Hercules Wimbledon AC round-up: Penney produces breakthrough display at BMC Grand Prix

Andrew Penney springboarded himself up the Hercules Wimbledon all-time 3,000m rankings thanks to a breakthrough performance at the British Milers Club Grand Prix in Birmingham on Saturday, writes George Mallett.

Penney ran an outstanding 8:01.99 to move fifth, slicing 12 seconds off his PB and finishing ninth in a national class field.

Penney is in esteemed company with the four athletes in front of him – Dave Clarke, Bob Holt, Frank Briscoe and Mike Beevor – all having represented Great Britain internationally.

His previous best has been under threat for a long time, going back all the way to 2018, but he destroyed it emphatically after being rewarded for going with some aggressive pace early on.

Penney’s time is ranked 39th in the country this year and adds to further PBs over 1,500m and 5,000m this summer.

Charlie Wyllie was a dominant winner of the men’s C 800m at the BMC Regional meet in Tooting last week. His winning time of 1.51.89 saw him break away from a high-class field, running 600m alone and out the front of the field.

Charlie Eastaugh enjoyed his best race of the year, running 3:49.55 to dip under 3:50 for the first time this year. It saw him finish fourth in the 1,500m B race, a few steps behind Andrew Penney, racing for the first time that week.

Personal bests were achieved across the rest of the racing with standouts including a 4:08.76 1,500m for Sam Todd. It earned him a fourth place finish in the E race.

Henry Silverstein improved his mark by three seconds to 4:04.19 thanks to a 10th-place finish in the D race.