Efforts rewarded with medal haul
Parkrun Gymnastics
Tom Carpenter confirmed his fine form by again finishing first in last Saturday’s Maidstone parkrun in 16min 50sec. He was a comfortable two minutes ahead of Martin Taylor second in 18.45, with Matthew Field third in 19.23. Alan Newman (MV60- 64) was the best age-graded runner with 80.19%, finishing 15th overall in 20.32. First lady to finish was Alison Davey in 21.52, followed by Bridget Ostrehan second in 22.28 and, striking a blow for the juniors, Lauren Harker(JW11-14) was third in 23.23. 358 runners completed the field. Meanwhile, at the Malling event, the juniors were even more prominent with Ben Hughes (JM11-14) leading everyone home in a PB of 17.38. Second, also with a PB, was Phil Carey in 18.15 and third, on a first time visit from Petts Wood, was Oliver Porritt in 19.19. James Graham (MV60- 64) was the best age-graded performer here with 82.20% for seventh position overall in 20.02. The ladies were led by Louise New in 24.48, second was Charlotte Harper in a PB 25.24 and third, also with a PB, was Jade Latter in 26.17. Possibly boosted by some nearby events being postponed by Bonfire Night celebrations, the field here numbered 164.
The A20 Paths ‘n’ Downs Half-Marathon takes place on Sunday (9am), starting at the Great Danes Hotel in Hollingbourne. Weald of Kent Gymnastics Club excelled at the South East Regional Championships in Surrey.
Sixteen gymnasts came away with a haul of medals and placings following superb routines on vault, bar, beam and floor.
Round one saw seven gymnasts compete in the Modified 4 category.
Corina Wood took second place, Abigail Johnstone fifth and Yasmine Mayhew sixth in the 2003+ category, with Lily Harding second, Jemma Young fourth and Ilona KrencaLovett 11th in the 2004 age group.
Finishing the round, Eve Deadman took third overall in the 2006 age group as Weald A took bronze in the team competition.
Round two was for Modified 5 level gymnasts and they continued to perform well.
In the highly competitive 2005/ 6 category, Isobel Raynor took the bronze medal, Charlotte Ng did well in her first competition to place 13th and Poppy Wilkins was 19th.
In the 2003/4 age group, Millie Waterman had a great competition, coming second and contributing to another team bronze.
The unattached Olivia ScottSmith, competing as a Weald of Kent associate, had a clean competition, taking first place overall.
Rounds three and four saw gymnasts compete at Modified 6, with Kirsten Lester taking the silver medal in her first fourpiece competition and Isabel Mouser placing fifth.
Rachel Holmes and Freya Ridge, who were competing as associates, also did well, with Holmes taking silver in the 2005/ 6 group and Ridge bronze in the 2003/4 category.
The final round of the day saw the highest level of competition.
In the 2003/4 category, Ellie Bridgeman, also competing as an associate of the club, scored highly across the board and took the bronze medal.
In the 2002 age group, Erin Beck gave her best performance to date, taking silver overall, just 0.2 short of the gold, while Alicia Dodd finished sixth in her first time at this level.
Lucy Gill participated in the 2001+ category, also producing her best routines to date, taking the gold medal. These scores contributed to team gold.