JUNE 2024 HEADLINES IN BRIEF.
Fechin McCormick
A quick round-up of Sale Harrier's finest hour's throughout June.
TRACK & FIELD
JONA EFOLOKO IN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
JONA EFOLOKO was Sale Harriers only representative at the European T & F Championships in Rome. He made it made it through to the 200m semi-final.
NORTHERN SENIOR & U20 OUTDOOR T & F CHAMPIONSHIPS
Compared to the 2023 Championships at Sportcity when Sale Harriers won 11 gold medals, 6 silver and 6 bronze, the 2024 Championships, this year's haul were 4 titles, 1 silver and 1 bronze. Well done to:
- SHAUNNA THOMPSON who retained her senior Shot Putt title for the 4th successive year with a throw that was more than a meter further than her nearest rival.
- ANNABEL AMADIN, Britain's No.2 U20 Shot-Putter retained her U20 Title for the 3rd consecutive year.
- STEPHANIE JONES became the Northern Long Jump Champion in her 1st year as a senior,
- MIGUEL GAISAH became the U20 Long Jump champion in his 1st year with Sale Harriers and only in the sport since 2022.
- IZZY BURKE became the Northern U20 800m champion, her 1st major Northern title.
- REBECCA WEEKS became the Senior Northern 400m Hurdles silver medallist with a brilliant PB of 63.52 that ranked her 12th nationally. She added it to her U20 silver medal in 2020
- OLIVIA BROWN won the U20 400m Bronze medal and added it to her 1500m indoor title in January.
KADEENA COX AT WORLD PARA GRAND PRIX
Sale Harrier's Tokyo Para-Olympian and World champion KADEENA COX was in track action for the first time since April and recorded times of 14.44 over 100m and 1:06.46 in the 400m.
As readers will know from previous reports, Kadeena was an able-bodied, highly talented club sprinter until in May 2014 when, aged just 23, she had a stroke and was further diagnosed with multiple Sclerosis. Since then she's become Britain's only black cyclist to win either an Olympic or Paralympic medal. At the Tokyo Paralympics, she made history by becoming the 1st Briton in 32 years to win two gold medals in two different sports, cycling and athletics.
THEY BROUGHT GLORY TO WALES
The Mc HUGH girls – TESS & ROXY, EVA ANWYL and DANIEL AFOLOBI brought glory and pride to Wales at the Welsh National Championships in Cardiff. To put it into Welsh - Gwnaethant gymru yn falch.
- TESS brilliantly clinched her first Welsh title – the 400m in a Championship Best Performance of 52.89, improving her PB by almost a second from the IFAM meeting in Brussels three weeks earlier and beating a record that had stood for 42 years. Interestingly, the CBP record was held by fellow Sale Harrier MICHELLE SCUTT who was one of Britain's finest 200/400m runners of all time and was the first Welsh female athlete to win an Olympic medal, taking a bronze when running the 2nd leg in Britain's 4 x 400m team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. She was also Sale Harrier's first ever Olympic medallist. Impressive footsteps to follow TESS McHugh.
- Her sister ROXY made her Welsh debut and announced her arrival as a promising young Welsh athlete by winning the silver medal in the U15 300m just a week after becoming the Gtr. Manchester County Schools 300m silver medallist.
- EVA ANWYL is a seasoned Welsh representative. Top ranked nationally who's broken U13 national sprint and hurdles records and holds the club's U13 70mH record, showed her development in her first year of her U15 age-group by just missing the bronze medal in a high quality 100m race to produce an impressive PB of 12.85
- DANIEL AFOLABI in his younger years was consistently UK ranked top three sprinter. He reached the semi-finals.
SUB-4 MILES IN BELFAST
As Ireland basked in the glory of its most successful ever European T& F Championships, five of Sale Harrier's middle distance specialists recorded huge performances at the Belfast BMC.
- MAX WHARTON who'd broken the 4-minute mile for the first time at the 70th anniversary of Roger Bannister breaking the four minute barrier at Iffley Road, improved it further with a fantastic new best of 3:58.02.
- TOM MORAN had smashed the 4-minute indoor barrier in the USA in February with 3:58.07. A few days after his partner Ciara Mageen won the European 1500m and set Ireland alight with excitement, he smashed the outdoor 4-minute barrier with a great 3:58.57, easily his best ever performance for the outdoor mile.
