Thames Valley Harriers maintained their lead at the top of the National Athletics League Premiership table yesterday (July 2) on a day when Charlotte Payne’s league record highlighted the individual performances.

A week on from her 70.59m breakthrough to win the British title, Payne was just seven centimetres short of matching that as she assisted her club, Reading, in the Championship at Bournemouth.

In Hendon, league champions and leaders TVH were given a close run by Harrow but edged it 571 to 555 to maintain a two-point lead on team standings.

Amelia Strickler was one of eight A-string winners for the London club. The shot putter celebrated her call-up this week for the World Athletics Championships by going out to 17.70m, her third best of the season. Also claiming her third NAL win out of three this season was hammer thrower Katie Head, who secured top points for Newham & Essex Beagles with 66.46m.

The discus had two of Britain’s top four on the rankings this year and it was Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounlsow’s Amy Holder who came out on top with 54.41m from Shaftesbury Barnet’s Shadine Duquemin (54.15m).

Miguel Perera was among those helping Harrow to second as he won the 110m hurdles with 13.98.

Shaftesbury Barnet had nine A-string winners, including Hayley McLean, who clocked 56.46 in the 400m hurdles.

Chukwuemeka Osammor was close to his best as he won the discus with 59.83m.

Halle Ferguson (Trafford) went to the top of the UK U20 rankings for 2022 with 1.78m, a 2cm PB.

Rubem Miranda of Portugal and TVH produced a good win in the pole vault with 5.40m. Likewise, Jade Ive was over 4.20m in the vault for Shaftesbury Barnet. 

At Woodford, Blackheath & Bromley kept the pressure on TVH with a convincing win on 580.5 points to lie second on team standings. Meanwhile, Birchfield Harriers, who started the day in 11th in the league overall, excelled themselves in second.

Adele Nicoll was one of their winners, with 16.10m. It was some way down on the 17.59m PB with which she won the UK title the week before but she said she was satisfied to pick up top points for her club.

Another on form for the Midlands was Leon Reid, who made use of an illegal following wind of 3.1m/sec to clock 20.71 in the 200m. He was in action for the first time in five weeks due to a back injury as he prepares to represent Ireland in the Commonwealth Games.

Bernice Coulson was another of their winners, equalling her PB with 1.77m. 

The dominant B&B had 14 A-string winners, though, including Dan Putnam, who continued his good form with victory in the 400m in 46.69, six hundredths under his PB from last weekend. He also won the 200m B string in 21.11.

Their Ben Hawkes was just short of his PB as he went out to 69.19m in the hammer. Kelechi Aguocha took the high jump for B&B with 2.17m. 

Putnam, Harry Cox, Bailey Stickings and Samuel Reardon combined to win the 4x400m in 3:11.05, a B&B club record and the fastest by a UK club this year. 

Reardon had earlier crossed the line three seconds clear to win the 800m in 1:51.33.

Also impressive for the club in the middle distances was team manager Niamh Bridson-Hubbard, who led by example with wins in the 1500m (4:31.71) and 3000m (9:36.06).

Swansea pole vaulter Thomas Walley added 11cm to his PB with 5.21m for the win and their shot putter Patrick Swan bounced back from third in the last match to take victory with 16.43m.

In the Championships match in Bournemouth, Chemsford beat Crawley, who had had two wins out of two and now there lies just one point between the two clubs going into the final match.

However, Payne’s 70.52m was the highlight as she broke the 21-year-old league record held by Lorraine Shaw. The Reading AC athlete has improved from 64m this season and has now been over 69m four times in 2022.

Basingstoke & Mid Hants had their 1:45 800m man Thomas Staines turn out and won the 400m with 48.37.

At Stevenage, team results are still incomplete but Tonbridge appear to have taken the win. 

Sale Harrier steeplechase specialist Aimee Pratt, who was this week announced on the British team for the World Athletics Championships, honed her speed with a 1500m win in 4:15.38. 

One week after UK Championships discus silver, Kirsty Law also took points for Sale, throwing 53.60m. 

For Wigan, one of the UK’s top hammer throwers, Tara Simpson-Sullivan, found 59.55m enough to take the win. 

In the high jump, Bedford & County’s Gracie Wall jumped added 2cm to her high jump PB with 1.75m, the best by a UK under-17 athlete this season.

 

In the National 1 match, hosts Yeovil took a clear win over Belgrave and now have a one-point lead at the top of the table over the London club.