NAL Round One - Eton
The 2025 National Athletics League season got underway at Eton on Saturday. The warm sunny conditions and legal following winds were in stark contrast to the cool and windy conditions of 2024 and the gales and lightning which caused abandonment in 2023. Whilst results are provisional and subject to scrutiny, Woodford seem to have finished fourth on the day with 441.50 points - just two points behind hosts WSEH. The provisional scores are: Harrow 644.50, TVH 628, WSEH 443.50, Woodford Green 441.40, Glasgow 416, Birchfield 402, Sheffield 354.50 and SBH 350. Woodford’s 4th place was frustrating with a DNF in the men’s 4x100m and disappointing gaps in the women’s team.
There were many debutants, some new to the club and others who have progressed through to the NAL via the YDL. There were many decent performances, led by A string wins over 400m for Alex Knibbs, LJ for Calum Henderson and TJ for Tosin Oke. There was also a European Junior qualifying mark for Ethan Franklin. Sadly, there was a serious injury to discus stalwart Chris Linque.
Alex Knibbs, primarily a 400m hurdler, the event in which he placed 2nd in last year’s UK Championships, made his Woodford debut in the flat 400m and from the tricky outside lane ran very strongly to win in his 2nd fastest time ever of 46.27 secs. In the B race another debutant, Ben Snaith, was 5th in 48.59 secs. It was in the 200m A race where Ethan Franklin recorded a qualifying time for the European Junior Championships. Just 18 years old, Ethan recorded 20.84 secs (+1.4) for 2nd which also improved Jordan Kirby-Polidore’s Club U/20 record of 20.95 secs set in 2012. In that B string there was also a personal best for Matthew Adum-Yeboah with 21.36 secs (+1.7) for 3rd. In the 100m it was pleasing to see Medwin Odamtten back from university in the USA and in NAL action. Medwin had a solid run as he placed 2nd in 10.45 secs (+2.0) a legal wind PB. In the B race, Mervielles Massembo was 4th with 10.90 secs (+0.6).
The 400m Hurdles races were contested by two debutants. In the A, Will Parry recorded a season’s best of 56.28 secs for 7th whilst in the B, U/20 Henry Akaluka was also 7th with 64.45 secs. The 110m Hurdles were good standard races and also contested by two debutants. The A saw Ethan Akanni 2nd with 14.25 secs (+0.7) whilst in the B, Ruben Hedman (cousin of long time Woodford 400m stalwart Graham) was also 2nd with 14.55 secs (+1.5).
In the middle-distance races Joel Doye and Jaymee Domoney covered both the 800m and 1500m. Joel, fresh from a 3.45 PB over 1500m in Brussels last week, was 6th over 800m with 1m54.64 secs and 4th over 1500m with 3m54.03 secs. Jaymee, who missed pretty much all of the last track season with injury, was also 4th in the B 1500 (4m05.41 secs) having earlier placed a close 3rd in the B 800 with 1m56.74 secs. UK steeplechase champion Phil Norman had a rare track outing over 5000m where he placed 2nd with 14m14.49 secs as Videsh Weerakkody won the B with a PB of14m56.58 secs. The 3000m s/ch saw Tom Adolphus make his debut over the barriers and place 4th with 10m15.22 secs as debutant U/20 Aidan O’Driscoll recorded another PB of 10m26.13 secs for 3rd in the “B”.
Calum Henderson’s long jump win was with a slightly windy (+2.6) 7.40m which was backed up with a legal 7.28m (+1.3). Back in NAL action after 7 years, Thalosang Tshirelteso won the B with his only valid mark of 7.22m (+1.8). Thalosang was back in action later in the triple jump, an event in which he is a former African Championship silver medalist as well as gold medalist in the LJ and where his one effort of 13.79m (+1.1) off a short approach was enough to win the B, whilst in the A, the evergreen Tosin Oke, a double former African TJ Champion and also a Commonwealth Games Champion, won with 15.53m. Lacking specialist high jumpers, sprinter Marcel Winter took on that event where his PB of 1.90m was 8th and another debutant, Sammy Lok, was 4th= with 1.85m. Both pole vaulters were also debutants: Will Snashall was 5th A with 4.20m and Louis Wilson 3rd= with 4.00m in the B.
