By Rob Earl

As part of the ongoing development of the Harrriers throwers, coaches and officials, Harriers hosted the first of a series of four meetings at the Garrison on Sunday 23 August. These were carried out in line with England Athletics Covid-19 guidelines and the updated licensing process.

First and foremost, the competitions were led by Maxine Simon. Along with technical support from Denise Larkins and Darren Graham both of whom gained invaluable experience while officiating under the new Covid-19 guidelines, to supplement their ongoing officials qualification process.

On a sunny Sunday morning eleven of the maximum invited twelve athletes put in some high standard performances. Including Gareth Cook a current world masters champion; Oliver Graham the current UK U20 Hammer number three;Yash Bobash and Shirley Quinn from Chelmsford and Charlotte Graham from Ipswich.

Pride of place must go to Olivia Simon, who after working very hard during the lockdown on her physical development, and post this on her technical model, was able to exceed her previous Hammer best on three attempts, with a best of 42.62m. This places her 11^th in the UK. When opportunities arise in 2020 this distance will be exceeded! Not far behind this performance was her mentor Philippa Davenall. Now fully back into physical preparation, and making significant technical changes for 2021, Philippa threw an Impressive 51.28m with the a 5kilo Hammer. This is a full one kilo above the normal competition weight. A distance that would still rank her in the top four Under 23’s in the UK. She is currently sitting at number two.

Josephine Larkins was able to produce her second longest Hammer throw ever of 47.48m and is currently sitting in fourth place in the national under 20 rankings. This reflects her efforts during the lockdown period.

In the under 15 section Wyatt Larkins produced a new Hammer PB of 36.12. At thirteen and having to manage an ever-growing body, along with many new technical challenges, Wyatt will make significant gains over the coming Winter. All this without losing site of the long-term goals which underpin the nature of the event.

Competing for the first time in nearly a year with the full weight [7.26k] Hammer, Rob Earle produced five throws in excess of the UK age fifty-nine best, setting new figures of 47.46m. The previous best was 43.89m.

If current trends are used as guidance, it would appear that this style of event are going to be encouraged going forward.