Well done to Jess Gibbon in securing a place in the GB Euro Cross-country team with her 5th place in a very physical Liverpool Cross Challenge race. Also running well were Holly Haldane coming in 6th U17, Lauren Church 8th in the short course, Nicola Lee 23rd U20 and Sophie Crumly 70th SW.
Reports and Photos from Recent Matches
Recent Photos <::> Recent Match Reports
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Recent Photos <::> Recent Match Reports 〰️
Click on the links below to see the photographs and any match reports from recent competitions.
Reading Athletic Club Recognises Outstanding 2022 Performances
As the outdoor track season closes, Reading Athletic Club held its annual awards ceremony at Palmer Park on Saturday 24 September 2022 with several other athletes nominated the list of winners and some photographs appearing below. Each Winner received a trophy for their award, a personal trophy and a certificate. All nominees received a medal and a certificate.
Well done to everyone who competed for the club during the past twelve months.
U13 Girls' Improver of the Year Katie Nicholson
U13 Girls' Athlete of the Year Mia Bradbury-Findeis
U13 Boys' Athlete of the Year Micah Hampden
U13 Boys' Improver of the Year Taryn Guthrie
U15 Boys' Improver of the Year Eddy Guta
U15 Girls' Athlete of the Year Molly Barnes
U15 Girls' Improver of the Year Patricia Armah
U15 Boys' Athlete of the Year Soham Das
U17 Men's Athlete of the Year Finley Hanham
U17 Men's Athlete of the Year Hal Rust D'Eye
U17 Ladies' Athlete of the Year Kaya Slater
U17 Men's Improver of the Year Kaylon Nneke
U17 Ladies' Improver of the Year Moriah Hurst
U20 Ladies' Improver of the Year Evie Warren
U20 Men's Improver of the Year Gregor Jones
U20 Ladies' Athlete of the Year Kayin Hurst
U20 Men's Athlete of the Year Sammy Ball
Veteran Athlete of the Year Kevin Cranmer
Junior Top Points Scorer of the Year Bisan Musa
Senior Points Scorer Kayin Hurst
Off-Track Athlete of the Year Jess Gibbon
Track Athlete of the Year Karen Burles
Sprinter of the Year Alex Mihalciuc
Field Athlete of the Year Michael Dzandu
Coach of the Year Keith Whyte
Volunteer of the Year Joe Frew
Official of the Year John Bayley
Performance of the Year U20 Men 4x400m team
Female Athlete of the Year Charlotte Payne
Male Athlete of the Year Joe Frew
World Silver Medal for Reading AC Athlete
A fantastic well done to Reading ACs Kevin Cranmer who won silver medal at the World Masters Championships in Tampere, Finland in the M40 age category last week.
Kevin, coached by Mike Dyer, surpassed his previous personal best performance by almost seven hundred points attaining a club record final score of 6,056 points. Going into the final event, the 1,500m Kevin knew it was close and there was every chance of being shunted off the podium by a competitor and so Kevin, known for his habit of always going off too fast in a 1,500m race and then paying the cost later in the race, deliberately set off at a moderate pace to carry him through the line and hopefully hold on to the silver medal position. With some encouragement from the spectating fans the plan paid off and Kevin attained the silver medal, his first world championship podium position.
Kevin’s performances in each discipline of the decathlon were:
100m: 12.54 secs
Long jump: 5.80m
Shot put: 9.76m
High jump: 1.71m
400m: 55.55 secs
110m hurdles: 18.61 secs
Discus: 25.73m
Pole vault: 3.60m
Javelin: 38.30m
1,500m: 4:59.65 mins
Charlotte Payne Hammers it to become British Champion
A big well done to Reading ACs Charlotte Payne who, in her first year as a senior athlete has become British champion with a club record setting 70.59m placing her in a fantastic third position on the UK all time list.
Leading throughout the competition, Charlotte took a six centimetre lead in the first round extending it a further two metres in the second round. With no throws in rounds three and four she extend her lead by a further metre in the fifth round and then by a whooping almost three metres in the sixth and final round to beat her closest competitor by 4.86m.
Well done Charlotte and coaching team.
National Decathlon Gold for Reading AC Athlete
Sammy Ball coached by Mike Dyer and Kevin Cranmer scored 7,361 points to win the 2022 England Athletics U20 Men’s Decathlon held at Bedford on 28 and 29 May. Sammy’s result surpasses the qualification standard for the U20 World Championships being held in Colombia in August and hopefully will secure his selection for the squad..
Scoring six personal bests over the two days and also securing the U20 Club Record it was a great weekend for Sammy. Along the way he ran his first ever sub eleven second 100m in 10.96 secs. He also broke the 4.00m barrier in pole vault finishing with 4.10m. With personal bests also in 110m hurdles (14.62 secs), discus (43.12m), javelin (44.23m) and shot put (15.10m).
