It seems like the Herne Hill Harriers club female 1500m and 3000m all-time lists are being rewritten on a daily basis, as well as a couple of excellent new club field events records in the under 17 age categories that featured among many superb performances over a hectic weekend for Harriers’ athletes.
On Saturday Katie Snowden again broke her own club women’s 1500m record with a very good race win, beating an international field in Gothenburg, Sweden clocking 4.10.97. Snowden is knocking on the door of a breakthrough that could see her among the very best in the UK at women’s 800m and 1500m racing, as she is currently ranked fifth and sixth in those two very competitive events respectively.
In London, Ore Adamson broke her own club under 17 women’s long jump record in the South of England under 20 championship at Crystal Palace with a performance that potentially qualifies her to compete for England in the Commonwealth Youth Games later this summer. Adamson’s fine leap of 5.98m won her a silver medal despite competing in an older age group and was witnessed by Herne Hill’s senior women’s long jump record holder, Olympian Jade Johnson who was very impressed with her potential successor at the top of the Herne Hill senior list in years to come.
At the Buckinghamshire County Schools Championship Alfred Mawdsley set an excellent new club under 17 men’s discus record in winning his event as his development and improvement continues apace.
Those breaking new ground among Harriers’ female 1500m runners behind Snowden’s new record were led by Ella Newton, who only just missed out on a Southern Champs U20 women’s 1500m medal finishing fourth at Crystal Palace and smashing her PB by almost seven seconds with her time of 4.33.03, while 15 year old Charlotte Alexander set a new PB of 4.35 in winning her Surrey Schools Champs race at Kingsmeadow. Maisie Collis also broke new ground with her 1500m win, also at Kingsmeadow with a superb time of 4.38.
The Herne Hill 3000m all-time list also has a new look with Australian Chloe Tighe winning the gold medal in the Southern Champs senior women’s race with a fast finishing 9.29.05. Tighe’s 69 second final lap saw her run away from the long-time leader from the bell to win by over 8 seconds with one of the most impressive track victories of the weekend. Tighe’s time is the second fastest for ladies track 3000m in club history, less than 1.5 seconds outside England international Stacey Ward’s club women’s record.
Harriers’ younger 3000m girls were in on the act too as Eva Holland won the U15 girls title in conjunction with the senior meeting in a great 10.15.69, with a couple of other Herne Hill under 15 girls just outside 11 minutes. The under 15 boys also raced for an area 3000m title at the senior championship and the race was won imperiously by Jaden Kennedy in a PB time of 9.28.71, with a fine run too from Charlie Krammer, whose time of 9.44.63 was a revelation.
Other Herne Hill athletes on the medals rostrum at Crystal Palace were Mollie O’Sullivan, who easily won the Southern U20 women’s 800m final with an impressive solo 2.10.26, Kristal Awuah whose U20 100m victory time of 11.99 was clocked against a -3.4 metres per second headwind and Dejean Marshall Brown, who claimed two U20 men’s medals as he took home the silver in the shot put with 12.52m and bronze in the discus with 33.09m.
The county schools championships on Saturday were also a success for Herne Hill, with excellent marks set at the Surrey Schools Champs at Kingsmeadow and the London Schools Champs at Battersea Park.
Highlights from Battersea Park included excellent wins at 1500m (that distance again!) for Alex Brown (4.36) and Eva Holland (4.42) against strong opposition, Holland’s victory coming the day before her equally marvellous 3000m race win at Crystal Palace. Jaden Kennedy placed second in a strong 1500m race the day before his 3000m win, while reigning English Schools javelin champion Dani Henderson set a new London Schools championship best performance with her throw of over 35 metres in her first competition of the season after sitting her exams.
At least eighteen athletes from the club are in the London Schools team of sixty-three athletes who have so far been selected for the English Schools Championship next month in Birmingham, with several more athletes who are within 0.5% of the required standard who may potentially be added into the team when it is finalised on Friday. It is an exceptional achievement for the coaches and athletes at the club that, yet again, Herne Hill Harriers has more athletes than any other London club in the London team.