Tonbridge reach the Premiership of UK Athletics

Photo – The TAC squad

Tonbridge Athletic Club have gained promotion to the Premier Division of the National Athletics League and will compete next Summer as one of the top eight clubs in the country. This is following their win at the National League Championship Final, at Horspath, near Oxford, on Saturday.

They went into Saturday’s match as one of eight clubs, who had qualified from the four Championship divisions, with the Tonbridge team manager, Michael Ellis, sensing at least seven of them had a good chance of grabbing one of the two promotion positions. Early in the contest, Tonbridge were in fifth place, but gradually progressed through the day, with 38 events to be completed, most with A and B string points available. Towards the end of the day Tonbridge, alongside Swansea, had achieved a points gap over the likes of Chelmsford, Sale Manchester and City of York. However, the overall championship was still in doubt, with a handful of events to be completed. Tonbridge scored strongly towards the end of the day, including wins in both the men’s and women’s 4×400 metres relays to finish top. The day had started with Tom Richards setting a Tonbridge over 35 men’s record of 58.21, when finishing 6^th in the 400m hurdles.

Tonbridge had their strongest team of the season competing, featuring many of their national and international class athletes. These included multi-eventers such as Lewis Church, Steve Simmons, Harry Kendall, Matilda Secker, Georgia Baker and Ella Thomas, all of whom are highly ranked in Decathlon and Heptathlon. These athletes and others ensured a strong showing in the field events and hurdles. Baker and Secker set the scene in the first field event of the day, when they scored good points and set personal bests in the Long Jump, with 5.59m and 5.51m, respectively. Church and Simmons scored maximum points by winning the A and B string 110m hurdles in 14.69 and 14.77, respectively. Simmons also finished 2^nd in the Long Jump, with 7.01m and Church 2^nd in the Pole Vault with 4.43m, whilst the only A-string field event win came from Ella Thomas in the High Jump with 1.63m.

On the track Ted Higgins won the 800m in 1.50.96, with Toby Bawtree winning the B race. Similarly, Jack Higgins and Jordan Chambers scored maximum points in the 1500m. Charlotte Alexander won the women’s 3000m in 9.40.51, whilst Lily Slack stepped in to make her debut in the 2000m steeplechase and won in 7.22.63. Lewis Mills was 2^nd in the men’s 3000m steeplechase in 9.22.54.

Anton Bachorski travelled over from Poland, where he now lives and finished 2^nd in both the men’s 100m and 200m in 10.67 and 21.23. The 400m runners have scored good points for the club all season and here Henry Marshall won a very competitive men’s race in 47.83, which equalled his personal best and was backed up by Tom Daly’s 2^nd in the B-string in 50.11. These two combined with Jordan Chambers and Jack Higgins to win the final event of the day, the 4x400m relay, in 3.16.99, which is one of the fastest ever times from a Tonbridge squad.

Asha Root has been one of the best team members this season and on this occasion competed despite being unwell. She finished 2^nd in the 400m in 55.88, before doing the same over 200m and setting a personal best of 24.75. At the end of the day, she ran both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays and in the latter anchored the team to a win and a club record on 3.57.21, after runs from Evie Dixon, Matilda Secker and Ella Thomas.

Tonbridge and Swansea will now be in next year’s Premier Division alongside Harrow, Thames Valley Harriers, Birchfield, Windsor, Glasgow and Woodford Green.

Also, at the weekend James Kingston won the Isle of Wight Half Marathon and set a course record of 67.58. He is due to race in the Great North Run over the same distance, early in September.

Above – TAC 4x400m record from Ella Thomas, Asha Root, Matilda Secker and Evie Dixon