Three veteran Herne Hill Harriers competed in the World Masters Championships in Lyon, France over the past week. All three achieved personal best records on the track.
Giuseppe Minetti placed 4th in the final of the M45 100m 11.58 and then 5th in the M45 200m final. On the 200m result Minetti commented, “I didn’t get a medal but destroyed my best time with a 23.27. Mixed emotions!”
Only five days before a birthday that would move her into the next age group, Nicola Richmond was 13th in the W40 1500m final with a season’s best of 5.07.22 on a windy track. This was superbly followed up with 6th place in the 2000m steeplechase final in a PB of 8.09.45, having only tried steeplechase for the first time at the end of June.
Gary Ironmonger, racing in the M50 800m, explained, “The standards are very high this year. I made it into the top ten in my semi-final with a PB of 2:10.88, but nearly two seconds slower than the slowest qualifier for the final. I enjoyed the race and the whole experience and I’ll be looking forward to another international event after I turn 55 and can compete as one of the young guys!”
Great effort to our local sporting heroes – you can’t knock a PB in a World Champs and we are sure their continued training and competing with Herne Hill will keep them improving with age.