Blackheath & Bromley made an excellent start to the UK women's league season finishing in fourth place in the opening Premiership match at Swansea.

In fact they were just 10 points behind winners Birchfield, and had they had athletes in every event they would have won the match.

The weather conditions were not the best for top times, heights or distances but there were some fine competitive performances.

Dina Asher Smith won both the 100 and 200 metres but with a wind against of over -4.0 metres per second she timed 12.07 and 24.18.

Shannon Hylton ran faster in the B string 200 winning in a time of 23.89.

With Vivien Olatunji gaining third in the B string 100 there was only going to be one winning team in the 4x100 metres.

Vivien, Dina and Shannon were joined by Cheriece Hylton to storm to victory by over a second in 46.43.

Cheriece had earlier won the B string 400 metres in 56.22 after Rachel Dickens had finished in third place in the A string in 55.93.

Dina and the 4x100 team were actually the only A string winners on the day but there were plenty of top three placings in the highest division of League Athletics in the country. On the track Serita Solomon missed out on victory in the 100 metre hurdles by just two hundredths of a second in 14.71.

Clare Elms had a remarkable afternoon finishing in third place in the 3000 metres in 10.20.55 and was also 7th in the A string 1500 in 5.01.93 and 5th in the B string 800 with 2.21.44.

Having just turned 50 this meant she had reduced the Club over 50s record for 3000 by just under two minutes; the 1500 record by almost 45 seconds and the 800 by nearly 16 seconds. In the field Shaunagh Brown was third in the hammer with 59.72 as well as winning the B discus and finishing 4th in the shot.

Samantha Milner was second in the A string discus with 46.81.

Having won the B string 100 hurdles, Jahisha Thomas was third in the A string long jump with a leap of 5.65. Zara Asante was 2nd in the B long with 5.26 and also won the B triple with 12.55 as Chioma Matthews was third in the A string with 12.78.

With Frederica Foster making a welcome return to competition in the 800; Patricia Curtin and Nathanielle Jones making their League debuts; and Grace Sheppard and Krystal Galley scoring valuable points for the team, it was just the sort of start the squad wanted to the season and they will look forward to the second of the three matches at Birmingham on the 7th of June.

The men's team were celebrating too as they finished in 4th place in the British Athletics League Division One match at Eton.

Having been promoted from Division Two last year this was a promising opening.

The club’s athlete of the match was Kieran Daly who won both the 100 and 200 metres in sparkling times.

An above the legal limit wind speed in the 100 saw him cross the line 10.21.

The 200 metres was a legal +1.1 and he finished in 21.08 a massive personal best, and well clear of Kent AC’s Portugal international David Lima, who has a best of 20.72.

There was a small piece of History made in the long jump with the Clubs best ever pairing.

Jermaine Olasan won the A string event in 7.47 while under 20 Oliver Newport took the honours in the B string with a leap of 7.43, a distance that, had Jermaine not been competing, would have won the A string.

Alex Bruce Littlewood flew in from Ireland to compete and took second place in the 3000 steeplechase as well as scoring valuable points in the 1500 metres.

A classy 400 metres saw Dan Putnam finish third in 47.74.

Back in the field Mike Van Den Dobbelsteen was third in the javelin with a seasons best of 52.57.

It was third also for Louis Mascarenhas in the discus improving his best to 45.04.

He was one of seven under 20s making their debut and of these Will Fuller (8.40.75 in the 3000); Richard Webb (9.56.05 3000 steeplechase); and Max Hodson (3.40 in the pole vault) also set new bests. The team will be looking to build on this at the next match in Gateshead on June 7.

On the roads Scott Overall won the Bristol 10km by four seconds in a time of 30.20.

David Hoben was 28th in the Pednor 5 mile race walk at Chesham, and four days earlier finished 17th in the Haywards Heath Open Meet 1km walk.

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