ATHLETICS: Tim and Stephen miss out

STEPHEN Rees-Jones from Lewes and Lewes Tertiary s Tim Bayley failed to survive their heats at the A.A.A. championships at Birmingham.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Jul 2001, 18:31 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 22:52 BST

Stephen has been running so well this season and his form should have put him in line for a place in the final.

Unfortunately he was embroiled in a slow tactical race and got badly bustled in the final sprint and was squeezed back into 11th place in 3min. 54.52sec.

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This is ten seconds slower than he has run this season and his best time this year would have seen him win both the heats by a wide margin.

In the 400 metres Tim had drawn not only a tough heat but also an unfavourable lane, and, despite his nippy clocking of 48.32sec, this left him back in fifth place - just missing a place in the semi-finals.

Tim, however, has made tremendous progress this season and in his first experience at these National Senior championships it was a good opportunity for him to test himself against the best in the country and he should benefit from the experience.

Mari Longhurst from Ringmer was in her best form of the season when she raced for the Brighton & Hove club in the Southern Women s League match at Woking.

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Studies and a rather late start to the season means that Mari is gradually getting into her stride somewhat later than most.

After taking third place in the A 100 metres, into a head wind that slowed her time to 13.5sec, she turned her attention to the 200 metres and turned in her fastest clocking of the season so far, despite the wind. Running in the B race Mari proved a convincing winner in 27.3sec.

Racing in the combined Lewes/Hailsham team in the latest round of the Sussex Veterans League, Karen Bowler showed impressive form in the 1,500 metres, which is a considerably shorter distance than she tackles in road races.

Running in the Over 50 race, which was held in conjunction with the Over 35 competition, she finished second overall but won the Over 50 event in 5min. 28.1sec.

Competing in the same age group in the Men s event Barry Blackwell from Hailsham also clocked up an impressive victory winning by 30 metres in 4min. 45.2sec.

Published: 19.7.01 Sussex Newspapers Ltd

Related topics:AthleticsBirmingham