- CHRIS FIELDING in 2023 held the club's fastest times over 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m and with a 1500m PB of 3:51.12. He made his mile debut and recorded a top-notch 4:06.90.
- BEN BRUNSWICK made his mile debut with an impressive time of 4:11.14. He too was having a great year smashing his 1500m PB a week earlier.
- ANDREW THOMPSON is just in his first year of middle distance racing and improved his 800m PB by over a second to a new best of 1:51.40.
THEA BROWN – MANNHEIM INTERNATIONAL
You've got to be exceptional to be invited to Germany's Mannheim International, possibly the highest-level junior international competition outside of the World or European U20 Championships. (Last year the club was proud to have top sprinter SUCCESS EDUAN win the 200m silver medal and helped GB to 4 x100m gold).
THEA BROWN, was this year awarded this prestigious opportunity in her blossoming career. Making her 2nd GB appearance in a few short weeks, she again excelled. On day one, competing in the 100m Hurdles in only her 2nd race over the full distance and senior height, she improved her PB to 13.28 (2.0) and now ranks equal 6th on the All Time U20 list. As a first year U20, she now ranks 2nd on the all time list, her time is also a new club record beating GEMMA FERGUSON'S 20 year old club record of 13.73 which she set in Finland. Then on the 2nd day she won the high jump gold medal for GB just short of her PB that ranks her No.1 in the UK.
ENDURANCE
SOPHIE BREAKS ABERSOCK RECORD
As she made her final wedding preparations, SOPHIE WOOD broke the Abersock 10k course record (36.15), appropriately followed in 2nd place down the sandy beach aisle by her bridesmaid-to-be, LAURA BARBER. (Her husband also ran really well). This was Sophie's 3rd victory in this race having won in 2023 and 2021.
PHIL RICHARDSON WON DUNHAM MASSEY 5K
PHIL RICHARDSON recorded his 1st ever road race victory in his six years of racing. Nip-and-tuck with Altrincham's Michael Whitham in the Dunham Massey 5k, he broke the tape ahead of him in the Dunham Massey 5k in 16.07 just 20 seconds short of his 2022 PB. His partner AMANDA SHAW also had the race of her life. Making her 5k race debut, her 26.25 was just a whisker short of her fastest ever 5k..... including Parkruns.
AARON's FIRST VICTORY
Following seven years of racing over every terrain and distance AARON Mc GRADY also achieved the holy grail of winning a proper race -The Shining Tor Fell Race near Buxton. He led home the 250 finishers in the scenic course that begins at Errwood reservoir, past the ruins of Errwood Hall to the summit of Shining Tor and along the ridge to Pym’s chair.
AMELIA PAGETT was 1st female and almost as noteworthy, she recorded her 2nd ever race victory, (Her first was in the Run Heaton Park 5k in 2018)
TOUR OF TAMESIDE
The Tour of Tameside's challenging four day festival of running had five Sale Harriers excel...
- LYNDA ROWLINSON entered the Tour's Hall of Fame as the 1st L60 for the full 4-day tour. Lynda has an impressive Tour of Tameside record. In 2023 she was 1st L60 in 'Hell on the Fells' and in 2019 and 2021 she was 3rd L55 for the full Tour.
- JOHN ARCHER had M70 wins in all four races, a repeat of 2016 when he was very much younger.
- MARCUS NICHOLSON, who in October 2023 recorded the fastest ever time in the 55 mile 'Bay Limestone Round', was a brilliant 3rd in the full four day Tour.
- JENNY FOX was 2nd L45 in both the XC Trail and 'Hell on the Fells' and 5th overall female for the Tour.
- AMELIA PAGETT massively improved to finish 2nd in the 'Hell on the Fells'. Her training partner JAMES BANNISTER was also a great 3rd.
RACHAEL TRIUMPHS IN FRECKLETON HM
Running on behalf of the Civil Service (CCSA) in Britain's oldest half Marathon, the Freckleton in its 60th year, RACHAEL ROZHDESTVENSKAYA was 1st female in a top placed 21st from the 500 finishers in a time of 1:25.24.
