Thetford AC athletes travelled to Cambridge on Sunday to compete in the prestigious Eastern Championships, held at the University track. The near perfect weather was highly conducive to achieving a personal best.
Months of hard work and exhausting preparation has gone in order for the
athletes to be prepared and compete in one of the biggest and best athletic
events in the eastern region.
First off for the club was Rachel Mumford and Anna Hayward in the U13 girls 800
metres, after a very fast start both girls did themselves proud, with Rachel in
her first year in this age group coming home an excellent 5th and Anna, with a
blistering last 100 metres coming home 8th in a new personal best of 3.00
minutes exactly.
Later on in the day, both girls competed in
the long jump with Anna jumping a solid 3 metres 38 cm and Rachel recording an
excellent 4 metres and 2 cm.
The ever improving Tansy Makins competing in the tough under 15 age category,
ran extremely well in the 800 metres, a gutsy performance in spite of the tough
competition, meant she was rewarded with a personal best, taking a massive 18
seconds off her previous best. Later in the afternoon, despite having tired
legs, Tansy battled all the way through the 1500m to take a credible 7th place.
In the afternoon, throwers Chantelle Lewis and Georgina Howe both started off in
the shot putt, with solid performances recorded. Later on, Chantelle in her
first ever Hammer event, recorded an excellent 16 metres 89 cm, this ever
improving athlete is sure to go a long way in this event as she is
starting to show real flair for the Hammer throw. The discus event was the last
throws event of the day, Georgina, in spite of the wind picking up, threw a
superb 25 metres 66 cm just missing her personal best by just 20c.m and
recording 4th place overall, Georgina's discus throwing is
coming on leaps and bounds and next year is sure to compete at the highest
level. Chantelle once again produced some solid throws and was rewarded with a
number of throws just shy of the 20 metre mark.
In the sprints Jack Firman ran extremely well to make the final of both the 100
and 200 metres, he equalled his personal best in the 100m final, against very
tough opposition to come home in 7th place. Later on in the 200 final, Jack once
again did himself proud, coming home in 5th place in what turned out to be a
very fast final.
In his final event, the long jump, Jack jumped
an impressive 5 metres 47 cm, showing that he has the
potential to reach the magical 6 metre barrier.
In the very last event of the day and running in the U15 boys 1500m, Joseph
Kirton's run must go down as one of the bravest of the day. Running bottom year
and against highly experienced athletes, Joseph went with the early pace, but
suffered later on for the exuberant start. Nevertheless, he battled all the way
and equalled his personal best and he was voted the athlete of the day for his
gutsy performance
Paul Evans - Norfolk Athletics Development Officer and double Olympian is
running a 1 day Starttrack athletics course at Thetford Rugby Club on August
17th 2007.
star:track is based on running, jumping and throwing in a friendly environment
and is open to boys and girls of all abilities aged between 8 - 15 years old.
It's a fantastic opportunity to experience a
variety of athletics events within a fun and team based environment.
The course is open to boys and girls of all abilities, aged between 8-15 years
and you do not have to be a member of an athletics club to attend. The
programmes are based on running, jumping and throwing. All equipment is
provided.
All coaches are qualified through UK Athletics, checked through the criminal
Records Bureau and attend induction sessions before delivering activity. To book
a place on the course please contact Norfolk Sports Alliance (Active Sport) on
01603 727889 or email:(paul.evans@activenorfolk.org).
If you are interested in joining a fun and friendly athletics club, why not
contact us to find out more. We warmly welcome new members from ages 8 to 16,
and training takes place at the Rugby club three times a week. If you would like
more information please contact Head Coach Mick Johnson on 01842 878335.