Written by Alex Seftel
NAL Premiership Fixture 3A – Glasgow
Start lists and results on OpenTrack
Thames Valley Harriers will be looking to their international stars to help them retain the National Athletics League Premiership title in Glasgow this Saturday 5th August.
The London club – who lead the Premiership standings by one point – have entered World Championships-bound Bianca Williams for the 100m, as well as some of their regular big hitters including Amelia Strickler and Chris McAlister.
It should be a match full of exciting women’s sprint battles, as Williams is on the start lists with Commonwealth finalists Alicia Barrett (Trafford), Sarah Malone (Glasgow Jaguars) and Rebecca Matheson (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies), along with European Indoor Championships competitor Hannah Kelly.
The 200m will see Malone, Matheson and Kelly return to face Irish 400m medallist Roisin Harrison, with Annie Tagoe (TVH) and European 4x400m champion Seren Bundy-Davies (Trafford) in the second race. Williams may then combine for the 4x100m with Tagoe, with both picked by UK Athletics for the relay in Budapest.
UK triple jump champion Georgie Forde-Wells (WGEL) returns for the third-placed club after a winning NAL debut for the club on home soil last month. The Loughborough student is entered for her favoured event along with the high jump which features British silver medallist Emily Madden Forman (Trafford).
Forde-Wells’ Woodford team-mate Jack Lawrie is set for a classic head-to-head with McAlister as the Scot goes in search of a hat-trick of NAL wins this season. Lawrie is also down to race in the 110m hurdles again, with McAlister going in the 400m flat.
Amelia Strickler (TVH) is hoping to make it nine wins from nine since the NAL re-formed in 2021. She’s likely to face Jess Hopkins of Chelmsford and Meghan Porterfield of Jaguars.
After taking maximum points with 64.14m in Nottingham in Round 2, Kayleigh Presswell (TVH) has another opportunity for a big score in the hammer. Other strong field hopefuls including WGEL duo Youcef Zatat (shot put) and Ellie McCartney (pole vault), while Archie Yeo goes in the triple jump having come back from last month’s European under-23 Championships in Finland.
Bundy-Davies is also on the 400m entry- lists with Harrison of TVH, who has club-mates including Nicole Kendall in the 400m hurdles alongside Jaguars’ Emily Craig. The shorter 100m hurdles sees Barrett in her favourite event with Jane Davidson of WGEL.
Shaftesbury Barnet, Newham & Essex Beagles and Sheffield and Dearne haven’t declared their full teams at the time of writing.
NAL Premiership Fixture 3B – Birmingham
Start lists and results on OpenTrack
Harrow will travel to Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium knowing they still have strong title chances if Thames Valley slip up in Glasgow.
What’s more, Blackheath & Bromley, Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow and Sale Harriers are all fighting to improve their respective table positions of fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, with Windsor looking the strongest of the chasing pack.
Harrow have been very consistent this season though, having edged out WSEH for victory in Round 1 in Eton, they beat them again for second in Nottingham, when both finished behind victors TVH.
Just like in the other Round 3 match in Glasgow, the women’s sprint line-ups are exciting. Harrow have Hilary Gode fresh from her European under-23 4x100m silver medal, alongside Commonwealth semi-finallist Hannah Brier (Swansea).
Gode, Kuypers and Babalola all return for the 200m which features WSEH’s former European under-20 medallist Sophie Papps, with Brier alongside Louise Evans (B&B) and Harrow’s Poppy Malik in the 400m.
Darcey Kuypers was aided by windy weather to produce an 11.56 and 23.75 sprint double in Woodford and will hope to follow up her good form, while Diani Walker (Birchfield) and Ayoola Babalola (WSEH) potentially make it a five-way battle.
Harrow’s other big hopefuls include European Championships competitor Miguel Perera in the 110m hurdles and UK bronze medallist Adelaide Omitowoju in the triple jump, while John Jesse-Nwawulor goes in the 100m alongside WSEH’s Tyler Panton – who is also in the 200m – and Sale’s Nick Walsh.
Indeed, there is no question that WSEH will score plenty of big points, with UK hammer champion Jake Norris featuring again, Jacob Paul and Orla Brennan down for the 400m hurdles, and heptathlete Jodie Smith opting for the 100m hurdles, long jump and shot put.
Birchfield will have Ese Okoro going against Brennan in the one-lap hurdle event, while another UK champion – Adele Nicoll – looks good for the shot put. It may be considered an upset though, if their teammate Emma Hamplett beats British number one Bekah Walton (B&B), with the former looking for an eighth NAL victory, and the latter continuing her quest for a first ever 60-metre throw.
Further field focus is required on the women’s discus, where WSEH have both Amy Holder and Phoebe Dowson, who are fifth and sixth in the UK standings this year. Alice Hopkins will want to follow up victory last time out for the same club, while Lionel Owona faces a good head-to-head with Harrow’s Divine Duruaku in the high jump.
Duruaku’s club’s charge continues with Team England Commonwealth Games competitor Owen Heard in the pole vault and long jump, before Harrow then look for first and second in the shot put through Kane Aubrey and George Hyde, albeit Swansea’s Patrick Swan might have something to say about that
After a 1500m and 3000m victory in the NAL so far this year, Niamh Bridson-Hubbard (B&B) is entered for both distances.
Notts and Crawley haven’t declared their full teams at the time of writing.
There are five NAL fixtures on the final day of the season in total, with Championship matches in Bournemouth and Liverpool and the National One division match in Milton Keynes. A full list of the teams competing at each venue can be found here.