SONIA JUST MISSES WORLD BEST
The club's Olympian SONIA SAMUELS who, throughout her L40's was Britain's No. 1 in every distance from 5k to the Marathon, launched her L45 career in the Coleshaw Hall 10k and became not just the UK No.1 over 10k but her time of 33.36 just missed the World L45 10km best by seven seconds. ALISTAIR KELL, coached by Sonia and was one of five Sale Harriers in the race. He clocked 38.57 in his first 10k of 2024.
CHESHIRE SERIES BIRCHWOOD 5k
Two winners were very happy to win their respective categories in the Birchwood 5k, the final race of the North Cheshire 5k series. U15 JAKE HARRISON clocked a brilliant 20.45 in his 1st ever race victory. The slightly older JACKIE CORDINGLEY, familiar with winning, was 1st L65 in 22.12.
CIARA YOUNG FLIES IN PODIUM 5K
CIARA YOUNG, though disappointed for setting off too fast, ran a great PB of 19.22 in the Podium 5k in Barrowford, a 12 improvement on her August '24 Sale Sizzler 5k.
2nd OLYMPIC GAMES FOR GEORGIA TAYLOR-BROWN
Following weeks of waiting, Tokyo Olympian GEORGIA TAYLOR-BROWN has qualified for her 2nd Olympics in the Triathlon.
WELSH CASTLES 2024
The Welsh Castles relay, that 2-day, 20 stage, 209 mile staggered relay from Caernarfon to Cardiff gets ever more competitive. The 2024 event was the highest ever standard with many of the top English 12 stage and Welsh 6 stage teams competing. Sale Harriers mixed it well and the men's team were 4th up until the last 4 stages before falling to 7th. The women, last year's silver medallists, made the podium again this year again in 3rd place and were 2nd in the Queen of the Mountains. Welsh Dragon Awards went to stage winners NICK BARRY, HELEN WARBURTON, ALICE WRIGHT, RACHAEL ROZ and ALEX BRADFORD. Nick and Helen also broke the stage records on their route to glory.
Veteran yellow jerseys went to STEVE Mc CARRON, ROB DUNN and Team Organizer EDDIE EDWARDS. They finished 1st Vet-40 on their respective stages. Sale also had many top 5 finishers. It was another great weekend of keen competition and conviviality.
The 2025 targets? A women's victory, top 3 for the Open Team, and a strong Vets team to compete for the top prize.
GRUELLING LAKELAND TRIATHLON
As if he didn't have enough last year, JOHN MORRIS took on the gruelling Lakeland Triathlon in Keswick and crossed the line in 1:42:20, fourteen minutes up on last year.
SALE DOMINATE ROUND THE RESSERS
Half the top runners in the 2024 Round the Ressers '5' around Tintwhistle Reservoir were Sale Harriers. PHIL RICHARDSON led them home in 3rd place closely followed by ROBERT DUNN, ANDREW CURVIS and. They were easily the winning team – yet again! RACHAEL ROZHDESTVENSKAYA was 1st female just days after being 1st finisher in the Freckleton HM. JULIA REYNOLDS was 2nd in her L50 category. Since 2015, the race has been run in memory of the race founder Sale Harrier, Bill Fox. It's organised by PAUL BARRETT.
SIZZLER'S BIG HITTERS
The 2024 edition of the club's promotion of the Sale Sizzlers 4 x 5k and their 23rdyear were launched in Wythenshawe Park. PAUL BARRETT is the race director for the 2nd year. The most noteworthy achievements were
- NICK BARRY (15.22 ) 1st Sale Harrier home in 4th place
- FINLAY DAY (15.43) 1st U20 & 40 seconds faster than last year
- STEVE Mc CARRON (16.24). His fastest ever Sizzler going back 17 races and 10 years
- ROBERT DUNN (16.39) A 22 sec PB
- JOSHUA COLQUHOUN-LYNN(18.22) 5k debut
- SOPHIE ARMITAGE (19.09) 1st U20 & 26 sec PB
- PHILIP LARGAN (19.26) Debut 5k
- ANNE CHINOY (19..35) 1st L50
- WAYNE WARDLE (21.35) Debut 5k
- JACKIE CORDINGLEY (21.45) 1st L65
- NA'ILAH CHRISTMAS (22.45) Debut