The first of the men’s throwing events was the discus. Chris Linque was 7th in the A with 44.15m and another debutant, Gareth Winter, was 4th B with 44.15m. Sadly it was in this 3rd round where Chris was seriously injured, slipping as he completed his turn and catching the circle rim he fell with what seems to be a ruptured achilles. Many thanks are due to those who attended to him and in particular to Ryan McKinlay who, rather than wait for the quoted 4.5 hours for a local ambulance, drove Chris to his local A&E where a cast (case) has initially been administered. All at Woodford wish Chris well. Gareth was later in shot action and, in a close competition where 43cm separated the first four, Gareth was 4th with 16.16m. Hammer specialist, again a debutant, Tom Head covered the B and his 12.82m was 6th. Previously Tom was in action in a high standard hammer where his season’s best of 63.99m was 6th. Also on debut, Ammar Elabsy was 4th in the B with 49.52m. In the javelin Keston James recorded a season’s best of 57.67m for 7th and Bradley James 54.84m for 3rd in the B.
The 4x100m team (Ethan Franklin, Marcel Winter, Matthew Adum-Yeboah and Ben Snaith led into the final change but unfortunately the baton wasn’t exchanged, thus a DNF. In the 4x400m, Alex Knibbs (47.9), Adrian Richards (49.3), Marcel Winter (49.5) and Ben Snaith (48.6) were 5th with 3m15.21 secs.
The women’s sprints were covered by Gwen Datey and Rebecca Matheson. Over 100m Gwen recorded a season’s best of 11.89 secs (0.7) for 3rd and later was 6th in the 200m with another season’s best of 24.13 secs (+1.4). Rebecca was 6th in the B 100m with 12.28 secs (-1.1) and 7th in the 200m with 25.01 secs (+0.6). Over 400m there was another debut in the A race where Helen Pretorius was 7th with 55.77 secs. The B was covered by U/17 Noa Chodokufa, also on debut, recording a notable personal best of 56.64 secs.
Both 400m Hurdles races were covered by U/20’s and by another two debutants. In the A Stacey Cotorabai was 7th with 67.41 secs and in the B, Isabelle Kyson was 3rd with a personal best of 64.79 secs. The 100m Hurdles saw Yasmine Uwakwe improve her personal best by 0.25 secs as she recorded 13.51 secs (=1.6) for 3rd. There was no B string available.
The middle distances were very thin. Over 800m, with a last-minute drop out and no replacement available, Aoibheann Pearce found herself in the A race, rather than her expected B, but nevertheless acquitted herself well as she placed 5th with 2m14.17 secs. Over 1500m Louise Gilbert ran strongly to place 2nd in the A with 4m29.12 secs. The B string gaps at 800m and 1500m, together with no athletes at all for the 5000m or steeplechase, made a significant dent in the overall team score.
There were however many decent points gained in the field. The long jump was a good standard and saw Mary Elcock 7th with 5.91m (+1.6) and Amelia Watling 4th B with 5.54m (+1.7). Later Mary was in the triple jump and placed 3rd with 12.65m w (+2.2) with U/20 Kharina Partridge 4th in the B with 11.05m (+1.5). Amelia was also in high jump action and close to her PB with 1.50m for 6th B whereas in the A, and on debut, Lucy Walliker was 3rd= with 1.65m. The pole vault saw two more debutants: Hollie Jupp cleared 3.60m for 4th and Amber Higgs-Smith gained valuable points as 5th in the B.
All the women’s throwing events were of a high standard. In the hammer, and also making her Woodford debut, Katie Head was 4th with a season’s best of 60.49m and Lucy Marshall 2nd in the B also with a season’s best of 51.39m. The discus saw Dani Broom 8th with 41.13m and U/20 and debutant Erin Dela 6th B with 33.88m. Missing a shot putter to the M25 traffic jams, Lucy covered the B with 8.97m for 8th and Dani was also 8th in the A with 11.32m. In the javelin and another on debut, Peanut Meekings was 3rd with a PB of 42.31, as was Kirsty Bateman Foley in the B with 38.75m.
The women’s 4x100 squad of Helen Pretorious, Gwen Datey, Lakhesia Adams Poku and Amira Adeshokan recorded 47.32 secs for 5th, and the 4x400m team of Kyra White (59.6), Isabelle Kyson (59.7), Noa Chodokufa (59.5) and Helen Pretorious (60.3) 6th with 3m59.10 secs.
The next round of the NAL is at Derby on July 5th.