Several records came crashing down on the first day of the Sussex County Track and field championships at Crawley’s K2 Leisure centre. Apart for a headwind down the home straight conditions were pretty good but even so, most of the records, or more strictly, Championships best performances came in the throwing events rather than on the track.
However, we witnessed what was certainly the finest race of the day when the senior and under 20 400 metres were combined and as the runners entered the final straight, two seniors, Mandy Gault (Portsmouth) and Crawley’s Holly Turner were neck and neck with sixteen year old Amber Anning (Brighton & Hove), who was running up an age group to get the standard for the Commonwealth Youth Games later in the season.It was the youngster who proved the stronger over the final 100 metres and she flashed across the line in a personal best of 54.88s, a qualifying standard and more than one second inside club mate Gaby Howell’s 56.07s seventeen year old CBP. Anning also dragged senior champion, Gault, inside the nine year old CBP in 55.31s while Turner was also inside 56 seconds with 55.75s.
County Masters Cross-country champion Howard Bristow (Brighton & Hove) took a large field, so large that for the first time ever at these Championships a split start was used, by the scruff of the neck shook it and romped clear to finish the length of the strait clear of club mate, Kevin Moore in 15:03.01. Not a CBP but a pretty impressive run.
Isaac Kofi-Obeng won the under 13 boys Minithon with a 4.63 Long Jump, 2:32.1 800m and a 16.13m discus throw.
Just two Championship Best Performances tumbled on the second day of the Sussex Track and Field Championships at the K2 Leisure Centre at Crawley on Sunday.
Conditions were not quite as good as Saturday with a stronger, and sometimes cold, head wind slowing the sprint times.
Brighton & Hove’s Cameron Fillery, who has recently set a new U20 110m hurdles record when he beat Andy Todd’s fifty year old record, took a cleaver to the thirty two year old CBP of Crawley’s James Mason’s time of 14.5sec. Fillery had to battle into a strong headwind to win his event in 14.01s.
Entries had been strong for this year’s championships and for the first time for many years there were heats, instead of straight finals, for many of the sprint events as well as multiple races for several young age group events in the middle distance events. As usual there were too many double victories to mention and they were not only in the sprints but in the U15 age group Ruby Anning (Brighton & Hove), not wishing to be outshone by big sister Amber’s 400m CBP on Saturday added the 200m title to her name in 26.63s to her 100m victory of 12.85s.
There was a double in the throws for 43 year old Sarah Hewitt (Brighton & Hove) who is also a top Sussex high jump coach. Hewitt was not that far away from her personal bests when winning the Hammer with 34.77m and the Discus with 38.09m while Longhill School teacher Leanne Buxton took the shot putt with another eleven metre plus effort of 11.08m.
Many Sussex schools standards were achieved over the weekend but particularly meritorious were National Standard victories by Brighton & Hove’s Emily Robinson with a javelin throw of 40.27m and 39.82m in the discus event.
View the Full results HERE