LPS athletes travelled over to Sheffield over the weekend to compete in the North of England indoor championships, pride of place must go to our only medallist Tom Kwissa who took bronze in the senior mens high jump. I think he’ll agree with me that he’s probably a little disappointed with his 1.85m but, nevertheless, a medal is a medal.
Fellow high jumper Millie O’Hanlon finished 7th in the Under 17 ladies competition but, in some kind of traffic-jam nightmare for the judges, cleared the same height (1.55m) as the silver medallist !
Ray Twentyman & Trish Farrell had a couple fo sprinters there for the day out. First year under-20 Matthew Hughes qualified comfortably for the 400m final where he ran a 50.94s PB for a close 4th place, a hairs breadth from a medal. Callum Garvey suffered from a poor start in his heat of 60m but then, as if wound up a little from this faux pas, ran a PB 7.54s in a later non-qualifying round. As with so many of us outdoors types, the indoor options don’t best suit his skills, but we try anyway.
There were two of Marks middle distance crew on show as well. Senior Adam Jones ran a very creditable 2:02.78 min for his first indoor half mile. I’ve no personal experience to draw on but I can believe there is a world of difference between a flat 400m outdoor track and what is basically a small cycling velodrome.
Evergreen vet Tony O’Brien finished 8th in the senior 1500m against men half his age and came away with an excellent 4:17.05 min. Only he has run faster in our vest as a 50+ vet. All that training chasing stray kittens has clearly paid off !
It was a day of many firsts, our first first was Fin McKenna doing his first indoor comp. Primarily a discus thrower he is caught in a quandary between his favourite technique and the one which gives him his best results. Despite that his 5th place 9.04m was a fine debut.
Next it was the turn of the senior ladies in which we had enough for a full relay squad. Molly Harbour decided the area indoor championships would be a fitting place for her first ever competition. She has set herself a benchmark of 7.66m to build on. Megan Lockwood our Manx import was also in her first was her indoor comp too and, though her 12th place 8.06m was a little down on her best, one shouldn’t underestimate the “strangeness” of throwing a plastic case shot the size of a beachball off a polished wooden circle. Anna Peers on her debut for LP&S throw 10.62m and matched 4th place Sophie Perceval.
Paul White, celebrating his 20th birthday with a card, much cake and a 16 lbs indoor shot slightly smaller than Venus. He was genuinely unlucky in as much as (i) the comp was a very high standard and (ii) 8 qualified for the next three rounds … he was 9th. His 8.44m is a great baseline to move on from. If it makes you feel any better mate, if I’d been throwing I’d have missed the cut by a mile !
Last up in the day was Jessica Groves, this too was her first indoor competition. It can be very difficult competing with spectators so close but she coped admirably finishing 7th her 8.35m less than a foot off her best outdoor mark.
Dave Brown
 Fin McKenna |
 Anna Peers |
 Jessica Groves |
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