European Gold and Silver Medals for Reading AC Athletes

The weekend saw some excellent performances by Reading AC athletes Jess Gibbon and Mia Waldman who competed at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Türkiye on 8 December 2024.

Mia, coached by Mark Booth, was competing for the first time in a Great Britain and Northern Ireland vest and had a strong start and she then maintained a gritty pace throught the race. She finished in sixth position in a time of 21 mins 38 secs, 22 seconds behind the champion, Herne Hill’s Phoebe Anderson. With the next Briton in 17th place, it meant the the British team also secured the team gold medal.

Jess finished the longer course race in 12th position and was the second Briton home in a time of 26 mins and 21 secs. With the British runners packing the top twenty, it meant a silver medal for the British team.

Well done to both athletes and their coaching teams.

Club Vests Donation Appeal

We are currently having some difficulties with our vest supplier and seeking some short-term help of donations from club members so we can restock our shelves.

We are particularly looking for vests of size 32 inches and below.

Please give to Dawn on the desk on Tuesdays or on other days to Sarah Ball, Charlotte Webb, Julie Rayfield or any club official.

We are currently working with a new supplier and will hopefully have some news on the new vest shortly.

Changes to Club Records Recording

The Club’s Council has decided to amend the way some club records are recorded.

The decision means that other than for senior records, athletes can only claim a club record for a performance in their own age category. This means, for example an U17 athlete achieving a club record in their own age category would not also get a record in the U20 category if their performance was better than the U20 record. The same would be true for a veteran athlete who’s performance surpassed a record in a lower age category.

The exception to this rule is senior club records. Any performance by an age group athlete that surpasses a senior record will continue to be recorded as senior record as well.

Notable performances by age group athletes that surpass the record of a higher age group (lower for veterans) will nowbe recorded in the ‘NotablePerformances’ section of the website.

Reading AC Athletes Recognised in Awards Ceremony

Reading ACs athletes were recognised at the annual awards ceremony held in early October 2024. This year’s winners were:

Noah Mazieres U13 Boys' Athlete of the Year
Keita Mbiine U13 Boys' Improver of the Year
Tanishi Banerjee U13 Girls' Athlete of the Year
Valentina Artuso Sartureli U13 Girls' Improver of the Year
Oscar Chan U15 Boys' Athlete of the Year
Josh Wiseman U15 Boys' Improver of the Year
Serena Deol U15 Girls' Athlete of the Year
Soreya Mills U15 Girls' Improver of the Year
Maddy Vietz U17 Ladies' Athlete of the Year
Sienna Keyte U17 Ladies' Improver of the Year
Soham Das U17 Men's Athlete of the Year
Rhys McCormac U17 Men's Improver of the Year
Zoe Rennie U20 Ladies' Athlete of the Year
Charlotte Bigmore U20 Ladies' Improver of the Year
Kahlon Nneke U20 Men's Athlete of the Year
Will Alexander U20 Men's Improver of the Year
Tony McCreery Veteran Athlete of the Year
Dawn Kinton Volunteer of the Year
Derrick Fisher Coach of the Year
Fabian Mazieres Official of the Year
Jaxon Kennedy Junior Top Points Scorer of the Year
Molly Barnes Senior Points Scorer
Dillon Donegan Perserverence Award
Tobi Ayorinde Sprinter of the Year
Georgina Langdon Track Athlete of the Year
Finley Hanham Field Athlete of the Year
Neil Walker Off-Track Athlete of the Year
Patricia Armah Female Athlete of the Year
Sammy Ball Male Athlete of the Year
Bisan Musa Performance of the Year

Award winners received a certificate and two trophies, one of which is returned at the end of next season.

Well done also to all athletes nominated for an award. Nominated athletes received a medal and a certificatethat noted the reason for their nomination.

Track Fees Increasing from 1 April 2024

From 1 April the track fees will increase to £3.00 per session.

Track fees for the PB Level 9 award winners will increase to £1.50.

Bursary award winners will continue to benefit from waived track fees.

We have not increased the track fees for several years and need to ensure the club’s finances are viable.

