More cheer for Church, personal bests galore

Great Britain international athlete Lydia Church was just four centimetres down on her personal best in the English Athletics Championship at Bedford’s International Stadium at the weekend

Taking part in the disability shot put, the Peterborough & Nene Valley AC European Championship silver medalist won silver again, finishing behind Paralympics gold medalist Sabrina Fortune.

The winner threw 13.56m with Church replying with 12.58m.

James Dods threw 14.54m for fourth place in the senior men’s event, and Elizabeth Moorhouse finished eighth senior lady with a throw of 12.15m.

Jess Varley bagged herself a new personal best of 4:31.31 when finishing eighth in the ladies 1,500m.

Erin Walker of Werrington Joggers led a local trio home in the 3,000m at the Cambridgeshire Open Evening at St Ives.

Clocking 11:07.2 she finished eighth, beating her older sister Olivia by just one tenth of a second.

Evie Hemmings of Peterborough Nene Valley wasn’t far behind the siblings, crossing the line in 11:18.8.

Peterborough Nene Valley’s Russell Dowers ran an 800m personal best of 2:14.92 at an open meeting in Sheffield on Sunday, while Julian Smith recorded a 12.36 100m, his fastest time for two years.

Niamh Rushton completed the Peterborough Nene Valley contingent clocking 1:03.29 in the 400m.

Peterborough Nene

Valley Masters captain Claire Smith represented Eastern Masters in an inter-area fixture at Nuneaton on Sunday, and ran well to finish third in the 400m, but she was unfortunate it wasn’t an even better outcome.

Smith won her race in 61.9, but annoyingly the race was split into two and a pair of athletes went quicker in the other race.

Peterborough Nene Valley’s Alexa Boole ran a 300m personal best of 44.89 in the Charnwood Open meeting at Loughborough.

Kirk Brawn of Peterborough Nene Valley clocked a new personal best of 17:01.56 in a day of 5,000m races at Milton Keynes on Saturday.

Teammate Ewan Davidson clocked 15:51.12.

Lydia Church.