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Disappointment for Michael Rimmer in Lithuania 23 July
 
Mike in Action at European Junior ChampsThe Liverpool Pembroke Sefton athlete, Michael Rimmer, had one of those races he will want to forget. Running for Great Britain in the European Under 20 Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania he had to negotiate a couple of difficult heats to reach the final of the 800m. Still he was considered a medal prospect. Another Brit, Richard Hill, led through 400m in a pedestrian 56.14 seconds with Michael on his heels. The slow pace played into the hands of Swedish athlete Mattias Klassen who put in an unstoppable burst leaving the other seven runners to scrap for the remains. Michael was the big loser and and had to watch as yet another team mate, Steve Fennell, stole the bronze. Michael commented that he felt no different than in the previous two races and could not explain his loss of form in the last 80 metres. Coach John Bradshaw who was trackside said `He did everything right but just didn`t have it in the straight. I think he had the hardest of the qualifying races'. It is a measure of Rimmer`s growing maturity that making the final of top races is just not good enough and he will be searching for some way of putting this disappointment behind him. Results

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Young Athletes at Sheffield 17 July
Liverpool Pembroke Sefton were at Sheffield for the penultimate match of the Young Athletes League facing Leeds, Hallamshire and Chesterfield. Unlike their senior counterparts they are facing relegation. This is not a reflection on their quality but a scoring system that favours clubs that can turn out large numbers. At Under 17 Alex Stokes continues to shine with emphatic wins at 100m(11.3) and 200m(23.5). Club team mate Jack McGinn is also a class apart taking the 400m in 51.6 and the B 200m in 23.7. Wayne Ashall partnered McGinn at 400m also striding clear in 52.0. Sam Hutchinson was a winner at 800m in a useful 2.01.5. A Grade 1 run from Jake Helm(3000m in 9.40.3) was eye-catching but only secured second spot. Matthew Pierce, a member of the successful Ormskirk throwing group, had comfortable wins in the Hammer(30.38) and Shot(35.74). As usual the sprint strengths of the club saw them take the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m with comparative ease.

Other Grade 1 performances in the under 15 group by Nathan Hilton(52.3) and Harry Doran(52.5) at 400m saw both LPS athletes romp home unchallenged. Hilton`s performance earned him the Athlete of the Match award. Matthew Lloyd also won the B 1500m in 4.50.6. Best performance for the Girls also came at under 15, a confident win for Emma Bowen in the B 800m(2.31.2).

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LPS Athletes delight TV Viewers 10 July
Television viewers were treated to the sight of two Liverpool Pembroke Sefton athletes tackling the country`s best at Manchester`s Sportcity in the AAA of England Senior Track and Field Championships and combined World Championship Trials. At 800m Michael Rimmer was again extremely impressive. Leading from the start in the Final against older and more experienced rivals he was only overtaken by two other athletes in the dying stages of the race. For him the time of 1.49.14 has become routine. Described as Britain`s most exciting prospect at this distance the bronze medal goes well with the Junior gold he won a few weeks ago. He now prepares for the imminent European Junior Championships in Lithuania. Also at Sportcity Phil Taylor was 6th in the semi-final of the 400m in 47.84. Having already breached the psychologically difficult 48 seconds he is running with renewed confidence.

 
At the English Schools Championships in Birmingham Mark Grimshaw bid farewell to his schooldays before entering university by running a personal best of 48.11 and finishing 4th in the 400m Senior Final. In an exciting season for LPS athletes his is one of the most outstanding success stories. Already County and Northern title holder he too is ready to join the sub-48 club. Elsewhere Harry Doran finished 6th in the 400m final of his age group with a sparkling 52.06. Short 100m sprinters Alex Stokes(11.3) and Nathan Hilton(11.6) also came away from the Championships with something to remember.
Report Charles Gains
LPS women totally dominate the local throwing scene 3 July

Wigan was the venue for the third match of the Northern Senior Track and Field League(Division 2). It was one of those days that team managers dream about with Liverpool Pembroke Sefton running up a staggering total of 30 wins and numerous other close placings. Dave Readle again emerged the star turn with individual wins in the A 100m, 200m, Shot, Discus and Hammer plus a useful slot in the victorious 4 x 100m team. Club mate Mark Line shadowed him with B wins at Shot, Discus and Hammer but also taking the A Pole Vault with fellow veteran Dave McComb in B spot. Alan Ross teamed up with Dave Street to take the Long Jump and then neatly switched positions to appropriate the Triple Jump event as well. This was a substantial breakthrough for Street who was not slow at expressing his joy. Other useful B wins came with Michael Zaim(100m and 200m) and Mark Barrow(110m and 400m Hurdles).

The women were equally impressive making a clean sweep of the throwing events. Nicky Gore was a triple A winner at Shot, Discus and Hammer. Kerri Massey joined her at the Javelin but the club`s astonishing depth meant that B winners in the shape of Natalie Walsh(Discus and Hammer), Anne-Marie Pennington(Javelin) and Debbie Janson(Shot) left other clubs scratching their heads at the LPS dominance. On the track Maria Barrett was a runaway winner of the A 1500m with a similar result in the B 800m. June Swift`s emergence this season has been spectacular and she garners points everywhere but particularly pleasing will be a personal best of 2.19.0 in the 800m. Unsurprisingly LPS took the team competition from the Wigan club and now top the league with one match to go. Results


The Young Athletes(Under 17) had a more torrid time at Wakefield finishing 4th in their match. There were, however, some sparkling performances particularly from U17`s Jack McGinn(400m in 51.9), Sam Hutchinson(2.03.1 800m) and Kieran Sloan(4.57.7 1500m Steeplechase) and a 4 x 400m winning relay performance. Harry Doran(400m in 54.1) was sharp at Under 15 with both relays being comfortably won by the local club. Under 13 Michael McBride in his first race for the club came home in style in the 1500m as did Robert Ford(800m in 2.33.3). For the U17 Girls Ashley McComb was an easy High Jump winner as was Anna Taylor in the Discus. Kate Hughes shone in the U15 300m and the club`s throwing strength was again in evidence as Lauren Cummings took both Discus with 22.47 and Shot with 9.33. The U15 4 x 100m squad of Rachel Dillon, Philppa Makepeace, Lucy Holcroft and Fay Atkins emphasised the club`s other strength, relay racing.

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