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March 14, 2008
ATHLETES REWARDED WITH WELSH CALL-UP
- Posted by Matthew Jones at 7:14 PM | add or read comments (3)
The North Wales Athletes who ran so well down in Swansea at the Welsh Cross Country Championships last month, have been rewarded for their efforts by being selected in the Welsh squad for the forthcoming International fixtures in Dublin and Perth.
Ricky Challinor of Deeside College and Phil Edge of Prestatyn will be delighted to pull on the Welsh vest when they compete in the Under 20 race out in Ireland. Gina Palletta of Yale College Wrexham and Becky Davies of Mold make up the Women's team. The Schools International takes place in the beautiful setting of Perthshire in Scotland.
It is encouraging to see three athletes from North Wales selected in the Middle Boys age group. Charlie Hulson and James Wright, as well as Louis Ford of Denbigh will take on a strong Scottish side on the picturesque course at Strathallan School. Abi Oliver of Connahs Quay will be carrying the torch in the Middle girl’s race, being the only North Wales athlete selected for this prestigious event.
I suppose the only disappointment from a North Wales perspective is that after some encouraging performances recently on the Country there were no Junior Boys or Junior Girls selected for the trip up to Scotland. We wish our athletes all the best while representing their country, and I'm sure they will all do the region proud!
Meanwhile, schoolchildren from across Wales will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of Athens Olympians Kelly Sotherton and Mark Lewis Francis in the near future.
The cream of athletics talent from Welsh schools will be put to the test as they take to the track for the Norwich Union Sports hall Wales Final.
It is the breeding ground for tomorrow’s champions and many of today’s household names – including Lewis Francis and Sotherton - have been national champions of Sports hall athletics. Not only will the rising talents by vying for podium places, they will also be bidding for a spot at the UK final which will be staged in Birmingham’s NEC arena on Saturday 12th April.
Contested by teams representing the eight school districts across the nation, the victorious contingents in the Under 13 and Under 15 age groups will then travel to Birmingham for a showdown against Scotland, Ulster and England. Welsh Athletics Development Manager Chris Moss explains, “The Welsh Sports hall Athletics Final is a culmination of events that have taken place across Wales. Thousands of children have taken part in these regional events and Sunday’s National Final will see the best of Welsh talent compete for top honours.
“The Sports hall Athletics programme, which takes place through the winter months, is a chance for those who would usually hang up their spikes for the winter to get back into a competitive athletic environment before the athletics season begins. The whole initiative is a great way for young athletes to develop their skills and enjoy athletics in a fun, safe environment. Simply by looking at past results, you can see the calibre of the athletes that have taken part in Sports hall Athletics– some have gone on to represent Great Britain at World Championships and Olympic Games.
It would be fantastic to see some of North Wales's up and coming youngsters make it through the stages in this high profile event that has been graced in the past by athletes that have gone onto become World Class and represent GB at the highest level.
March 3, 2008
Wrexham Athletes Proud to Captain Wales
- Posted by Matthew Jones at 9:45 PM | add or read comments (0)
Wrexham Athletics Club duo Tom Cusworth and Hannah Thomas were given
the ultimate accolade this past weekend when they were selected to
captain Wales at the Under 16 Celtic Games in Cardiff against Ireland and
Scotland.
Both Athletes put in great performances on the day to help Wales secure
second spot overall. Hannah will be delighted with her showing in the
High Jump after securing first place with a superb leap of 1.64 metres.
Hannah went on to win a silver medal in the Long Jump with a huge jump
of 5.26m, and Bronze in the 60m sprint. She ran a time of 7.9 seconds
which was just 0.2 seconds behind winner Joan Healy of Ireland. Tom had an equally successful day, picking up silver medals in the Long Jump and 200m, as well as contributing
to the relay team that also managed second place. He achieved 6.22
metres in the Long Jump and ran a time of 23:50 seconds in the 200m.
Other Wrexham athletes involved at the Indoor Cardiff Arena also put in
good displays, with Chloe Jones coming 2nd in the B 200m, and
finishing 2nd in the relay team, along with Megan Rogers, who also came 2nd in
the A 200m, and 3rd in the 60m Hurdles.
This past week there was another outstanding performance from a Wrexham
Athlete. James Mills who currently trains at The University of Bath
ran a Personal Best time of 3:49 in the 1500m at Birmingham’s National
Indoor Arena. Having trained with James down at the Queensway Stadium in
Wrexham, I know he will be delighted with this and these types of performances will give him confidence going into the outdoor season that starts in the next six or seven weeks. James started as an 800m runner being coached by the experienced Les Baldwin MBE. After some
encouraging cross country races, Mills decided to move up to 1500m, an event
which again he has impressed in.
It has been a very good month for young athletes around North Wales.
The well represented North Wales Cross Country in Buckley was backed up
with some excellent performances in the Welsh Cross Country Championships down in Swansea. Those results coupled with these latest Indoor results round off an excellent few weeks for the Region. I hope this rich vein of form will stay with our Athletes as they start their preparations for the forthcoming outdoor Track and Field season.
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Hi, my name is Matt Jones and I am an international athlete in the sports of Track and Field and Cross-Country. This Blog is dedicated to the discussion of current issues and events within the sport in the North Wales area.
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