Statements of Intent

Club teams posted impressive wins in the inaugural matches in the Southern Athletics League (SAL) and Southern Vets League, with several athletes competing in both matches in the space of two days.

Following last season's relegation from Division 1 of the SAL, athletes from across the spectrum of disciplines came together to secure a win in the first match of this summer's campaign at Portsmouth on 16 May.

In the men's events, on the track Chad Miller won the 200m in 22.01 and was second in the 100m in 10.65, backed up by B-string sprinters Elias Petrenko, first in the 200m in 22.81, and Gianni Agbosa, second in the 100m in 10.98.

Fred Slemeck won the A-string 5000m, clocking 15:27.17, with Tom Mason third for the B string in 18:28.17. Charlie Eastaugh was second in the 800m in 2:03.84, with Richard  (Chaoran) Sun taking third for the B-string in 2:23.33, before finishing third A string in the 1500m in 4:47.26, with Tom Mason second for the B-string in 5:10.18.. Charlie Eastaugh finishing second in the 800m and Richard Jones clocked 11:32.77 to finish second in the 2000m Steeplechase. On the field M50 Christer Hagberg won the shot (11.27m) and was second in both the discus (33.82m) and hammer (41.58m), with decathlete Mark Andrews unstoppable as always, completing ten events over the hurdles and on the field.

In the Women's events, U20 Imana Remedios was second in the 100m in 12.49 and third in the 200m in 25.95, with Isabella Geddes for the B-string third over 100m in 13.66, and second over 200m in 29.11.

Grace King finished second in the 1500m in 5:09.47, supported by a winning B string run from Alex Binley (5:23.70) who had a busy day, finishing second in the 3000m (10:51.82), with Cassie (Wenjia) Chan securing maximum points for the B-string in 11:56.67. Alex was also second in the 2000m steeplechase in 9:18.59, backed up by Charlotte Lam finishing first for the B-string in (11:13.19).

Florence Conerney was second in the 100mH in 20.88 with W45 Teresa Bowden in the B-race  finishing first and marginally quicker in 20.46. In the 400mH Lydia Sailer was third in 76.94, with Teresa coming in first for the B string in 83.71. Crucially, between them, the women turned out an A and B athlete in virtually every field event to maximise the points for the team, consolidated by the relays in which there were wins in the Men's 4x 100m and 4 x 400m, and the Women's 4 x 400m. 

Thanks to Cassie Chen and Richard Sun for the photos from the SAL above and Vets match below


Two days later in the Vets League match at Kingston there was a win for the men's team and a joint first place for the women's team as the likes of Alex Binley (W35), Katherine (Ka Ki Lau), Teresa Bowden, Jacquie Richardson, Mark Andrews (W35) and Christer Hagberg turned out for the second match in two days, having contributed to the SAL win in Portsmouth. Men's team manager John Foley flagged up the 'fabulous performances on the field', in which HW athletes were first or second in eight of the 12 events. Add to that some super-consistency across the sprints and the mile, and as he says, that is how you win track and field competitions'.

Women's team manager Anna Garnier similarly praised a slightly depleted squad, not least for their willingness to try new events and drop down in age – notably a standout performance from Gina Galbraith, who, says Anna, 'must have a painting in her attic, as she won the W35 mile, aged 50, as well her own W50 100m and 400m events'. 

A great start to the Vets campaign