Hercules Wimbledon AC round-up: Cornish the cream of the crop at Dorking 10-mile road race

BY TOM POLLAK

Johnny Cornish beat a 300-strong field to win the Dorking open 10 miles road race in Surrey on Sunday in a PB of 51:13.

It improved on 51:33, set in the Great South Run in Portsmouth in October 2019.

Competing in the race for the first time, the Surrey schoolteacher finished 49 seconds ahead of Tom Aldridge of London Heathside. Cornish’s club-mate David Grima was 10th and first veteran over-40 in 57:44, his fastest time for the distance since posting a PB of 57:18 in 2015. His younger brother Alex was 73rd.

Fred Slemeck posted a PB 10,000m time of 32:16:61 in the Fast Friday meeting at Walthamstow – improving on 32:16.61, set at Parliament Hill Fields in May 2018.

Four Hercules Wimbledon athletes found it hard going at the English Schools Championships in Manchester.

In only her second competition since breaking her ankle in June last year, Putney High school pupil Mabel-Rose Scales, was sixth of the 16 competitors in the junior girls high jump. She cleared 1.56m, below her PB-equalling 1.60m achieved at the London Schools Championships at Battersea Park last month.

“It was respectable but she was frustrated she didn’t jump as well as she could,” said dad John. “But it was a good learning experience.”

Her club-mate Freddie Arkell, also representing London, failed to find his best form as he finished fifth in the intermediate boys 200m in 22.43. He qualified for the final by finishing second in his heat in 22.83.

Ellen Weir finished sixth in the senior girls 3,000m in 9:53.50 and Georgie Clarke trailed in 14th in the senior girls 1,500m in 4:53.6. This compared with their best times of 9:36.40 and 4:41.69 respectively for the distances this season.

Three days after winning the British Masters over-45 throws pentathlon championship in Oxford, Christer Hagberg again showed winning form in the opening Rosenheim League meeting of the season in Battersea Park.

He took the over-50 shot and javelin with efforts of 12m and 35.84m respectively.

Hagberg took the British Masters throws pentathlon gold medal with 3608 points, 366 points more than the runner-up. On his way to his title win in five different disciplines, he putt the shot and threw the javelin further than he managed at Battersea Park – 12.31 and 37.96 metres, respectively.

Former Swedish international Hagberg also won the discus with a good throw of 38.57 metres and heavy-weight with 13.56 metres. He was also second in the hammer with 43.55 metres.

These were Hagberg’s first competitions for almost two years. He last competed at an open meeting at Tooting Bec in August 2019 where he won the discus and hammer with throws of 41.81m and 48.58m, respectively and was also second in the shot with 12.66m.

The 13 Hercules Wimbledon runners in action at the Rosenheim League meeting posted a total of 13 winners. All-rounders Mark Andrews (javelin) and Jenny Steinitz (400m hurdles, high jump and long jump) shared a total of four wins. Over-55 Lisa Thomas gained a hat-trick of wins in the 100m, 200m and 3,000m.

Justin Reid took the over-50 800m, Mark White the over-50 100m and 200m and Kevin Snelling the over-60 shot and javelin.