Plenty of records set by Stratford AC's masters athletes

HOST club Stratford AC pushed Midlands Veterans Track & Field League leaders Worcester AC close in the latest match.

The evening got off to a strong start with good 100m performances by Elaine Ledden, Jan Turner, Liz Manzella, Paula Williams, Hannah Osborne, Peter Coote, David Jones, Dave Wilson, Simon Curran and Drew Sambridge. Ledden and Coote set new age group club records.

The sprinting continued in the 400m where Osborne, Emma Bexson, Ben Kruze, Matt Burdus-Cook and Coote claimed good results.

Stratford’s middle distance runners once again proved too strong, picking up 44 points out of 48. Kruze ran 4:35.6, a new club and league record.

Meanwhile, Tim Hutchinson, Burdus-Cook, Bexson and Kate Sergent also set new age group club records. Kim Lee registered a new PB.

Williams won her long jump and Ledden finished second in the triple jump with a new club record and third in the high jump. Osborne, trying discus for the first time, missed out on a club record by 60cm.

Jones marked his return to the long jump with a new club age group record while Wilson shone in the long jump and triple jump.

Coote then narrowly won the M60 discus before taking third in the high jump. Mark Illingworth took third in the M40 discus while John Boxall was third in the M50 shot put.

Gemma Smith recorded a club record in the 2,000m walk and there was a battling performance from chairman Paul Hawkins, who volunteered to walk despite his recent health challenges.

The evening ended with a crescendo of medley relays and the Stratford teams of Kruze, Burdus-Cook, Sambridge and Wilson as well as Bexson, Osborne, Ledden and Williams took clear wins in their races.

England Masters AA Inter-Area Match

ELAINE Ledden, Mark Illingworth, David Wilson and Paula Williams helped the Midlands team win the England Masters AA Inter-Area Match for a fifth time.

There were nine regional teams that competed in the event and the Midlands finished first with a massive 733 points.

Ledden ran a PB in the 400m, Illingworth gained points in the shot put while Williams took on the shot put, sprint hurdles, 100m, discus and triple jump.

Ledden, Wilson and Williams finished off the successful day in their respective age group relays.

British Triathlon Youth Super Series

STRATFORD’s Charly Marshall finished an impressive 12th in her final at the British Triathlon Youth Super Series.

Marshall travelled to County Durham to line up alongside athletes from all over the UK in a multi-event competition at Hetton Country Park.

The competition comprised group heats, followed by finals (350m swim, 7.2k bike, 2k run) and a regional team relay event.

Marshall put in a strong performance in the first heat, completing it in 26:29.

Despite having issues in transition, she safely made it into the A final.

Here, she completed the final in 26:31 to finish an impressive 12th in the UK in her age category.

With just two further events in the series, competition for points is high and Marshall is already looking forward to the next races at Mallory Park.