Inter Stn Final and the RAF Championships

Results

Sir Sefton Brancker and SEAX Trophy

On a glorious summer’s evening in North London a small but competitive RAF Men’s Track & Field Team did enough to ensure that the RAF retained the Sir Sefton Branker Trophy for a record 5th successive year. The Trophy, that was first awarded in 1931 in memory of Air Vice Marshal Sir Sefton Branker KCB AFC who was killed in the Beauvais Airship disaster in 1930, is competed for by the RAF, Civil Service and Middlesex AA. Points are awarded for a winter’s cross-country fixture and a summer’s track & field meeting with the winner being the team that gains the most points from the combined fixtures. After the Cross-Country event the airmen had a 26 point lead and despite a narrow 3 point defeat on the track the RAF had done enough to secure the trophy for a historic 5th term.

In an extremely close fought fixture the RAF got off to the ideal start with a one-two in the 400m Hurdles, where SAC Mike Wright (Cottesmore) and SAC Daz Robinson (Northwood) dominated the field to record 57.6 sec and 57.8 sec respectively. Another individual to dominate was SAC Stu Benson (Waddington) who won the 100m in 11.2 sec, the 200m in 22.6 sec, the Long Jump with a leap of 6.57m and the Triple Jump with 13.58m, before bringing the 4x100m relay home in first place. Benson was ably supported by SAC Tony Higbee (Odiham) who won the 110m Hurdles in a time of 15.4 sec and the Shot Putt with a throw of 12.35m. In the field CT Frank Chapman (Odiham) was also collecting points with 2nd place in the Triple Jump, 3rd in the Shot Putt and 4th in the Pole Vault with a season’s best height of 3.80m, where he narrowly lost to veteran Sgt Rob Kingman (Brize Norton) who cleared 4.00m to take 3rd in a high quality competition. Back on the track the RAF’s middle distance athletes were also making significant contributions to the victory; Sgt Steve Neill (Northwood) came out of retirement to take a respectable 3rd place in the 800m in a time of 2:01.4 sec, narrowly beating Cpl Dave Lemon (Cosford) by a tenth of a second. In the 1500m SAC Willie Duncan’s (Marham) front running tactics seemed to have paid off before he was out-sprinted for first place, however he still recorded a PB, stopping the clock at 4: 04.1 sec. In the steeplechase Cpl Ronnie McWilliam (Waddington), recently returned from OOA, recorded 6:30.5 sec and the ever young pair of Flt Lt Simon Bell (Brampton) and WO Bob Payne (Brunssum) ran times of 9:26.4 and 10:09.0 in the 3,000m. Other noticeable performances came from: Plt Off Rob Barker-Davies’ (EMUS) 16.2 sec in the High Hurdles and the RAF debut of SAC Russ Muhl (Waddington) in the Javelin.

In the Ladies competition for the Seax Trophy the RAF girls fell to a heavy defeat, but special mention should go to debutant SAC Sian Galvin (Waddington) who demonstrated what a bright future lies ahead of her with impressive runs in the 100m and 200m, where she recorded 13.6 sec and 27.8 sec. Galvin was supported by Flt Lt Jacqi Smith (Odiham) who recorded 14.3 sec in the 100m and 18.7 sec in the 100m Hurdles, before injury curtailed her evening. JT Renee Whitehouse (Cheltenham) jumped 4.45m in the Long Jump and Flt Lt Job(e) Roe lost out in a tactical 3,000m race, before coming home in 2nd place in a time of 11:54.0 sec.

Mens Results

Womens Results

Presidents Cup

Results

CC Air HQ Championships - Cosford

In perfect conditions the 2nd CC Air HQ Ramstein Athletics Championship took place at DCAE Cosford earlier this month. This annual Track & Field competition between the best athletes in the Dutch, German, Belgium, US and UK Air Forces once again provided a feast of quality and hard fought athletics. The day started in the field where RAF Javelin Champion Flt Lt Tom Dobbing (HQ PTC) had a nail biting encounter with his close German rival, Steph Seeck, with the lead changing regularly from round to round. Unfortunately, for Dobbing his best throw of 61.92m was bettered in the last round by Seeck who launched his Javelin to 63.20m.

