ELLINGTON EXPLODES INTO ACTION!

Trackspeed1 sprinter James Ellington cast a winter of discontent behind him at bedford on Sunday (May 31st), and produced the second fastest 200 metres of his life - on the opening day of his season!

Competing in the Bedford International Games, the 23-year-old who has been battling hamstring and sciatic nerve problems since January, finally proved that he is back to form - and boy how he showed it! His 21.06 second blast saw off all but gateshead's Richard Kilty, who recorded a lifetime's best of 20.80. (He is pictured in lane 4 in an earlier 100m race). With a negligible 0.1m/s tail wind it was a run that staggered coach John Powell.

"I knew James was getting back to his old self, and he's looked really impresive in training of late, but we didn't really think he had quite enough gas in the tank to produce a significant 200m yet," he said. "But this puts a completely different complexion on things. He could have a really great season and turn a few heads in the process now."

Ellington had earlier opened up his 2009 account with a fine 10.66s run over 100 metres despite a headwind of -2.9m/s which, if reversed, would have converted that performnce to a personal best inside 10.3.

It was a great opening meet also for Trackspeed1's number one 400m sprinter Set Osho. Another athlete who had been struggling with niggles for a fair bit of the winter produced one of his fastest 400's ever, recording 47.58s to win his race.

"Set executed his race perfectly," said Powell, "he went out hard, consolidated mid-race, and then had the strength to push on down the final straight. He's going to pb this year for sure, and I don't mind going on record to say so!"

As if this wasn't enough, 16-year-old Tom Bensted was in the same race, confronted with senior opposition for the first time ever, and was rewarded with a draw on the outside lane! Yet he still finished fifth with one of his fastest times - 49.43s - which puts him well over a second faster than this time last year!

The only slight disappointment of the day was Frederica Foster's 57.40s run in her 400m race, but being swamped with GCSE exams at present, it may be a couple of weeks before she rekindles the form that took her to 56.22 indoors in February.

U-RICA, FRED’S NUMBER ONE BRIT!

Frederica Foster, 16, tore round the Julie Rose Stadium, Ashford (Kent) on Sunday (24^th May) to strike gold in the Southern Championships, and roar to the top of the season’s under-17 women’s 300 metre rankings.

It was an outstanding run that was to be the highlight of a great weekend for Trackspeed1, where the student from Alleyn’s School, Dulwich, the same school as her coach John Powell attended  just over 30 years ago, shattered her previous lifetime best for the event.

Foster timed 39.41 seconds – the first time she had cracked the 40-second barrier – and claimed gold in a strong South of England final, which saw the fastest three times in the country this year recorded in the same race.  And her strong finish in an exciting final was the most important feature as far as her coach was concerned.

“The main aim is 400m,” said John Powell.  “Crazy rules in Kent prevented her from running the longer distance in the county championships as a junior, and almost certainly cost her a first international outing at Loughborough.  We now have to get Fred competing over 400m because there is no 300m event at any major championship. After this year, that event will be history for Fred.”

At the same meeting, 16-year-old Tom Bensted (pictured below in the all-black of Blackheath and Bromley Harriers) faced his first serious challenge of the season after a miserable winter of injury and interruptions to training, but the result could hardly have been predicted.

Hot favourite from Woodford, Paul Scanlon (far side of picture), failed to impact on the medals as Windsor’s Adam Hedcraft (right) came from nowhere to win in 48.84s, but Bensted was hot on his heels clocking one of his fastest times ever of 49.28s for silver.

“It was a great run by Tom,” said Powell, “because he actually went out at a reasonable pace.  He didn’t fade either – in fact he looked quite a strong finisher.  After a dreadful winter this was really encouraging.”

Bukola Woodburne-Dyer (below right) was the third Trackspeed1 athlete contesting the championships.  It was her first championship of any kind, and only her second proper club-level meet.  Her personal bests in both heat and semi-final, albeit slightly wind-assisted, were therefore a credit to the 13-year-old from Peckham.

Elsewhere, Savannah Echel-Thomson rediscovered the form that promised so much indoors before she suffered a severe bout of shin soreness.  ‘Savvy’ clocked a personal best-equalling 56.77s 400m in a Junior League meeting in Barnet, and went on to clock a lifetime best 200m of 25.17s.

In the annual inter-counties meeting at Bedford Trackspeed1 did not have its traditional representation mainly due to most athletes beginning their season a week later at the Bedford International Games, but Set Osho was due to line up in the 200m, with recent training form suggesting a personal best of some significance in the offering.  Watch this blog for an update!

POWELL FLU SCARE!!

A minor hiatus emerged from the closing stages of the Trackspeed1 pre-season training camp in Florida this week, as head coach, John Powell, revealed that he had been tested for Swine Flu!