Any athlete living with hardship and wishing to explore options can, in confidence, approach the Membership Secretary to discuss the matter further.

Prospect Park U11 XC Results

Prospect Park - 13th January 2024    

Girls Race    

Position Number Athlete Club Time

1 81 Emily Walmsley AFD 10:24

2 75 Evie Jones AFD 10:36

3 92 Eloise Wouters WSEH 10:48

4 82 Lara Cawley Basingstoke 10:50

5 94 Lydia Jones Portsmouth 10:50

6 96 Emmeline Fowler Portsmouth 11:00

7 73 Olivia Johnson Isle of Wight 11:07

8 90 Niaomi Hurford-Potter Winchester 11:12

9 98 Jacee Outen Portsmouth 11:17

10 74 Emily Battershall Basingstoke 11:26

11 85 Daisy Renard Basingstoke 11:33

12 67 Alice Ling Southampton 11:34

13 70 Mia Penfold Basingstoke 12:18

14 97 Emily Weeks Portsmouth 12:28

15 91 Issy Goulding Winchester 12:43

16 79 Nevaeh-Rae Harrison Reading 12:47

17 93 Lucie Anne Harker Reading 12:56

18 71 Bea Hinshelwood Fleet 12:57

19 80 Natasha Turay Reading 13:03

20 88 Holly Martin Winchester 13:12

21 99 Abigail Howbrook Southampton 13:15

22 65 Yana Mykytiuk Salisbury 13:49

23 89 Isabella Hurford-Potter Winchester 14:02

24 72 Chloe Millar-Craig Salisbury 14:11

25 83 Tabitha Meadows Fleet 14:30

26 76 Freya Little Salisbury 14:33

27 68 Emma Sharples Fleet 15:29

28 84 Hettie Hoskins Salisbury 15:48

29 77 Amelie Jackson Salisbury 16:16

30 78 Josie Jackson Salisbury 18:54

31 86 Rosie Habert Salisbury 19:13

32 69 Sophia Hall Cookham 20:03

Prospect Park - 13th January 2024    

Boys Race    

Position Number Athlete Club Time

1 1 Wilf May Reading 9:18

2 87 Robin Ashley Winchester 9:42

3 15 Zachary French Southampton 9:46

4 46 Zac Webber AFD 9:49

5 2 Isaac Ryder Reading 9:56

6 29 Leo Elkington Salisbury 10:04

7 27 Ashley Williams AFD 10:09

8 45 George Hunt AFD 10:11

9 35 Archie McGimpsey Salisbury 10:13

10 7 Oliver Isaia Winchester 10:13

11 31 Edward Davies Bournemouth 10:16

12 51 Joshua Williams AFD 10:20

13 24 Humphrey Habert Salisbury 10:21

14 52 Albert Smalley Maidenhead 10:27

15 20 Duncan McLean Havant 10:28

16 40 Spencer Gibson AFD 10:35

17 23 Finn Smith Portsmouth 10:39

18 4 Lucas Robinson Reading 10:43

19 18 Alfonso Browning-Sanchez Portsmouth 10:44

20 49 Paul Lucas AFD 10:50

21 28 Sebastian Stott-Fernandez AFD 10:55

22 6 Finnlay Annetts WSEH 10:57

23 36 Theo Foster Isle of Wight 11:05

24 30 Alby Meadows Fleet 11:06

25 12 George Kennison Southampton 11:07

26 44 Owen Figg AFD 11:11

27 47 Max Ferguson Poole Runners 11:12

28 34 Stanley Stuart Salisbury 11:13

29 5 Bobby Jones Reading 11:15

30 17 Matthias McCrabbe Maidenhead 11:16

31 37 Dhanish Umeshnair Salisbury 11:17

32 48 Jasper Higgins Poole Runners 11:24

33 41 Noah Duddy Fleet 11:24

34 14 Barney Clark Southampton 11:24

35 50 Oliver Millar-Craig Salisbury 11:25

36 13 Joseph Holland Southampton 11:37

37 38 Akinniran Akinola Reading 11:40

38 32 William Powell Basingstoke 11:41

39 22 Max Haynes Basingstoke 11:49

40 26 Jude Blackwell-Gregory Basingstoke 11:55

41 39 Wilbur Henton Salisbury 12:19

42 16 Noah McCrabbe Maidenhead 12:25

43 8 Thomas Fraser Winchester 12:37

44 21 Othello Forbes Reading 12:48

45 25 Edward Taylor Fleet 13:16

46 42 George Sutcliffe Salisbury 14:25

47 43 Thomas Callett Stubington Green 14:43

Important announcement

We are aware that there has been much speculation and rumours as to why one of our coaches P H is not training athletes at the moment. Members of our Club have been approached by other clubs too.

We are sure you will appreciate that any discussion regarding this matter is confidential. It will be hugely disrespectful to share confidential issues relating to any of our members and that applies to PH also.

