Middlesex Championships – Haringey- 15/16th May 2004
From the moment Under 17 woman 300m hurdler, Perri Drayton, equalled the championship best performance in the opening event of the day, it signified the start of a good days athletics for both Middlesex and her club, Victoria Park and Tower Hamlets AC, Gavin Collett reports. Perfect conditions, if not a little warm for the endurance runners, allowed a further seven championship bests to fall as the county returned to the New River Stadium for the first time since the eighties.
Pride of place arguably went to Bill Beauchamp, who entertained the crowd with a fine display of hammer throwing, recording all four legal throws over 70m to add a metre and a half to his own championship best.
Claire Phillips was another to better a hammer record in the under 17 women’s event, as she improved over 5m on her winning distance of last year.
It is not often a European champion tastes defeat in his county championships, but that fate befell Leon Baptiste in the under 20 100m when he never recovered from a poor start and could not get on terms with Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets’ Pato Bangura, who scorched to a 10.40 championship best.
Another to disappoint in that race was Jamahl Alert-Khan, also a victim of a poor start, who gave up the chase to finish last. However, Alert-Khan sought recompense in some style, as he too recorded a championship best with his 21.31 winning effort, having already recorded 21.40 in his heat clearly easing up.
Yasmine Regis added the best part of a metre to the under 20 women’s triple jump record, whilst Catherine Macrae made it four in a row in the women’s pole vault, though she increased the record to 3m65 having cleared 3m40 for the previous three years at these championships.
Another Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets sprinter, Johnelle Gibbons, was hugely impressive in the under 17 women’s 100m to break Wendy Clarke’s 30-year-old record. She returned later in the day to complete the sprint double, though found former world junior champion Diane Smith’s record understandably beyond her.
Other sprint double winners were Ryan Moseley (men), Luke Fagan (under 17 men) and Janette Nicholls (women).
Throws doubles went to Felice Miele (men’s shot/discus) and Lewis Edwards (under 17 men’s discus/hammer), whilst Elisha Dee went one better, winning the women’s shot, discus and hammer.
Dee’s Thames Valley clubmate Phylis Agbo showed her multi-event talent, winning the under 20 women’s sprint hurdles, long jump and shot, whilst the other treble winner of the day was Lanre Ali-Balogan, who won the under 17 men’s high, long and triple jump.
Shaftesbury Barnet’s Nadia Williams also enjoyed jump success in the women’s long and triple events, whilst the other double winner of the day showed more diverse talents; Daniel Russell recording an unusual 1500m/400m hurdles double.
Hillingdon’s Michaela Hutchison recorded an impressive women’s 800m win, kicking away from “Superhuman” Nina Anderson with 300m remaining to record 2:08 for the second time in four days.
Adrian Phillips of Harrow was also a model of consistency, with five jumps over 7m in the men’s long jump, whilst Julian Golley was the opposite in the triple jump; his opening 15m70 jump being his only valid jump. Another to start well was Chris Mills in the men’s pole vault, his 4m50 opening height was enough to win the competition, though he failed his next height of 4m70.
Two Ealing youngsters retained their under 20 titles showing marked improvement on last season in doing so; Samantha Hynes was 6m further in the hammer, just 29cm short of Lynn Sprules record, and Christian Campbell was almost half a metre better off in the triple jump.