Weekly Updates Monday 15th June

Best wishes to you all, we hope you are all keeping well, and can’t wait to see you all back at the track sooner rather than later. Here are this weeks updates and challenges for you including our third and final lockdown 2020 dream team, senior men track & field.

Results:

We have eight Swansea Harriers currently taking part in the virtual British Masters 5km Relays that conclude on Saturday 20th June. One of whom Julie Hartley-Green has submitted her performance at the time of posting this article. We will round up all their performances next week for you.

Gair McAdie and Jenny McAdie on Saturday 12th June took part in the Les Croupiers 3 Mile virtual race. Gair recording a time of (19.14) and Jenny (23.18).

Swansea Harriers 2km Lockdown Time Trial The Sequel:

After the success of last months 2km Time Trial, back by popular demand, from 20th to 30th June inclusive, we repeat the challenge for you. Entries are FREE and open now; you must run and submit your performance anytime between 20th to 30th June 2020. Yes, in addition to individuals times, we will again publish cumulative times for mother & son, mother & daughter, father & son and father & daughter. Therefore, anyone can enter including sprinters, jumpers and throwers. The parents or siblings don’t need to be a member of the club, we very much look forward to all those mums and dads times too! You must start and finish in the same place, for all the rules and to enter online, click this link.

Fixtures:

Other virtual races have been added to the annual fixtures page, if you’d like to participate. We are still endeavouring to keep on top of all other cancellations and postponements of non virtual events for you on the fixtures page too.

Webinars on this week and a bit:

Welsh Athletics have coaching webinars on this link for; discus, female health and coaching the 800m. Don’t worry if you miss them or any previous webinars, you can watch them all back on the Welsh Athletics You Tube channel.

England Athletics have coaching webinars on this link for Youth Development; Pole Vault, Steeplechase, Plyometics, Shot and Race Walking. Only licenced coaches can watch these back if you missed these or any previous webinars, by using your URN to login on athletics hub.

England Athletics have an officials webinar on Thursday 18th June on, the role of the Technical Manager, to sign up click this link.

Annual Membership Renewals:

Please support your club. When we try to regrow the club on its eventual return, please can all those members that are yet to renew their annual membership to the club do so please; you can print a renewal form here ready for when training recommences.

Senior Mens Lockdown Track & Field Dream Team:

For our third and final 2020 lockdown dream team indulgence, we bring you our senior mens track & field team. Who could we ask to select the team and write this article we thought, well no not really, there was only ever one man for the job, Dave Jones who has been our senior mens team manager every year since 1981, and here is the team he went with…………..

Swansea Harriers has had two spells in the British Athletics League, from 1971 to 1980 and from 1989 onwards to present. This includes one year in the top division with a highest placing of eighth in the Premiership in 2018. We also hold the Division Three points record of 401 set in 2015.

I took over managing our senior team after relegation from the BAL in 1981, and after eight years of trying, we eventually regained our League status after winning the qualifying match at Cwmbran in 1988. I have been challenged to choose our dream team in the BAL and it’s going to be very difficult to compare all the talented athletes, over such a long time, that have been members of Swansea Harriers, but I will try my best. I will concentrate on our second period in the BAL, basically because my memory (and the historical records) are not that good. Only athletes who have competed for the club in the BAL have been included.

Sprints:
The outstanding performer was Peter Maitland who still holds the club records for both the 100m & 200m. There is an interesting story – in our BAL match at Crawley, Peter asked to run the 400m instead of his usual 200m which was a big surprise. He then duly won his race in a time of (47.2) and then his true motive emerged, as this enabled him to post a time to be selected for the 4x400m relay in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada 1994! Whilst in Canada, he was also able to run in the 200m where he set his club record of (20.96). I have gone for Wyn Roberts for the B 100m, although he was more a specialist horizontal jumper. Leon Greenwood gets the nod in the B 200m for his (21.30) set last year. Dai Greene and Joseph Brier are the clear choices for the 400m, although in the earlier era Jeff Griffiths (46.74) and JJ Williams (47.4) would have been pushing for a place.