Powell, who has suffered a winter full of flu and colds, contracted the symptoms on Tuesday, and decided to play safe and seek medical opinion.  "It was quite straight forward," said John, "the verdict was that only half the expression applied to me, and that certainly wasn't the flu part!"

Today (Wednesday) he was fit enough to train in the gym alongside his athletes, so hopefully the scare is now firmly behind him.  

"I'm on a bit of a fitness crusade here," he said, "and I'm just hoping I can adjust my routine to keep things going when I get home."

ELLINGTON REHAB'ING WELL

James Ellington (pictured) continued his fight back to fitness as the Trackspeed1 pre-season training camp in Florida headed toward its close this week.

As the photograph suggests, James is at long last apparently shaking off injuries that have blighted his recent career throughout 2007 and 2008.  The session at Disney's Wide World of Sports saw James back in blocks for the first time in months, with subsequent flat out runs looking equally as convincing.

It's been a productive trip for the 23-year-old European under-23 4x100m gold medalist in 2007, with the results of time trials (published earlier on this site) underlining his progression back to full fitness.  James is likely to be opening his competitive account at Bedford on May 31st, defending the title he won over 100m at the Bedford International Games.  Depending on further progress, he may also choose to contend the 200m at that meeting also.

Meanwhile, the latest update from across the Atlantic was that there could be a premature end to track work this week, as violent storms swept across Central Florida, with a forecast of more to come this week!

TS1 KICK OFF WITH A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER!

Trackspeed1 kicked off the new summer season in style with personal bests and championship records that now suggest there could be some very significant personal breakthroughs this year!

Competing in the various County Championship meetings around the south, the leading individual performance came from 16-year-old Frederica Foster (pictured), whose lifetime best of 40.2 seconds over 300m, also shattered the existing Kent Championships record, at Ashford.  She ran the same time in both heat and final, and ended runaway winner in both.

It was an especially remarkable performance, as she attends Alleyn's School in Dulwich, which had been closed all week due to an outbreak of swine flu.  She, along with all the other pupils at the school, had been forced to take a course of the tamiflu antedote all week, which does not come without some side effects.

Also at the same meeting was Trackspeed1 junior 400m athlete from Blackheath and Bromley Harriers, Alex Blair.  He put a solid winter's training to good use with a personal best on his first outing of the year, taking silver in 50.79s, which means he has now set lifetime best marks both indoors and out in the space of three months.

Phillip Doorgachurn has been working toward 200/400m training this last few months, but opted to put his basic speed to the test in the Surrey Championships at Kings Meadow.  He took fourth in the 100m in 10.87s, after finishing second in the 200m clocking 22.06s, marking one of his fastest openings to any season.  Four times Midland Champion Laura Langowski (pictured with medal alongside Phil) took silver in the Surrey 400m with a less satisfying performance born of a nasty virus she failed to shake off during the week.

Meanwhile, in the Sussex Championships, held at Crawley, Savannah Echel-Thomson was praying that problems with shin soreness of late would not prevent her from doing herself justice in the 200 and 400m.  It didn't, as she cruised to easy wins in the Junior Women's 400m clocking 57.0 seconds, and 25.3s in the 200m to claim double gold.

It was as if the lines of communication were open across the Atlantic, because the three athletes now nearing some sort of fitness in Florida also produced some alarmingly fast times in the squad's domestic time trials at Disney.

Set Osho put a ragged start to the trip well and truly behind him by abandoning the treatment table (pictured) as he stormed to the equivalent of a lifetime's best 46.8s over 400m - his  

second outing over the distance within 2  hours, amid 90-degree heat, while training partner Ryan Thomas also produced highly creditable 48.4 and 48.5 runs.

In the shorter events, and running solo, James Ellington produced a 15.8s 150m, 10.43s 100m, and 6.72 60m, the latter being described by leading USA sprints coach, Brooks Johnson, as "technically off the scale", and "virtual perfection".

Johnson, who is also the training consultant for Trackspeed1, was hugely impressed with Set Osho, describing him as "world class potential with just a few details to iron out technically".  

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell was delighted with all the results: "We have experienced an exceptionally tough winter with the weather really hindering training for the first time in many years.  We've had injuries that have not been short term, and it has been very frustrating at times.  But things certainly seem to be coming together now, and that is great."

All the TS1 performances at the counties will be updated in the next 24 hours on this website's rankings page.  The athletes in Florida return to the UK on Saturday May 16, and most will open their competitive account at the Bedford International Games on May 31st.

IMPORTANT! - URGENT STATEMENT FROM AMERICA

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell has issued a bleak warning to is squad, none of whom are now funded by any source of external income, that things are only going to get tougher from here on.

"I have been paying for three athletes to receive essential physiotherapy treatment this last four months in order to keep what are undoubtedly exceptionally talented individuals on the track. I have paid for two therapists to fly out to Florida to help with our annual pre-season camp there, and have personally supported another issue of squad kit from Adidas, albeit at very generously reduced rates.

"Whilst in Florida, I have also set up and paid for four two-hour sessions of top level treatment on athletes needing further rehabilitation. And then of course there is the additional insurance needed for under-25-year-old drivers in the States after a senior athlete had to drop out of the trip having at last found work.

"All this comes willingly out of my own pocket, but it can't continue. Lottery support for any of our athletes disappeared completely last year, and the squad are completely unfunded now. Several athletes are now working to support themselves, but this backfires when it comes to refining their training programmes pre-season, because they can't get time off to travel to pre-season training venues.

"I am very passionate about anyone I coach receiving absolutely as much support as is humanly possible, but I really fear now for the future. I've been coaching 33 years, and have seen what it takes to get the best out of athletes - young and experienced. We urgently need a sponsor or some external support, or Trackspeed1 will find itself back where it was in the late eighties, populated by simply young athletes."

TRACKSPEED1 UPDATE FROM THE FLORIDA SUN

The small group of Trackspeed1 athletes who travelled out to Florida for the squad’s annual pre-season training camp are progressing well, coach John Powell reports from the States.

 

European U23 Gold medallist, James Ellington (pictured right), whose hamstring condition had drilled a huge hole in his winter training programme, has rehabilitated well and is almost back to normal running now.

 

“James has progressed as well as could possibly be expected,” said John, “and he is looking a really class act now.  He has stayed fit and strong in the gym even though he was able only to return to the track a couple of weeks ago, and it shows.  He’s back in spikes now, and should be using blocks before we go home.”

 

Ryan Thomas’s training regime hadn’t exactly shone back in the UK due to a number of reasons, but he is now progressing well through a fairly gruelling 400m programme that should see him fit to race by late May.  Ryan is pictured during a 300m rep' session at the Disney track.  The news is not quite so good for the other two athletes in the party though.

 

Former European Junior Gold medallist Set Osho has been struggling to manage a back problem all winter, and this has prevented him from progressing to any significant speed work in Florida.  He has received treatment from Trackspeed1 partners at the Clermont National Training Center, and is also now receiving therapy from the squad’s two therapists who flew out to join the group on Wednesday 29th, Lucy Eggleton and Stuart Phazey.

 

“Set (pictured below) had some flawed lifting techniques in the gym,” said John, “ which we thought had been eliminated.  But there are a number of issues technically that are placing a huge strain on a 6ft 4” frame, and which should have been eliminated or corrected years ago.  He is understandably frustrated, but progress is being made, and I’m sure he will recover to compete well by the later stages of the summer.”

 

Jason Hussain who, after the worst 12 months imaginable, could be excused for not being quite up to the mark, but landed in the US in pretty good shape, albeit with a couple of weeks’ rehab’ left to complete on a hamstring strain.  Tragically, this was overshadowed by an Achilles tendon injury four days into training, which will now mean his season will be on ice at least until that has recovered.

 

“Jason has taken this latest blow remarkably well,” said John, “and we all feel for him, but this was always a risk as an aftermath of chemotherapy.  The body simply cannot just go straight back to normal after being battered with highly toxic drugs over a period of weeks.  One of the biggest frustrations is the incredible lack of apparent expertise around the effects of chemo' on a sportsman's body.  I have enquired with contacts in the States and Australia as well as the UK, and there seems to be no reliable source that can guide you on the subject.”

 

Stuart and Lucy flew out to Orlando the day after their final exams at the University of Middlesex where they will graduate later this year with a degree in Sports Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention.  Both have experience of working at major track and field championships before, and were a welcome addition to the party, who were beginning to feel the strain of what is an intense training programme pre-season.

 

“We are very luck having Stuart and Lucy,” said John, “because they come free with only a contribution toward their flight costs, and a room in our rented house.  Having world class expertise at Clermont is also a massive bonus – Leah Dearman, one of the managers at the center, knows most of our athletes of old, and delivers an exceptionally good quality service every time we have to go and see her.”   Stuart and Lucy are pictured treating Jason Hussain at the Disney track.

 

Trackspeed1 will, for the first time in a few years, not be featured at the University of Florida track meet on May 10.  In the past this has provided the platform on which athletes can test their early season form out, but this year John Powell is not willing to risk competitive pressure on his athletes too soon.

Pictured below:  John Powell and James Ellington compare notes in between rep's in a training session at Disney, while later on it's chill-out time for the four after a hard day's training!