Hampshire Veterans Athletic League at Southampton Sports Centre – 19th May
Hi Everyone,
As usual all the results are on the website – hampshirevetsathletics – and have already sent in our corrections
Pick a star point. Yes you all played your parts, there was enough of us for both men and women relays for a change at the meeting end, both our teams fielding just 8 athletes with only a few slots unfilled, still with nerves a plenty, all with background stories.
But none more so than a more than nervous Jo Ward who was Barrett 20 years ago when last competing for us. After suffering a broken back in a French car smash a while ago, and avoiding the first match this season due to a key hospital admission, accompanied by her award winning impeccably behaved Rosie b 9.4.24. (Yes collecting all dob from our athletes for the results to be in the correct age groups for the Power of 10) First up the pole vault, no practice for decades, urged to just gain the opening height to secure big points as there are few athletes that tackle the event, but went beyond that. Watched by Rosie and her minder, prompting a club age best record of 1.80m, the first of her night’s 6 events, securing the same height as second place, but third on count back. Inspired by this result a comeback promised by Vicki, the only other person believed/claimed to have attacked the women’s vets PV.
Our only other pole vaulter, Paul Hillyard supported her, finding out they could have travelled to the meeting together, living only 100m apart, made 2nd in the PV with 2m.40 amongst his 4 events on the night. Paul’s last event was the 4×400 relay. During the last relay leg, and at 71 years of age; was the slight lead over the Overton runner enough? The crowd roared on the efforts down the final straight…… and t’was.
A resurgent Sara Al-Romaithi was more than pleased with her much improved 200m time of 30.4, and when asked if she had ever previously won a vets race, the answer was “never”.
0/50 Kevan Watkins (second claim Chichester AC) maintained his unbeaten middle distance running with a 2.18.9 800m, also covering a 200 slot and the relay. Our trio of Chi second claimers, Amanda, Elaine and Elizabeth helped us gobble up the points, Amanda 2nd in the 0/60 800
Club age record holder Craig Berryman found 3 pbs in 5 days in longer distances a step too far in the 3k, with a third place; Paul Mitchinson 4th in the B race. Craig bagged another 3rd placing in the discus, a sore calf preventing a relay run. The longest serving HAC athlete since the clubs reintroduction in 1978, Mark Scarborough, 65 this week, ably covered the throws as usual
With 3 of our key male sprinters still absent, ever present Dave Evans showed much improvements in his times for the 200, 800 and 4×400.
Chris Strode with 2nd and 3rd places in the shot and discus claimed 13 points towards our total, helped by newby Jo Davis (currently ranked 4th in the UK for 0/45 for the 1500) and covering 4 events.
The women’s team came 4th again on the night, the men 5th,but with the restoration of some of our vital athletes we know we can improve next time. The above account almost infers tis a multi event competition. One (me) likes to bring to the attention of fresh athletes to this competition such luminaries as Andrew Waddington of Basingstoke, who is a double decathlete, (yes, 20 events on a weekend) always covering so many events on the league night, and never seems to be absent with injuries despite being 60. We used to be in awe of Daly Thompson with his mere 10 events and a bandage on his arm from his pole having broken in the vault. Over 60 Alan Leiper of Aldershot, who used to train with Daly, seemed to be struggling on the night in the javelin which I queried. Took him 10 minutes to account for his two broken fingers and a dislocated one, from fighting two travellers one evening after he remonstrated with the food that they’d spattered on his car. The point of all this….avoid those injuries if you can, and it’s alright to compete in multi events thank you very much, but more athletes would help carry the load. Just saying.
A big thank you also to our officials Graham, Marie, Marilyn and Elizabeth and of course Dawn’s creche!
Next time our match is Monday 9th June at Down Grange Sports Centre, Pack Lane, Basingstoke, RG22 5SN.
Your favourite octogenarian admirer,
Pete