Photo – Harry Kendall winning the men’s 400 metres at the National Athletics League
The Tonbridge Athletic Club men’s and women’s squad secured their second resounding victory of the National Athletics League season, on Saturday, when competing at an extremely windy Chelmsford. Tonbridge scored 599 points, with Herts Phoenix on 500, Havering on 478 and the five other clubs further behind.
The squad were already heading the sixteen clubs, at the top of the Championship division and are now three points clear of Belgrave, with Cardiff and Basingstoke a further point behind. The final match will take place at Liverpool in early August, with Tonbridge now having a very good opportunity of winning the division.
On Saturday, an extremely strong headwind in the home straight slowed many of the times and made the distance events tactical affairs. However, Harry Kendall still ran one of his fastest ever times to win the men’s A-string 400 metres in 48.32, whilst he also secured a Discus win with 41.34m. The only other A-string win on the track came from Noémie Thomson, who won the women’s 1500 metres in 4.42.93. In the field, Kirsty-Anne Ebbage won the Discus and Shot Put with 39.26m and 11.07m, respectively.
International representation for Bachorski and Secker
Anton Bachorski was a part of the Polish men’s 4 x 100m relay squad that won bronze medals at the European under 23 Championships, in Finland last week. Bachorski is the current holder of the Tonbridge AC 100 metres record. Also on international duty, Matilda Secker was part of the England Schools under 17 team which competed at the home international on Saturday, in Scotland. Secker won the High Jump with a clearance of 1.73m, just a centimetre below the height that she cleared when winning the recent English Schools Championship.
The Tonbridge young athletes squad finished 5th in the Kent Young Athletes League fixture, at Gillingham. In the under 15 boys’ events there were wins for Senul Weerasinghe in 11.8 and Oscar Graffin over 1500m with 4.34.8, both being personal bests. Genevieve Harper also improved her best time when winning the under 15 girls’ 100m in 12.6, whilst Aoife Foley won the 1500m in 5.19.8. In the under 13 events, there were wins for Luca Szumilewicz (1500m, 4.55.3) and Max Hepburn Evans (Discus, 18.21m), plus Ayanfeoluwa Afolabi in the girls’ Hammer, with 19.50m.
Earlier in the week, Tonbridge AC hosted an evening open meeting, where more than two hundred competitors took part, across all the age groups. Some of the highlights included Mark McAllister, who set the fastest electronically timed Tonbridge AC 100m, in the over 50 age group, of 12.26. Harry Kendall ran the fastest 200m on the evening of 21.85 and cleared the highest Pole Vault with 4.30m. Emily Bowart was the fastest of the female 200m sprinters with 25.99 and the fastest athletes over 800m were Jack Higgins with 1.51.61 and Annabel Carter with 2.15.67. Over 400m, Jordan Chambers set a pb, when winning the fastest race in 50.64.
On the roads, both Steve Strange and Harriet Woolley won at the Mid Kent 5 miles road race, at Staplehurst, on Sunday, with times of 25.06 and 30.28, respectively, whilst Graeme Saker set a Tonbridge over 60 age group record of 38.53, at the Herne Bay 10km road race.
Above – Anton Bachorski (with beard) as part of the Polish under 23 men’s 4x100m relay team