Other Reading AC athletes competing at Bedford were U20 Men Joe Frew who scored 5,536 points, finishing in 13th position and attaining a personal best in the discus (28.27m) and close to his personal best in may of the other events.
Hollie Cranmer competed in the U20 Women’s heptathlon scoring 2,679 points and attaining personal bests in 200m (30.24 secs), high jump (1.38m) and shot put (6.55).
Kevin Cranmer, a M40 veteran athlete, competed in the senior men’s decathlon with senior men’s weights and measures scoring 4,850 points. In great form Kevin was 1/100th short of a 100m personal best with a 12.65 sprint into a head wind. Kevin then went on to record a 56.26 electronic timed best in the 400m.
Overall a great weekend of action in Bedford.
Club Awards 2022
Reading Athletic Club is pleased to announce the following athletes have been offered a 2022 bursary under the Derek Bradfield Bursary Award Scheme:
Reuben Anthony-Deyemo
Sammy Ball
Jess Gibbon
Finley Hanham
Dylan Harris
Reuben Henry-Daire
Hagen Mzee
Charlotte Payne
Emily Scriverner
Kirsty Walker
The club bursary is offered to athletes aged U17 and above who achieved a top ten ranking or national selection in the 2021-22 season.
Each athlete will be offered:
Free membership from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 to include their England Athletics registration fee.
No Palmer Park training fees from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Free coach travel when representing the Club at away matches.
A cash grant of £300 to help with travel, equipment, and other support such as physiotherapy.
£100 towards athletic footwear.
Entry fees to athletic events up to a maximum of £80 per year
Additionally, congratulations to the following athletes who have achieved a UKA Grade 1 in their discipline in the past year. These athletes have also been recognised with reduced training fees and the facility to reclaim expenses for national level championships:
Tomi Adejuwon
Charlotte Bigmore
Mia Bradbury-Findels
Lauren Church
Andy Crerer
Jonny Davies
Isaac Farnworth
Mia Greenidge-Knell
Annie Jonkers
Aaron Lamb
Bisan Musa
Hal Rust D'Eye
Kaya Slater
Lexie Thompson
Amelia Walsh
Michaela Whitton
National Gold Medal For Reading AC Athlete
Congratulations to Reading ACs Jess Gibbon who finishes strongly to win the national cross country title at Parliament Hill on 27 Feb 2022.
Jess’s victory made history for Reading AC being the first women’s victory in the club’s history over what is recognised as the toughest course in the country.
Well done to Jess.
Please see the link below to the event page where the match reports and photos are located.
15 January Hampshire League Match Reports and Photos Available
Match reports and photos from the Hampshire League Cross Country Meeting at Prospect Park are available by following the link below.
English U20 Record for Reading AC Athlete in Sheffield
A few Reading AC athletes have been in action at the England Athletics Senior and U20 combined events championships, and BMC track races, in Sheffield on 8 & 9 January 2022.
In his first year as an U20, Sammy Ball (Coach: Mike Dyer) managed to break the English indoor heptathlon record by 92 points scoring 5,602 points and placing him third on the UK all-time list. In a high-powered competition the winning athlete, Scotland’s Murray Fotheringham in his final year in the age group, attained the Scottish record and second place on the UK all-time list.
On the track Sammy improved his 60m PB to 7.07 secs and his 1,000m PB to 2.43.88. Meanwhile, on the field he set a 5cm PB in the high jump with a 2.00m leap and a 33cm PB in the pole vault (3.93m). In his first competition using the 6kg shot, he was the best combined eventer on display by a long way with 15.06m. In the other events Sammy’s performances were not far off his PBs in the long jump (7.01m) and 60m hurdles (8.32).
With twenty-three months left in the age group category Sammy should have ample time to attempt to attain the current UK record of 5,793 points.
Joe Frew was also in action in the U20 heptathlon finishing in 14th place (4,145 points). Joe had a consistent couple of days and was close to his best in the majority of events; 60m (7.35 secs), high jump (1.70m), long jump (5.99m), shot (8.46m), pole vault (3.13m), 60m hurdles (9.01 secs) and 1000m (2.53.62)
Kevin Cranmer was in action in the senior men’s heptathlon finishing in 17th place overall with 3,445 points. Kevin was just outside his PB in the 60m (8.11 secs) and the M40 athlete had a solid couple of days with performances in the long jump (5.14m), shot (9.98m), high jump (1.61m), 60m hurdles (9.86 secs), pole vault (3.23m) and 1000m (3.09.0).
Hollie Cranmer was taking part in her first U20 pentathlon competition where a PB in the shot (6.42m) and a 1 cm jump below her high jump best (1.37m) saw her record 1841 points to finish in 20th place overall.
In a mixed age group 1,500m BMC A final Lauren Church was 7th in 4.36.0 and in the B final race there was a win for Abi Hancock with a new PB (4.35.09) just ahead of Emma Howsham (4.35.13).
Well done athletes and coaches!
Sammy Ball’s YouTube Channel