Photo – Lewis Mills
Three members of Tonbridge Athletic Club were selected last week to represent the England team at the Loughborough International fixture, on Sunday. Teams from Scotland, England, Wales, Great Britain under 20s and Loughborough Students competed in the match, plus invited guests.
Asha Root was the first from Tonbridge in action for England and finished 4th in 54.02, her second fastest time ever, just 0.3 seconds away from the club record that she had set the previous weekend.
Ben Gardiner had his first race of the season over 800 metres and finished a close 2nd in 1.52.43, just 0.26 seconds away from the winner Matthew McKenna, representing the GB Junior team. Similarly, Ted Higgins was 2nd in the men’s mile in 4.04.36, coincidentally the same margin away from a win, as Gardiner had been.
Lewis Mills was a guest in the 3000 metres steeplechase and had a strong race to finish 2nd in 8.57.59, despite falling at a barrier with 400 metres to go. He picked himself up quickly, recovering to finish inside the 9 minutes standard required to qualify for the British Championships and ahead of the England representative.
Henry Marshall and Kieran Eland finished 3rd and 4th in the men’s 400 metres invitational guest race in 47.85 and 47.91, respectively, not far away from their personal bests, in what were blustery conditions all day.
Lucy Tallon had her first race of the Summer season when she finished 5th in the women’s 200 metres in 23.75. This seemed like a solid start to the season, with her personal best and Tonbridge record standing at 23.37.
Following the international match, British Athletics held their 10,000 metres championships, where James Kingston, finished 3rd in a personal best of 29.09.01. He was awarded the sliver medal, since the winner Kadar Omar’s home nation is Ethiopia. Joe Wigfield, from Wirral was awarded the gold medal, having run 28.56.39.