Meanwhile the track programme started with the 400m Hurdles, where the RAF’s SAC Mike Wright (Cottesmore) ran the race of his life to shatter his personal best with a time of 55.4 sec to take 2nd place. Not to be outshone SAC Sam Taylor (Corsham) ran an excellent tactical race to take 2nd place in a strong 800m field recording a time of 1:56.83 sec. RAF debutant Cpl Si Clark (Lyneham) had a particularly daunting test ahead of him in the 400m, where both USAF runners were flown in from the USA to compete. Undeterred, Clark ran a brave and gutsy race to take 3rd place and break the magical 50 sec barrier in a time of 49.75 sec. His example was followed in the 100m where SAC Tony Higbee (Odiham) and SAC Stu Benson (Waddington) showed good early season form to record 10.96 sec and 11.00 sec respectively.

In the Ladies event, one of the RAF’s finds of the season, AC Caroline Hussey (Cosford), ran an impressive race to record 13.36 sec to take 6th place in a field of 14 runners; as did Cpl Hannah Bailey (Cosford) and Flt Jackie Smith (Odiham) who both broke 14 secs. Back in the field the RAF were starting to dominate the sand junps, where SAC Benson in his second event of the day, kept the expectant crowd on tender hooks when he fouled his first 5 attempts in the Long Jump. Clearly enjoying the pressure, Benson leapt to 7.03m on his final attempt to win an enthralling competition at the death. Taking Benson’s lead Fg Off Nav Childs (Portreath) took the Triple Jump title, but to the relief of all, did not leave it to the last round; his distance of 13.73m was enough to take victory by 5cm. JT Renee Whitehouse and SAC Julie Hammond (Northolt) were also in fine form and took 3rd and 4th places respectively in the Ladies Long Jump behind the Americans. In the Men’s 5,000m SAC Martin Whitehouse (Waddington) dominated from gun to tape and destroyed a strong field to romp home in a time of 14:53.47 sec. Whitehouse was ably support by Fg Off Tom Bailey, who ran one of his best races to take 4th in 15:31.42.

Other impressive performances were recorded by SAC M Plowman (Benson) who threw 43.77m in the Javelin, 37.21m in the Discuss and jumped 1.85m in the High Jump, SAC Dan Lewis (Brize Norton) who ran 4:05.61 in the 1500m, Cpl Jodie Digby (Halton) who recorded 5:11.52 in the Ladies 1500m and Cpl Tom Fuller who making his RAF 3,000m Steeplechase debut narrowly failed to break the 10 min barrier with a time of 10:01.90.

Results

Combined Services Match - Loughborough

It was the Army’s turn and the added responsibility in 2006 of organising the Combined Services annual athletic fixture against Loughborough and Brunel universities and so, on a very cool and wet evening the Combined Services team, consisting of athletes from across the 3 services, gathered for what is, traditionally, a high calibre evening of athletics. This was, unfortunately not the case this year as the evening was dampened by the weather and also by the fact Arsenal were playing in the Champions league final that night. The Combined Service team, this year was managed by the Army team Manager, Major Martin Annis and assisted greatly by Sqn Leader Charlie Petersen from the RAF and Warrant Officer Paul Winton from the Royal Navy. All three of us, after careful deliberation, sat down in the changing room of one of the oldest pavilions in the UK and put together what was considered to be on the night the best team out of the 3 services.

Prior to the evening events a great deal of communication between the team managers and athletes took place. Many committed themselves, and then had to pull out due to injury or work commitments. The team changed weekly and even up to the start of the competitions names were being added or taken away.

We have come to expect some outstanding results and this night was no exception from both the universities and Combined Services team members. The intention was to try and fill every event with someone and although this happened in most events, so securing us many valuable points, it did cause some concern to many of the runners who found themselves competing in events that they were unused to.

