The photos are on my FLIKR page
The list of medals are .
It was a brilliant weekend for young Jersey Spartan athletes at the Hampshire County Championships held at Mountbatten Stadium, Portsmouth. The overall medal count was an impressive 37 including 16 Golds, 10 Silver and 11 Bronze and there were yet more personal bests (PBs) achieved. Club Secretary said “The club has moved the boundaries for success now and I feel we can produce a strong athletic team for the Island Games in 2015. There are 10 other athletes in the frame who were missing today and the team selection could have fierce competition for places from current talented Under 17 and Under 20 athletes in the Jumps and Mid distance events. The club is grateful for the kind support of Santander Private Banking as it continues our work to develop the local talent in athletics.”
The event was held over 2 days and excitingly started on Saturday with Stanley Livingston (16) and Pete Irving (30) gaining Golds in their respective 400 Metre Hurdles events. There were further high quality medal performances over hurdles in Under 17 from Rosie Hill & Emily Cassidy and Under 13 for Olivia Allbut and Emily Cassidy. The new PB and Gold performance from Gemma Gothard over 300 metres Under 17 was one of the most exciting races of the weekend. Tallula Norman (13) was equally impressive in the 100 metres and her PB gave her a Silver.
There was a double Gold in the Boys and Girls Under 13 High Jump. Connie Barnes jumped 1.35 and Ben le Rougetel 1.50 (equal champ best) with Ben a fraction away from clearing 1.52 as the bar teetered after he landed. Ben and Connie are new to athletics competitions at this level but could have a great future in the sport. Holly Widdowson was pleased with a Bronze medal from her 1.55 clearance at under17. Marc Alner (18) continues to be troubled by an ankle injury but his clearance of 1.95 gave him Gold .
With Long Jump gaining in popularity we had 7 athletes in the Under 13 Girls and they all jumped well. With her first effort Tallula Norman jumped 4.54m which gave her a Gold and takes here to 10th in the National Rankings. Laura Spencer also set a magnificent pb of 4.29 for a Silver medal. Imogen Taylor collected bronze in the Under 15 Girls. In the Under 17 Triple jump we had a full podium with Rosie Hill, Holly Widdowson and Ellie Heyes stealing the medals. The Boys were not to be outdone with personal bests as Sam Stenhouse- Silver Under 17 Long jump- and Will Cook – Bronze Under 15- Triple Jump.
The mid distance results were encouraging. Aaron Turmel is establishing his pedigree as a talented Under 20 and with Sam Maher Under 15 and Yasmin Lookess Under 15 were also double medallists and ran to their maximum against very strong runners from other clubs. Florence Gothard and Alice Bain produced gutsy race performances to get Gold in 800 metres Under 13 & Under 15 Girls. It was exciting to watch Daniel Robinson negotiate the barriers for his Gold in the 2000 Under 20 Steeplechase – only his 2nd time at this gruelling event. William Brown ran a perfect 3000 race in Under 15 and is very talented prospect over the longer distance.
Shadine Duquemin was frustrated by her Shot and Discus throws though both gave her Gold medals. She already has the European Junior standard in Discus but is hoping to improve in shot to that level. Her Shot put of 14.17was good enough for a new Championship best! The only Jersey athlete to get 3 medals at the County Championship was Will Cook who gained 2 Silvers in Discus and Hammer and a Bronze in Shot.
