Track & Field News
Woodford athletes were in early season action in the US and at home over the weekend. There were useful performances in the US from Commonwealth Games medalists Dan Awde and Tiffany Porter, who set a world leading mark, and also at home from another Glasgow medalist, Mark Dry, at Loughborough.
Several competed at our home Open meeting at Woodford, and whilst the winds blew in a friendly way in Florida in 32 deg C, they were very unfriendly at a decidedly chilly Woodford.
Racing at the NTC Pure Athletics Sprint Elite Meet Clermont, Florida, European Champion Tiffany Porter took advantage of the warm weather and following winds, first winning her heat in 12.67 secs (+1.9), and later the final in a World-leading mark of 12.56 secs (+1.8). Glasgow 4x400m Relay gold medalist Dan Awde raced for the first time this year over 400m, and opened with a victory in 46.20 secs. Also racing at Clermont was Tim Abeyie who was 5th in his 100m final with 10.58 secs (+2.0) after a 10.56 secs w (+2.2) heat.
Mark Dry's performance came at Loughborough in the Alan Bertram Memorial Open meeting where he won the hammer with 71.96m, ahead of Andy Frost who was 2nd in 66.94m. In the women's event, Lucy Marshall was in good form with 56.15m for 3rd. Negotiating the winds at Woodford, where the sprints saw strengths of up to -5mps, was not easy, but in the discus it helped Devon Douglas to an early season victory with 50.50m. Omololu Abiodun looked very strong as he finished into the wind as he recorded a very useful 33.44 sec over the rarely run 300m distance. Other good marks behind him were recorded by Olumide Ogunseitan 34.86 secs, Justi Duru 36.00 and HCA member Jermaine Hamilton 34.86 secs. U20 Dan Rowden equalled his pb from the prior weekend as he won over 400m with 49.24 secs, just ahead of training partner Canaan Soloman with 50.18 secxs, with Anna Clark recording a personal best of 59.39 secs. Results in the javelin were headed by Jay Boddington in the men's with 51.33m, and Sylvia Cruz in the women's with 45.72m. In the hammer, V45 Fergus Harford opened his season with 35.12m and U/17 Stephanie Howe her's with 49.94m. Full results from the Woodford Open have now been published on the website
The following day at Lee Valley in teh LICC meeting Devon Douglas again won the discus with 45.77m and Sylvia Cruz in the javelin improved to 48.97m
Paul Martelletti, the former Kiwi, and now Brit who has joined Woodford as an HCA athlete, was in good form winning the Manchester Marathon with 2m17.47 secs.