In the first of the men’s track events, Pte Eddy Amponsah ran the 400m Hurdles in a time of 65.15secs. This result was good considering this was his first race at the 400H for over 2 years. Although he did not win, he did gain a reasonable time and 3 valuable points for the team. In the 800m Andy Wilsmore ran a personal best of 1.59.17 Sec, just creeping under the 2 minute mark.The100m was the next event to get underway and with the Army’s Commonwealth international sprinters on the line, the team was hoping for a good result. A victory was not to be. However, with Josephus Thomas and Sead Duha coming in 2 and 3 respectively, this was seen as a mini victory. Not long after the 100m we saw the Olympic Bronze medallist in action and this time we did see a victory with Musa Audu winning in a time of 48.37secs in wet and windy conditions. Pte Hillory Nanton, a new comer to Combined Services, came 4th in a time of 50.24secs.
Times in the men’s high Hurdles times were not expected to be good as the rain started to come down and the light was fading. The race got off to a good start with a very competitive field all chasing similar times. Both Lee Okorafo and Tony Higbee achieved excellent times of 14.88secs and 14.96secs. For these conditions this result was outstanding. The track saw another sprint victory with Josephus Thomas winning the 200m in 22.32secs and Nav Childs coming in 5th with a time of 23.68 Secs. Unfortunately, we had few runners in the middle and long distance events and so gave away some valuable points. Andy Wilsmore for the second time took to the track, ran the 1500m in 4.05.5 secs and in doing so came 3rd.

In the men’s field events the team had varying degrees of success. The high jump saw James Antony and Mark Plowman gain a respectable 1.75m and there were convincing wins in the long jump for Stuart Benson with 6.94m and Tony Higbee with a distance of 6.86m.The Triple Jump also saw convincing victories with Nav Childs achieving a jump of 13.99m and Heston Thomas managing a close second with13.50m. Frank Chapman managed 3.40m in the Pole vault and Chris Hughff and Andy Dawkins both managed to secure points in the discus. The Hammer event saw John Ozoawo gain 2nd place with a distance of 53.32m and Jamie Summers 3rd with a distance of 43.23m. Andy Dawkins also had a memorable victory in the men’s shot with a throw of 13.25m. Adam Davies came a close second with 13.23m and collected some valuable points. The final fields event was the Javelin and in wet and blustery conditions Chris Hughff gained a 4th place with 52.25m and Mark Wearing 7th with a distance of 49.64m.

In the women’s events the Combined Services team managed to field competitors in most events. However, it did mean many of the women having to do more events than they would have liked. In the 400m Hurdles Julia Cartwright and Juliet Holmes- Bailey competed in a very competitive event and managed very credible times of 72.12sec and 74.71 secs. The 800m saw the Royal Navy Women with Linda Lawrence and Linda Lucocq achieve times of 2.29.96secs and 2.26.13 secs. This placed them 5th and 6th in a very competitive field. Jackie Davis and Natalie Flaherty both ran good times of 13.3secs and 13.44secs to secure 4th and 6th Place. There were also good results in the 200m with both Sophie Charles- Doxon and Julie Cartwight gaining valuable points. The 1500m again saw the RN Duo of Linda Lawrence and Linda Lucucq run against a full and competitive field from Loughborough and Brunel. . In the Field events Natalie Flaherty won the High Jump with 1.60 m and also the Long Jump with a distance of 5.5 m. Lee Hubbard achieved a distance of 5.04 in the Long Jump to gain 3rd place. In the triple jump Sophie Charles-Doxon achieved a 2nd place with a jump of 10.78m and Jackie Davies achieved 4th with 9.96m. The Shot saw the interservice heptathlete Natalie Flaherty gain 3rd place with 8.61m and Jackie Davis 4th with 8.32m.

After a very long and wet evening of athletics the competition closed with the relays. In the men’s 4x100m Relay the Combined Service team were victorious with a winning time of 42.47Secs. In the 4x400m relay the team only managed 3rd with a time of 3.22.83secs. The women’s 4x100m saw them come second with a time of 52.82 secs. However, in the 4x400m they only managed 3rd with a time of 4.17.67 Secs.

