THE WEEK'S NEWS 4th July 2023
THEA BROWN FOR COMMONWEALTH YOUTH GAMES
It's official! THEA BROWN is selected to represent GB & N1 at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad & Tobago between August 4th – 11th. She'll compete in the 100m Hurdles, High Jump and 4 x 100m mixed relay. This is Thea's finest hour in her burgeoning career and a great tribute to her immense talent, her coaches including Sale's DAVE LOWE and to her family and training groups.
OLIVIA GREEN'S DAY TO REMEMBER
Another whose finest hour it is is OLIVIA GREEN. Competing for Team GB in the Modern Pentathlon at the European Games in Krakow, Poland, she won brilliant bronze, her first senior individual medal. In a scintillating and very hard-fought final she came away with not just with the bronze medal but was the top Brit and a qualification spot for the Olympic Games. Most pleasing of all was the final event, the run-shoot when, after starting in 11th she ran up to 2nd, with her total run time being the fastest of the day. Her running honed as a Sale Harrier, won her the podium place! She also helped the GB team to secure three team medals. (NB. Though she's qualified for the Olympics she's not yet guaranteed a place. If more than 2 British athletes qualify for the Games, then the decision as to who will be going will be made next year....so fingers crossed). Her boyfriend, Olympic and World champion Joe Choong also won silver and hopefully both have punched their tickets to Paris. Olivia is based at the University Of Bath Centre Of Excellence with the GB Pentathlon team.
OONAGH IS EUROPEAN BIATHLE CHAMPION
OONAGH Mc MANUS became the U15 European Biathlon Champion. At the championships in Erding, Munich she raced superbly with a very strong first 800m run and entered the lake in 1st place. Her swim was awesome gaining about 10 metres on 2nd place and in her 2nd run she opened up a 50 meter gap to comfortably win and be crowned U15 European Champion.
In the run up to the Championship, she'd won her first Triathlon in Lytham St Anne’s and qualified for the NW team to compete at the National championships at Mallory Park in September
ENGLAND SCHOOLS CHAMPIONS
Every school-aged athlete's sporting pinnacle are the ESAA English Schools championships. Known as the 'Kid's Olympics', this year they were held at the Alexander Stadium Birmingham . We don't yet know who all the successful Sale athletics are since the official results are not yet available. As soon as they are we'll be applauding them from the rooftops. However we do know of some who've been very successful and BIG congratulations not just to them but to their coaches and very proud parents. IMOGEN HILL became the English Schools Junior Girls 800m Champion, GABRIELLE GARBER became the senior High Jump Champion, improving on last year's bronze medal. HERMIONE MASON retained her senior girls 400m Hurdles silver medal and JASMINE RICHARDSON retained her senior bronze medal in the hammer and FREYA DOCKERTY also won senior bronze in the 100m Hurdles. Well done to their top-class coaches KAREN HILL & PETE SHAW, JESS TAYLOR-JEMMETT, ALEX WORT and LEE DOYLE.
A SAVAGE PB
Two weeks after winning bronze at the England U20 Championships ELLIOT SAVAGE again dipped under fifty seconds for 800m at the BMC meeting in Watford recording a great new PB of 1:49 46 that now ranks him 4th nationally. (He would have become the England Champion with this time).Elliot is coached at Wythenshawe by NORMAN POOLE.
CHRIS FIELDS NORTHERN IRELAND BRONZE
CHRIS FIELDING made a really worthwhile return to his Northern Ireland homeland for the N I & Ulster Senior Championship. Arguably his proudest achievement to date, he became the NI 5000m bronze medallist with a PB of 14.45.22. Chris is his first year with Sale Harriers.
LADIES SMASH WELSH CASTLES
A few weeks after the endurance section's Welsh Castles Relay – the 2 day, 20 stage, 209 mile relay the length of Wales from Caernarfon to Cardiff and arguably the biggest event in the Endurance Section's calendar, a full report and the club's women clinching a magnificent 2nd place is now on the club's website.
NORTHERN LEAGUE DISAPPOINTMENT
The weekend's disappointment was the club lowly 2nd to last in its penultimate Northern League match at Blackburn. The result has nothing whatsoever to do with those club stalwarts who ran, jumped, threw and hurdled their hearts out (You should have seen them!) but they were badly let down by their club colleagues. The club is far from achieving its potential in its league commitments and every Sale Harrier - athletes, coach and parent have to take a collective responsibility. It's YOUR club! The club has the resources to win these matches as it proved in its 1st match in May at Ellesmere Port.