After the match on Monday night 22 June HHH Women’s Vets are still in contention for the finals, now having equal league points with Serpentine. Despite gaps in W60 events we came 2nd by 7 points: Serpentine 151.5, HHH 144.5, Hillingdon 127.5, ES&M 102, BA 34.5, Metros 21, TVH 10. A shame the hard-earned points total was eroded as we couldn’t cover some W60 events, nevertheless the team gathered every point possible, covering for absent colleagues where necessary.
Sharon St Luce and I took our final discus throws early to get to the 100m start line on time – Sharon covering a last minute gap in the W35A and giving the youngsters a run for their money, her 2nd place a best time in four years. Gillian Wheeldon returning to form (W50) and I (W60) also clocked up 2nd place points, and long-distancer Nicola Richmond, filling in for the W35B string, came 3rd by just one-tenth of a second. The stage was set for a nail-biting evening.
Our Walk star Penel Cummings gave us crucial 2nd place points in W35, and stepping up to the line straight after the 100m and for the first time at this event in several years, Gillian came 3rd in the W50 category.
Did I have a déjà vu witnessing two W35 first places in the 400m? Yes with Patrizia Gnoato in the B string but this time Nikki Sturzaker in the A string, leaving fresh air between them and 2nd place, and a repeat of the first match W50 this time with Ceri Diss taking 3rd place in her first individual outing at this distance. I repeated 5th place for W60, jogging around for 3 points with an ankle injury from the 100m and reassuring the javelin officials on the way around that I would be with them shortly! Marathon Michelle Lennon, trying out the shorter distance for the first time, ran non-scoring with a gutsy 400m and 1500m.
That tremendous trio of Nikki, Nicola and Ceri claimed the 1500m individual races with three firsts, uncontested with leads of 4.3, 9 and 9.5 secs. They collected Patrizia shortly after to create the winning quartet for the 4x400m relay – breaking our record set last year for this event by 2.2 secs and leaving no answer from the other teams with a huge 16 secs gap to second place.
Discus produced a 3-2-1 run with Nikki 3rd in W35, Sharon 2nd in W50 and my first place in W60. Non-scoring Kathleen would also have earned 3rd place in W35. Juggling high jump and javelin (and Sharon ping-ponging between these two events as well as triple jump!) Kathleen managed an equal third in the W35 high jump with a pb to boot, and Sharon a first in the W50. In javelin we gleaned a 3-1-1 with Kathleen 3rd in the W35 and Sharon and I gathering full points in the W50 and W60.
Patrizia interrupted her triple jumps to contribute to the victorious relay, but still managed to jump 1cm below her pb with 2nd place in the W35 category. Sharon also took 2nd place in the W50 by over a metre.
The next match at Perivale on 13 July will decide who goes through to the finals. You can be sure these girls will do everything in their power to succeed in that mission!
Barbara Macanas
Team Manager
HHH Women’s Vets T&F
07801 149380
barbara@msatt.co.uk