Southern Bronze for Simon

by Max Simon

Olivia Simon and Hollie Martin-Whymark were the club’s only representatives at the South of England Age Group (u13/U15/U17) Championships held at Ashford this year.

Delayed by road closures and subsequent heavy traffic on Saturday 17th August , Martin-Whymark was unable to compete the U13 girls 200m and so just had the 100m to contest. Battling a hearty head wind she was able grab herself a slot in the semi final after her fourth place finish in heat three (14.49s -2.4), however the competition was just too strong on this occassion and her competition ended with an uncharacteristic eighth place in 14.70s (-3.3).

The U15 Hammer competition was the first event on a rather blustery Sunday morning. Having claimed victories at both the Essex County and East of England Championships earlier in the season, Olivia was keen to make her mark at this much bigger competition which would feature the UKs top two throwers in this age group and the largest cohort of contestants in any of the throwing events at the championships.

A shaky start to the competition saw Olivia throw well below her best but she managed to find enough to put herself through to the final eight in sixth position, bagging a further three opportunities to climb the score card and challenge for a medal. Her performance improved in the final and a fifth round throw of 39.23m elevated her to third position. She went all out in round 6 to try and deliver something even bigger but it wasn’t to be. An anxious wait followed whilst the others completed their throws, but she clung onto the bronze medal and another podium placing.