Thank you.

A Great Week of Throws Records

Several Reading AC club records were broken at a number of meetings over the past week.

GB women’s hammer thrower Charlotte Payne extended her club record in the senoir women’s hammer throw by 92 cm to 72.51m and possible world chanpionships selection at a National Athletics League meeting at Eton on 11 June. Charlotte went on to win the national U23 title at Chelmsford on 18 June with a throw of 71.16m.

Also at the national championships in Chemsford both the U20 men’s javelin throw and U20 men’s hammer throw records were beaten.

Hugo Domingos threw the javelin 60.85m to edge past the previous record, set in 1991, by 7cm

Harry Ricketts thre the hammer 65.65m beating the previous record, set in 1992, by 43cm.

Meanwhile at the Souther Vets meeting at Abingdon on 15 June, Tony McCreery beat his own hammer throw record by 85cm to reach 21.88m.

Well done to all athletes.

UK Record and World Lead for Reading AC U20 Decathlete

Reading ACs Sammy Ball, coached by Mike Dyer, Kev Cranmer, Rafer Joseph and Tom Dobbing set a new British record and 2023 world leading score in the U20 Decathlon in Manchester on the weekend of 27 & 28 May 2023. Setting three personal bests during the competition Sammy led from the start and it became clear before the final 1,500m event that Sammy had the British record (7,691 points set by David Guest in 2010) and the world leading score for 2023 (7,843 set by a German decathlete) firmly in his sights.

Sammy’s achievement means he has automatic selection for the U20 European Championships in Jerusalem, Israel in August.

Sammy’s overall score was 7,870 points and the breakdown of his individual performances were:

100m	10.86 secs
Long jump	7.02m
Shot put	15.77m	PB
High jump	2.03m	PB
400m	48.10 secs	PB
110m hurdles	14.50 secs
Discus	39.59m
Pole vault	4.40m
Javelin	46.17m
1,500m	4:27.99 mins

Sammy said, “I’ve been working hard over the winter to get my body balanced better and have spent the last few months improving my speed and the technical elements of the ten events. I was targetting getting the qualification standard of 7.250 points for the European championships and keeping injury free in the process.

“By the end of day one it was clear that the British record was achievable and by the time I’d finished the pole vault I sensed the world lead for the year of 7,843 points was in range but we were moved to the javelin so quickly I couldn’t do the calculations.

“By the time we got to the final event, 1,500m, we had worked out that I needed 4:32 minutes to get the world leading score and I knew this was posible. I set my own pace in the 1,500m and was very happy to see the clock at the end showing I had achieved the target by four seconds.

“Thank you to all my coaches, my sponsors EGK athletes foundation and SportsAid and also thank you to my physios Gordon at The Bosworth Clinic and Dan at GoPerform.

“I’m really proud to be able to go on and represent my country at the European U20 champs in August”

Below is a link to the video of his performance on Sammy’s YouTube channel

2023 Track and Field Fixtures Published

The 2023 track and field meetings have now been posted onto this website. Venues for some of the league and championship fixtures are still to be confirmed.

Navigating to the fixtures list when visiting this website is via the ‘Competition’ tab on the homepage. As well as a general ‘upcoming fixtures’ options, website users can also drill in further by selecting one of the other options such as ‘Leagues’ or ‘Cross Country and Road Running’ .