On Saturday 29 July, two of Harriers youngest athletes made their Essex County debut at the Derek Crookes Southern Inter County U13 Match in Kingston.

Zion Ateba competed as the B string runner in the 70m hurdles and after a good start and a competent run was disappointed to finish 4^th in a time of 12.85s.  She then ran 1^st leg of the Essex girls relay team which came in 4^th.

Team mate Georgina Smith jumped into 7^th place in the girls Long Jump after her first attempt was a no jump; but showing strength of character, she continued and managed a leap of 4.32m. Smith also competed the 100m where she also finished in 7^th place in a time of 14.37s (her first electronic time over this distance).

On Sunday 30^th Daniel King, Rebecca Jeggo and Charlie Dobson, competed in the U.K. Inter Counties Union Athletics Championships combined with England Senior Athletics AAA Championships at the notoriously windy Bedford International Stadium. With selection for Manchester International and Commonwealth Games places still very much on athlete’s minds, Harriers’ first year U20’s knew they faced a daunting task as the very youngest to compete in this senior event.

Defending 3000m Walking champion Daniel King set off at a blistering pace in pursuit of a seventh national title, quickly establishing a sizeable lead over the rest of the field. Having passed 2000m in 8:01, disaster struck for King, when he was disqualified (for technical infringement) with 500m to go, leaving the way clear for up and coming junior Chris Snook (Hampshire) to claim a maiden title in 12:42.

Jeggo, who had entered as an independent, arrived at the track to discover she was in fact part of the Essex team and competed in the red vest in the 200m.  In blustery, cool conditions after a heart stopping moment when she thought she had false started, she held her nerve and ran well to finish in 4^th place in a time of 25.07s. Out of a field of 22 she ended the day ranked 11^th quickest.  Jeggo is due to compete for Essex again in September in Oxford.

Charlie Dobson took on a tightly fought contest in the men’s 200m where he progressed through from his heat in 3^rd place in a time of 21.51s just 50 minutes later to his semi where he produced another good run in a time of 21.45 s but was just edged out of a slot in the final and finished 9^th quickest on the day in a large field of thirty-five athletes.

Also, to compete at the weekend was U13 Olivia Simon who took part in the London Inter Club Challenge in Hendon as a guest.  With coaches and competitions in Pole Vault few and far between for this age group, Simon is now a seasoned traveller gaining valuable experience where she can.  In very wet and windy conditions she produced a respectable vault of 2.20m.  Disappointed with this result she then went on to achieve a massive PB in the 2.72kg Shot increasing her distance by over a meter to finish with a put of 8.66m. Her debut Javelin performance produced a throw of 17.09m.