Young athletes from Bedford and County Athletics Club were in action at the prestigious English Schools Centenary Championships in Birmingham last weekend (12 and 13 July) as some came home with medals and personal bests.
The Alexander Stadium played host to some of the nation’s top young talents in sizzling conditions, as Mia Flynn won a silver, whilst there were bronze medals for Lois Fordham, Zaphaniah Bryan and Thaila-Jade Mason.
Mia Flynn threw a superb 47.42 metres in the Junior Girls hammer throw, adding 1.54 metres to her previous personal best, to claim the silver medal by just 5cm with her very last throw of the competition.
Lois Fordham enjoyed a superb day in the Junior Girls pole vault, clearing every height at the first attempt, taking her personal best from 3.00 metres to 3.20 metres as she eventually took home the bronze.
Bedfordshire’s team captain, Zaphaniah Bryan cleared 2.01 metres in the Senior Boys high jump; an improvement of 6cm on his previous best to secure the bronze medal and only a narrow failure at 2.04 metres denied him the chance of silver.
Thaila-Jade Mason added a bronze medal for Buckinghamshire in the Senior Girls long jump with 5.58 metres to help her county win the Senior Girls Trophy for B Group counties.
Other Bedford-based athletes made it through to highly competitive finals, as young athletes from across the UK descended on Birmingham in one of the year’s most competitive meetings.
Sprinters, Sophia Wing (Junior Girls 300 metres) and Ria Webb (Inter Girls 200 metres) both set personal bests, while Archie Henderson ran a solid eighth place in the Inter Boys steeplechase with a personal best, 4.35.41.
Ethan Gibbs and Harry Henderson both ran in the final of the Junior Boys 800 metres, finishing fifth and eighth respectively but also ran personal bests, with times of 2.03.83 and 2.05.51.
Fellow middle-distance runners, Archie Henderson (Inter Boys steeplechase) and Fraser Williams (Junior Boys 1500 metres) also ran big personal bests.
Williams, who ran a personal best of 4.16.09 to come fourth in his heat and qualify through to the 1500m final, almost beat it again in the final with 4.16.16, finishing in 9th in a very strong field.
All in all, there were nine personal bests across the meeting, setting the young athletes up for the rest of the summer calendar.
More PB’s at the BMC
The Schools Centenary Championships were not the only meeting, as Bedford’s athletes also competed at the BMC Grand Prix in equally hot conditions in Watford last weekend.
The event, held by the British Milers Club, began in the evening with some more personal bests for the Bedford contingent.
Sam Winters, who set a new club record of 1:49.93 in the 800 metres, finished second in his race with a perfectly judged effort, breaking his own club record, and taking the figures under the 1:50 barrier for the first time.
Elsewhere, Ed Blythman ran a personal best in the 1500 metres, with a time of 3:48.09, and there were seasons bests for Alfie Yabsley in the 800 metres (1:55.03) along with Sam Knee-Robinson (3:52.85) and Lauren Nichols (4:40.59) in the 1500 metres.
