WSEH AC athletes secure personal bests after seeking out competition

With league matches suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, WSEH AC athletes have had to search out open meetings taking place to get some competition.

Last week WSEH were in action in the south of England throws competition in Portsmouth and the London Harriers middle distance race meet at Woodford.

The majority of WSEH competitors were members of coach Tom Presho’s throws squad, but the one exception was Janet Smith, who competed in the senior hammer and threw 39.7m. Mia de Vivenot was the club’s lone entrant in the u17s javelin reaching 20.83m. Four athletes took part in the shot, with Demari Gumbs setting a new personal best (pb) of 9.75m in the u17s event, a feat matched by Mia de Vivenot with 8.98m. The other marks were Sophie Winters, 7.66m in the u17s event and Demara Gumbs, 6.42m in the u13s event. Winters went on to set a new pb in the discus with 24.02m and Katrina O’Brien repeated the feat in the u13s competition with 21.96m.

A large contingent from Trevor Raggett’s and Shireen Higgins’ squads competed at Woodford and 13 of them achieved personal bests.

There results were as follows in the 1,500m: Tia Hansford, 5.24.32 in the u20s female race; Keshi Manek 5.01.64, Kiki Webb 5.15.35 and Charlotte Bongars 5.22.82 in the u17s race; Summer Chapman 5.08.44 and Aashni Manek 5.43.56 in the u15s girls;

Raphael Rivero-Stevenet 4.16.85, Ed Henderson 4.22.95, Finlay Kirk 4.25.88,

Charles Turner 4.32.50 and Chris Baker 4.38.7 in the u20s male race; Toby Spencer, 4.29.67 pb, George Thomas, 4.29.78 pb (left), Satvik Nath 4.35.94 pb and Alex Bishop, 4.36.79 pb in the u17s; Zavier Zinman, 4.41.90 pb, Tom Taylor, 4.55.67 pb, Guy Branston 4.56.46 pb, Evan Hardy 5.16.42 pb and Toby Kimmins, 5.34.21 pb in the u15s race. Jake Meyburgh clocked another personal best with 4.46.02 in the u13s race.

In the 3,000m there were personal bests for Liam Stone (9.29.44) and Finn Canning (10.21.63) in the u20s and u17s male races respectively, while Jodie Bongartz clocked 12.52.32 in the u20s female race.