This year’s Kent County Masters Championships were scheduled over 3 days with the jumps taking place at Gillingham in conjunction with the relays on Sunday 16th September, and the track and throws the following weekend at Erith on 22nd and 23rd September, along with the U13 and combined events championships. Unfortunately the Erith track was flooded due to incessant rain on the morning of Sunday 23rd which led to cancellation of the last day of competition.
There were 11 Cambridge entries for the championships, the largest in the last few years, although only 6 were able to compete due to the cancellation. They achieved a total medal haul of 8 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze.
Wole Odele won 2 Gold and a Silver with a PB and championship best performance (CBP) of 10.94m in the M50 Triple jump, season’s best jump of 5.02m in the Long Jump and was runner-up in the 800m race (2:16.76). Unfortunately, the flooding on the last day meant he was unable to defend his 100m and 400m titles.
In her maiden appearance at the championships, Jenny Agyepong (main picture) was another double Gold winner with a PB and CBP of 28.36m in the W50 Hammer and was also victorious in the Shot put. Jenny’s coach, Peter Wishart writes: “The W50 hammer was one of the first events of the day. Jenny opened her account with a PB in round 1 (27.45m), the best start you could hope for. She put together a consistent series of throws in the 27s, before improving her PB in round 5 with 28.34m to secure her first county title. The W50 shot put was later in the day. Rain was falling by the time the event started. This, however, did not dampen her spirit. Jenny went on to win her second title, with a distance of 9.61, just shy of her PB. The experience of competing in the World masters Athletics championships in Málaga has definitely had a positive affect on her approach to competing. Great way to end the season.”
Susan Dixon, also marking her debut in the championships, got 2 more Gold medals with a 200m and 800m double in the W50 competitions.
Sally Carr chalked off nearly 4 seconds from her 800m best to finish in 3:00.65 for another Gold in the W40 competition. Tim Carter also won Gold in the M60 800m and Matthew Preston achieved a season’s best time of 2:14.41 in the M40 800m for a bronze medal.
With the masters women throwing on the Saturday, all the men’s throwing events were scheduled for Sunday, so commiserations to all those who missed out on Sunday due to the weather conditions.