Endurance:
Over the last 30 years there have been some outstanding middle-distance runners, and many prior to that time. Chris Gowell was a clear choice for the 800m A string with his club record of (1.46.88), Lea Farmer slots into the B, Tony Dyke set a time of (1.49.87) pre 1981 way back in 1973 . I had a difficult choice with Ian Hamer, who holds club records at three distances – 1500m, 3000m and 5000m, I have opted for just to select Ian in the 1500m, with Guy Smith slotting into the B string. In the absence of Ian, Dewi Griffiths and Kristian Jones get the nod for the 5000m, with Nigel Adams (13.50.5) snapping at their heels, just missing out. Incidentally, Nigel ran our fastest 5000m ever (13.52) at any BAL match (in Sheffield) but unfortunately did not win!

Hurdles:
In the Steeplechase, I have gone for Donald Naylor and Sullivan Smith. Club record holder Jonathan Hopkins was not considered as he has never run the event in a BAL due to international commitments. Special mention of Karl Palmer (9.00.8) and Andy Eynon (9.08.9) – Sullivan gets the vote for a record number of club appearances (for a track athlete) in the BAL.

In the 110m Hurdles, James Archampong was an outstanding performer closely followed by the other Kris Jones. Club record holder Berwyn Price (13.72) was not considered as he had retired before we eventually got back into the League. Special mention to Glen Elsdon (14.28) who was close behind James and Kris. Former Commonwealth, European & World 400mH world champion, Dai Greene, was the obvious choice for the 400mH, although I am not so sure I could have persuaded him to do the 400mH, 400m and 4 x 400m at a match! Second string 400mH goes to young (in 1997) Mark Rowlands.

Jumps:
Clear choice for the High Jump is Chuka Enih-Snell with South African, David Nolan, as the second string. There have been a whole series of 2m+ jumpers – Steve Ingram, Paul Mainwaring, Andrew Blow, and more recently Ben Davies. Tim Thomas was by far our best Pole Vaulter with the club record of (5.40m). I have gone for Glyn Price (4.80m) as the second string, who has competed for the club in the BAL for nearly 30 years. Steve Ingram’s wind assisted jump of (7.91m) for the Welsh Championship record together with Gareth Davies’ club record of (7.62m) gets the one/two in the Long Jump. There was no doubt about Osaze Aghedo and Italian, Roberto Oppong, being selected in the Triple Jump.

Throws:
Patrick Swan and Daniel Cork are the outstanding performers in the Shot. Patrick also gets the nod for the Discus for his throw of (49.98m). I have nominated club stalwart, Peter Roberts, for the B. It was a close choice between him and Connor Laverty (45.17m). Irish International Adam King wins one of the Hammer places together with Matthew Richards (59.10m). Special mention of Ritchie Wells (56.89m) and John Owen (56.89m) – the latter is still competing for the club at a mature age! The Javelin has traditionally been our strongest field event with a conveyor belt of excellent throwers. Shane Lewis is our one and only 70m thrower – he got badly injured shortly after that throw and never threw competitively again.  There are a whole host of 60m plus throwers – Nathan James (69.59m), Stuart Loughran (68.91m), Jonathan Clarke (68.74m), Rhys Williams (67.94m), to name just a few. I have selected Jonathan Clarke for the second string basically for his consistency over many, many years in the BAL.

A tough decision to make with all the great captains we’ve had since 1981. In the end I have gone for the team to be captained by Marc Hobbs. Whilst not selected in the dream team, Marc has been a great supporter, not only in always making himself available to run for many, many years, often doubling up when asked, but also for his efforts in encouraging others to turn out for the club and his encouragement of the entire team at fixtures. The same can be said for my Vice-Captain Wyn Roberts, who would often end up taking part in four events in matches!

Here is our dream team in full, what a team it is, we hope you agree with the vast majority of selections!

Disclaimer: We’ve done our best to try and recall representative honours below, our apologies for any omissions. We are pleased to say that the team includes two Olympians, seven Commonwealth Games athletes and at least nine Great Britain Internationals at junior and or senior levels. Dai Greene has had many GB International caps competing in the full spectrum of Championships and as Captain of the Great Britain team. Adam King has an U23 cap for Ireland. Dewi Griifiths and Kristian Jones have GB vests both over cross country and on the road.

Key:
*=GB Senior
**=GB Junior U20 or U23
O = Olympian.
R=Club Record Holder
CG= Commonwealth Games athlete

By coincidence the British Mens Athletics League have just released a new book “50 Years Of The British Athletics League Celebrated” Copies can be bought for £5, or £8 for two, and £10 for three, which is the maximum order. The cost includes postage and packing, with all money raised going to help young athletes through the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund, which has also supported many BAL athletes including several from Swansea Harriers, on their journey along the athletics pathway. Click here to purchase your copy.