SEAA U15/U20 INTER-COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIPS AT OXFORD - 7 SEPTEMBER 2019

This is one of the final meetings of the season for U15/U20 athletes, with nineteen counties competing and one athlete representing each county in each event.
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nWinchester had seven athletes selected to represent Hampshire.
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nThe weather /conditions were not good for competing - cold blustery wind with the occasional sun breaking through but the Winchester athletes stuck to the task and performed well considering the conditions.
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nU20s
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nMaddie Turner – 400m hurdles
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nThis was the second race of the day and with conditions cold and blustery it was more a tactical, well-judged race, with Maddie carrying out her race plan to a tee. Lying 3rd at hurdle 3, she closed the gap round the bottom bend on the leader and was level at hurdle 9. Showing her strength and determination over hurdle 10, she sprinted away to win by 3 tenths of a second in 64.3 seconds, beating the race favourite into second place. A true championship performance and a fitting end to a very successful season which is Maddie’s first year at 400m hurdles. She was also the first Winchester athlete in years invited to compete in the Senior British Championships in August.
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nDaniel Thomas - 110m hurdles
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nConditions were slightly better in the early afternoon, and in a close and competitive race, Dan gained 5th place in 15.25 seconds.
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nJess Gordon - High Jump
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nMultiple problems lay in wait for the athletes, not only jumping against the opposition but the headwind and the clock (where if you incur a time fault it counts as a jump).
nAll these problems were put aside and Jess won with a jump of 1.65m, the only athlete to clear this height. The wind was unfortunately a huge factor in Jess’ attempts to clear 1.70m.
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nU15s
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nDaniel Kimber - 80m hurdles
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nAnother good, steady performance saw Dan finish in 7th in 12.08 seconds.
nFinlay Wrey Brown - Hammer
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nFinlay threw a PB in the hammer with a distance of 28.75m, finishing in 10th place.
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nRuben Burrows - High Jump
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nPreviously Ruben earned his vest as a long jumper but is now going up in the world!! A close competition where 5 athletes all cleared 1.60m and then faulted at the next height, resulting in ‘count back’ being used to decide places. Ruben finished equal 8th on 1.60.
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nSam Mballa - Triple Jump
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nA first in many respects for Sam - first year in the U15 age group, first year in triple jump and first competition off the 9m board. Four jumps only and he beat his PB three times which was previously 9.75m and is now 10.03m. Sam finished a happy 10th.
nA vote a thanks to these athletes and their coaches who have put in the hard work and as a result were SELECTED to represent Hampshire against the other nineteen counties, and finally not to forget their parents who have acted as taxi drivers to get them to the meetings.