The final result of the evening showed the Combined Services men’s team winning with 152 points. Second came Loughborough with 131points and Brunel third with 87 points. In the women’s event Loughborough were victorious with 135 points, Brunel were second with 80 points and close behind them the Combined Services with 78 points. Overall the competition was considered to be a worthwhile event for both the men’s and women’s teams and a competition that we would be wiling to participate in next year. In total 9 men and 5 women were awarded their Combined Services colours. Unfortunately, due to run down stocks, there were insufficient numbers of vests and shorts to be given out to all the team. It is recommended that action should be taken by the Secretary Combined Services Sports Board to purchase sufficient clothing for both the men’s and women’s team in preparation for next season.

Finally, as a result of a great deal of effort made by all 3 service managers in getting the athletes to turn up and compete, it was very gratifying in the end to see both teams perform so well and for once gain victory over the elite university teams.

Results

First Round of the Interstation Competition

Results

Athletes Get Off to a Flyer – Cosford Invitational Match

The RAF Track & Field Team got the 2006 Outdoor Season off to a flying start last Weekend at DCAE Cosford when both the Men’s and Ladies Teams performed above expectation to record impressive results against strong opposition. In addition to the Police and Shropshire AA, Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham and Cardiff Universities lined up to take on a buoyant RAF Team, rejuvenated by their recent warm weather training camp in South Africa. By the end of the day the Airmen had completed a resounding victory and the ladies in light blue had taken 3rd place.

In chilly conditions the RAF got off to a flying start when SAC Tony Higbee (Odiham), the current Inter-Service Decathlon Champion, leapt to victory in the Long Jump with a jump of 6.86m. He was ably supported by SAC Stu Benson (Waddington) who took 3rd place with 6.60m. Higbee then went on to record victory in the 110m Hurdles in a time of 15.2 sec and anchor the 4x100m team to 2nd place, as well as competing in the 100m, Shot Putt, High Jump and Discus. Not to be outdone, Benson stole the 100m in an impressive early season time of 11.2sec and took 3rd place in the Triple Jump and 4th in the 200m.

Working equally hard throughout the day was SAC Mark Ploughman (Benson), who in his first full season for the RAF, gained valuable points in the High Jump, 110m Hurdles, Discuss and Javelin. Supporting him was SAC Steve Frame (Odiham) who ran himself to exhaustion in the 400m Hurdles, 400m and Steeplechase, gaining critical points for the RAF. Another individual who performed to the highest standards was SAC Mike Wright (Cottesmore) who recorded personal best times in the 400m Hurdles where he took 3rd place in 57.0sec and the 400m in 53.3secs. At this stage of the day it was clear that the RAF was building a solid, but not insurmountable lead.

It was now up to the middle distance runners to play their part and this they did. Both SACs Matt Blunden (Waddington) and Martin Whitehouse(Waddington) sacrificed their chosen stronger events to double-up in the 800m and 1500m and in so doing gained valuable team points and good early season tests of speed. Blunden recorded 4:04.6sec in the 1500m and 2:02.9sec in the 800m, whilst Whitehouse took 2nd and 3rd places in the ‘B’ 1500m and 800m races respectively. In the 3,000m Fg Off Tom Bailey (Henlow) took 4th place in 9:09.6sec. Meanwhile, in the field Fg Off Nav Childs (Portreath) was displaying outstanding early season form by landing at 13.77m in the Triple Jump to take 2nd place. Other notable performances included: Childs’ 3rd place in the 200m in 23.7sec and CT Frank Chapman’s (Odiham) clearance of 3.30m in the Pole Vault.

In the Ladies event the RAF team narrowly lost out on second place, but still recorded their best result in recent memory. This was due to the increase in the size of the team and the recent finds of a number of talented athletes including AC Caroline Hussey (Cosford) who took 3rd place in the 400m in a time of 63.3sec and 4th in the Long Jump with a distance of 4.48m. She was supported by AC Laura McGann (Cosford) in the Triple Jump where she leapt 10.72m, but most impressively in the Javelin, where she recorded the only ladies first place of the day with a throw of 35.93m.

Results

RAF Indoor Invitational Match

Results