark Bridge to The Mall.

Emma Headley, who won the 11 and 12-year-old girls trials race at Battersea Park, is included in the Wandsworth team for the mini-marathon along with clubmates Marie Gilmartin and Connie Rose, who finished third and fifth. Tim Livingstone and Dean Belhaj, runner-up and third , respectively, in the boys 11and 12-year-olds race, are also in the Wandsworth squad.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS