Hercules Wimbledon AC round-up: Record-breaking five athletes from club competing in the British Championships and Olympic Games trials

BY TOM POLLAK

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club make history this weekend with five athletes – a record number for the club – competing in the British Championships and Tokyo Olympic Games trials in Manchester.

Heading the quintet will be the Miller sprinting brothers – Rechmial and Chad.

Rechmial, back in this country after wintering in Jamaica, competes in the 100m alongside his younger sibling, who will be hoping to bounce back from a disastrous weekend in the English U23 championships in Bedford.

Chad was disqualified in the 100m for the second successive meeting for a false start. He suffered the same fate in Manchester last month.

Southwark-based Dwayne Cowan, Britain’s third fastest 400m runner in both 2018 and 2019, has yet to run an individual race over the distance this summer although he did anchor the British team home in World Athletics Relays in Poland at the beginning of May. It will be his first individual 400m since competing in an international meeting in Poland in September 2019.

Ellen Weir, 17, is aiming at a place in next month’s European Junior Championships in Tallin, Estonia. She is among the 11 runners in the women’s 3,000. Charlie Eastaugh goes in the 1,500m.

The club’s runners got among the medals in the annual Surrey Schools Championships at Kingston. Marcus Gayle and Shawn Bell took silver in the intermediate and junior boys 100m respectively.

Kyra Stone and Missy Cooper took silver and bronze in the intermediate girls 100m. Lulu Weisz finished fourth in the intermediate girls 800m.

Supervet Malcolm Davies was top Hercules Wimbledon finisher in the Veteran Athletic Club’s June 5km road race in Battersea Park. He was fourth in a PB of 18 minutes 56 seconds. His wife, Helen, also an over-50 veteran, posted a PB of 21:01 to finish second in her category. Lisa Thomas was top woman over-55 finisher in 20:23 with Tom Cheetham sixth men’s over-50 in 20:39.

More than 20 Hercules Wimbledon athletes took part in the opening Southern Veterans League meeting at Kingston with over-40 veteran Richard McDowell gaining a runaway win in the 3,000m.

He crossed the line in 8:59.3 more than a minute clear of Epsom’s Marco Gazzelloni with his over-50 club-mate Justin Reid third in 10:18.8. Ann-Marie Seymour was top woman over-45 runner.

Hercules Wimbledon’s sprinters were in good form with Hamed Agboke taking the over-35 100m and 400m, Mark White won the over-55 100m and 400m and Emilie Bokor-Ingram took the women’s over-35 races over the same two distances.

Lisa Thomas was top over-55 finisher in the 100m and 800m and second in the 400m.

Tony O’Connor, returning after nearly 10 years absence from the sport, won the over-70 400m and long jump.

Peter Giles, who marked his 77th birthday three days later, won the over-75 800m.