HYLTON'S BREAKTHROUGH SEASON

Trackspeed1-UK sprinter Dean Hylton is enjoying his most successful season yet in his illustrious if a little turbulent track career.

Dean Hylton at Newham after he destroyed the opposition
to record a lifetime's fastest 21.29s over 200 metres.

Running at Newham Leisure Centre on Sunday he destroyed his lifetime's best 200 metres time with a 21.29 second run (wind speed +2.0m/s) that obliterated the opposition.. And that came after a thoroughly decent 10.60 100m sprint a couple of hours earlier.

Hylton, a former Jamaican Junior International, has struggled to find his form the last couple of seasons, and has suffered his fair share of injuries, but 2017 has seen the breakthrough he has threatened for so long, and he is confident there is more to come.

"I could have run faster in the 200m at Newham," he said, "but I haven't run any 200's this year and I'm a bit rusty.  The 100 has been better this year too though, so I am slowly getting it together."

Dean levelled with his fastest ever 100m a week ago with a 10.56 effort at Lee Valley, but already has one eye on next year, with clearance to apply for a British passport expected this Autumn.

Yet again this summer, Trackspeed1-UK athletes have been bus setting personal best times in the sprints, and most now have improved on their 2016 marks.  The newest name to the squad, Reon Wade, wasn't planning to run this year having done very little fitness work, but after impressing his coach in training he was persuaded to run at Newham.

He duly obliged with a lifetime's fastest 11.05 seconds over 100m, having had no blocks practice and precious little technical work.  It was a performance that underlined coach John Powell's aspirations for him in 2018.

"Reon is going to be a real talent if he puts the work in over winter," said John, "and I have every confidence he will turn a few heads next year over both 100 and 200 metres."

Meanwhile in Birmingham, David Bolarinwa was contesting the 100 metres at the British Championships, and ran well to reach the semi-finals.  He clocked 10.56s in the heats, and 10.50 in the semi's, finishing 6th in the latter in an extraordinary race containing ten athletes.

"David is work in progress," said John Powell.  "He proved his worth a few weeks ago with a windy 10.29s 100m at Lee Valley, and as long as he sticks with it, he can easily surpass the lifetime best wind legal 10.29 he set several years ago."

With no sponsor to prop the group up the squad's competitive agenda has been restricted to the UK and mostly London-based competitions, but that is not preventing a capable group of sprinters improve steadily through the summer.

One of the most spectacular improvements on 2016 is Brandon Murray, who has taken his 100m time down from 11.1 to 10.7 this season, although his hamstring strain in a race surely destined to beat even that mark at Lee Valley 10 days ago, will mean he has to wait a little longer before he has the chance to edge in to the 10.6's!