Rudd reeling in years and rivals
STOCKPORT’S super track veteran Louise Rudd continues to blaze a trail at the world masters indoor track and field championships in Daegu, South Korea.
She has collected the full set of gold medals having worked her way through the card on almost successive days, starting with 3,000 metres and then the 800 metres.
She has now shown who’s boss in her age group in the 1,500 metres event to take the title in 4:39:35 to second placed Somaya Bousaid of Tunisia who was some five seconds behind in 4:44:34.
Rudd defied the years again with second-placed Bousaid being in the same race featured in a lower overall age category.
Rudd closed her international account by also taking the team gold medal in the 4 x 200 metres event for Great Britain and so rounded off a glorious itinerary and she can now relax and take in some well earned sightseeing before returning to the UK were she will surely be heralded back by her colleagues at Woodbank Stadium.
Still in the warmer climes of the world, Stockport wheelchair racing representatives have been participating in both the IPC grand prix in Dubai and the international open meeting in Sharjah with paralympian Andy Small going great guns and obtaining personal bests at 200, 400 and 800 metres whilst colleague Nate Williams took a bronze medal at 200 metres and silver at 100 metres before moving over to Sharjah for further competition.
The Sharjah meeting ensured more success with Williams second in the T34 800 metres and Small took fourth spot in the T33 800 metres and helped himself to a new European record in the process and both athletes will be keeping an eye open for opportunities to further improve their times before the world para games which take place at the Queen Elizabeth stadium in London this coming July.
It is with regret that road race veteran Helen Fraser of Stockport Harriers has passed away and has held the over 55’s marathon club record in 3:59:36 and she also achieved a staggering count of 217 Park runs during her career which started with helping to establish Lymm Runners before moving to the Stockport area and joining the local club in November 2010.
The sun finally shone on the competitors of the Stockport primary schools cross country league with a well attended end of season prize giving at Woodbank Stadium in glorious conditions with all the final positions now established for the season.
The four individual winners comprised Jasmine Read of Rose Hill in the girls’ years 5/6 competition, Luke Carrington made it a clean sweep for the boys equivalent competition of Gee Cross school whilst in the year 3/4 juniors competitions there were individual gold medals for Aisling Brooks in the girls’ event representing Ladybrook school and Josh Garrone for the boys being a pupil at Vernon park primary school.
It was a particularly good achievement for Ladybrook school with five school chums deciding to compete in the girls’ year 3/4 event with none of the them being club runners yet and they completed every available race with a 100 per cent turnout and took the team title with considerable support from head teacher Deborah Presswood who attended every fixture come rain or shine and there was plenty of the former in this season’s competition.
Cross country organiser John Wharf for the league on behalf of Stockport Harriers, received a magnificent award presented to him by club secretary Alan Dilkes and the thanks of the assembled company were greatly appreciated after a time period of twenty years of administration including two terms of acting as treasurer for the club and he receives the good wishes from everybody on the occasion of his retirement.
The Harriers’ club championships take place at Woodbank Stadium next Sunday 9th April with track and field events available for all age groups and participants with a start time of 11.30am.