LAST weekend was County Championship weekend across the country. Harlow AC had competitors out in both Hertfordshire and Essex events.

Isla Garrett walked away from the Hertfordshire Championships with bronze in the 800m. Her time of 2.39.3min represented a huge reduction in her PB.

Samson Brichieri-Colombi had a much better day out on this occasion. In his last meeting, an event was cancelled due to an unsafe cage. His best throw in the Discus, 27.65m, was a great improvement on his previous mark and was good enough to secure him silver. Buoyed by this success, he went on to throw 38.55m in the Javelin to secure his second silver on the day.

Meanwhile in Essex, there was good representation for Harlow over the two days. Sadly, due to technical issues precise official times and distances are still not available. Nevertheless, there were some significant Day One results:

James Malyon was third on track but won the U17 Steeplechase; Holly Austin and Kitty Tyson both progressed through the rounds to reach the 100m U13 final. Holly finished sixth and Kitty eighth.

Tyson then competed in the 70m Hurdles final and was fifth. This bodes well for next year as she is still a first year at the age group.

Day Two saw Holly return for 200m action, and she produced two fine runs to set and then break her PB, picking up sixth place in the final. Her PB now stands at 29.34s and Gift Mutale, making her competitive debut, was sixth in her U15 200m heat in a time of 28.26s.

There were field competitors also with Ellie Marklew throwing U17 Javelin and Rihanna Drew throwing discus in a major competition for the first time. Marklew’s throw of 27.85m was a season’s best and secured her fourth place. Drew threw 18.37 and was fifth. This was an encouraging performance, as a first year U17 and competing against Maegan Hopkins, reigning British Champion and already a seasoned international.

Performance of the weekend, not just from Harlow but from any athlete, must surely have been George Watkins. He ran a blistering 4.39.61 mins to blow the field apart. He narrowly missed out on the championship record and is now ranked fourth in the country for the distance.