A very busy night for Wole Odele and Paris Hunt, competing in four and five events respectively.
With high jump and javelin starting at the same time, and Paris competing in both (M50) events, it was fortunate that the javelin runway and the high jump fan were adjacent to each other. Paris, who was not happy with his individual performances at Ashford, won both, with a PB in the high jump to boot.
Wole made it a double win, by claiming 1st in the M35 high jump.
In between jumps, both Wole and Paris had to “sprint” down to the 100m start. And they returned with maximum points: Wole comfortably winning the M35 100 A-string; and likewise Paris in the M35 B-string race.
Doug Lucas (M65) had a bit of a battle in the M50 100, but came away with a very creditable 2nd place.
Tim Carter’s 1st place in the M60 100 kept the scoreboard moving in the right direction.
Peter Hawney (M65) continued his comeback with a brilliant performance and 3rd place in the M35 javelin competition.
Next on the track were the 800 series of races. Our original choice for M35 A-string was a no-show, so Wole was moved up from the B-string. Ian McCarthy (M60), who only turned up to support the team as he realised there may be some gaps in the team sheet, duly “volunteered” for the B-string race.
Wole ran a very well judged race. Coming into the last 100, he positioned himself on the race leader’s shoulder, and won the sprint to the line. Another brilliant 1st place.
Ian acquitted himself really well for a creditable 4th place, and valuable points for the team.
Mark Ashby bolstered our points position further, with another good run, and 2nd place in the M50 800.
The last events to be contested were the shot put and the 4 x 100 relay.
Doug and Paris had time for just one attempt in the shot, before they had to go and prepare for the relay.
Doug was press-ganged in to the M35 shot, whilst Paris secured another win in the M50 shot. Peter Hawney, still nursing an injury, did well to finish 2nd in the M60 shot competition.
And so to the last event of the evening: the 4 x 100 relay. The same team that won in Ashford, lined up and delivered again – 1st place; and managed to improve their time. Credit to relay “captain” Wole.
Another great performance by all who competed; nine wins and three second places from 15 events!
So far two wins out of two, with four more matches still to go.
A special mention of thanks to Ian McCarthy, who turned up to support the team, and was prepared to take on any event where we were short.
Thanks also to Barry Ferguson and Dave Kitcher our travelling timekeepers.