Euro success for Blackheath & Bromley Juniors (From News Shopper)

Euro success for Blackheath & Bromley Juniors

9:55pm Sunday 23rd September 2012 in Sport By Pat Calnan

A spirited team performance saw Blackheath & Bromley’s under 20 women finish in 5th place in the A Final of the European Champion Clubs Cup for Juniors which took place at Ljubljana in Slovenia. They were just four points off a runners up spot which would have been their best ever position in this event. They produced four individual wins and also took first place in both the relays.

Dina Asher Smith was the female Athlete Of The Match with victories in both the 100 and 200 metres. She set a new ECCCJ record in the short sprint crossing the line in 11.70 well clear of the 12.46 second placer.

Moving on to the 200, an event in which she represented Great Britain at the World Junior Championships in July, she set her second ECCCJ record as she clocked 23.74. The margin of victory for the Newstead Woods schoolgirl was massive as the runner up timed 25.10.

She completed a hat trick of gold medals when she joined Lauren Stevens, Amara Lalemi Jacobs and Rachel Dickens in the 4x100 metres. They won by nearly one and a half seconds in 46.95.

Rachel had earlier won the 400 metres in 56.92 and she too collected three gold medals as she was part of the 4x400 team, along with Amara, Samantha Brown and Rachel Robinson, who won a close race in 3.56.95.

The Club’s other gold medal came in the field where first time clearances up to 1.73 from Robyn Pettit saw her claim victory on count back. She was just one centimetre off equalling her personal best.

Samantha Brown won silver in the 400 hurdles in 62.77 and there was bronze for Emilie Blackwell in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.20. Rhiannon Jones just missed out on a medal in the 100 hurdles finishing 4th in 15.46.

With the match very close points were very important and so every athlete had a part to play. Credit, therefore, to the middle distance quartet of Holly Fletcher (800), Hope Stenning (1500), Amber Reed (3000) and Michelle Fewster (3000 steeplechase) who scored vital points on the track.

In the field the Club were indebted also to the contributions of Lauren Stevens (long jump), Evie Syron Russell (triple jump), Ellie Duffy Penny (javelin), Ellie Dumper (hammer) and Gemma Brown who set a new best in the shot of 9.66 as well as throwing a very useful 35.44 in the discus.

Having been the top womens team at last weeks National Junior Athletics League Final, the Club will again represent the UK in next years competition. With all but one of the team in Slovenia still eligible to compete in 2013, it emphasises just how well they did to finish 5th in the whole of Europe this year, and why they will be optimistic that they can do even better next.