Photo – Aoife Foley, one of the TAC winners at Kent Champs
There was a good number of Tonbridge Athletics Club members in action at the Kent Indoor Championships, including many having their first experience of indoor athletics.
There were plenty of medals won by the Tonbridge contingent, including gold ones. Asha Root won the women’s 200 metres in 25.06, which was a championship best performance and the 400 metres in 56.29. Emma Cowell took the women’s Long Jump and Shot Put titles with 5.04m and 9.68m respectively. In the Senior Men’s events, George Blake won the men’s 400m in 50.49, whilst Harry Kendall took the Shot Put title with 13.52 metres.
In the under 20 age group, Matilda Secker was the only Tonbridge athlete at the meeting to win three gold medals as she won the High Jump with a 1.70m clearance and the Shot Put with 9.68m. She also won the 60m hurdles, setting a Tonbridge indoor record and championship record of 8.82. Sam Newton won the men’s High Jump with 1.90m and Shot Put with 11.53m.
Saskia Taylor won the under 17 women’s 300m in 41.85 and Aoife Foley the 1500m, in the same age group, with 5.07.65. Tiffany Oyewale won an extremely close under 15 girls’ Long Jump contest with 4.43 metres, where the judges had to go to her third best jump, after the first two were the same distance as those of another competitor.
The club’s distance runners were in action at various events, particularly over the 5km distance on the roads. Six men ran under 15 minutes for the distance, commencing with James Crombie with 14.59 at Battersea on Thursday evening. Then at Leicester, on Saturday, at the Podium Festival, Cole Gibbens ran 14.23, Ben Cole 14.31, Will Beeston 14.37, Jake Brislane 14.49 and Isaac Arnott 14.56.
The English Schools Cross Country Championships were held at Ardingly, Sussex, on Saturday, with Tonbridge AC having eighteen members competing across the six age group races. Recent recruit, Rae Le Fay, placed 33rd in the senior girls’ race, helping the Sussex Schools team to victory. The highest placed of the boys, was Toby Bawtree who was 48th in the senior event. Each race had around 300 finishers.
Dan Bradley finished 12th at the Essex 20 mile road race, on Sunday, in 1.52.30, whilst Helen Gaunt was 14thin the women’s race with 2.13.27.