BLAIR CRACKS IT AT LAST

Alex Blair (pictured), the 18-year-old 400m athlete from Blackheath and Bromley who has largely been the silent relation in Trackspeed1 to date, put down a warning to his training colleagues with a huge personal best on Sunday (26th July).

His 50.3 second effort in the national Junior League fixture at Norman Park, Bromley, added his name to the long list of lifetime bests achieved in the squad this year, cracking his previous best mark by virtually half a second.

And the gods were obviously on his side as he flew round to a 50.2 split time in the 4 x 400m relay (first leg), confirming that it is almost certainly only a matter of time before he joins that fairly elite sub-50-second class of athlete.

It came in a period where Trackspeed1 were again demonstrating that there is life in their legs yet, despite the latter stages of the season frequently prompting tired limbs after all the major championships.

Set Osho turned his hand to the speedier 200m at a mid-week Rosenheim League fixture on July 22nd, and clocked a personal best 21.58s in winning the A-race hands down. And both Savannah Echel-Thomson (25.5) and Frederica Foster (25.1) were not far off their best times in their cinderella events of 200m.

Coach John Powell was in his increasingly usual upbeat frame of mind this yhear after these most recent performances:

"We've had, and are still having a good year this year, and I don't think there's anyone who hasn't really achieved. I've now had contact with four athletes looking to come into the group this winter and, and I'm only aware of two who will be leaving, so we're already looking at a stronger group as a whole for the next 12 months, which has to be in the mutual interest of everyone. And I'm delighted for Alex - he works hard in training, and another lifetime best mark this year is the least a this charming young man deserves."

Added to the above performances, 18-year-old Jack Miller (pictured below) flew out to Portugal with the Great Britain Catholic Schools squad for the World Catholic Schools games, and ended up fourth in the 100m clocking 10.42s despite a gale force headwind.

"Jack has been beset with injury all year and the mere fact that he gotm himself into shape to get to this competition is a compliment to a very determined young man," said John Powell.

TRACKSPEED1 HIT OVERDRIVE ON THE BIG WEEKEND

A sensational weekend for Trackspeed1 in two major cities was hailed by coach, John Powell, as one of the best in years for his squad. And it was rounded off perfectly by a medal in the World Championships Trials, in Birmingham, for 400m sprinter Set Osho.

Set, whose season had promised to end in tatters earlier in the year as old injuries failed to respond to therapy, has switched into overdrive after things at last began to click a few weeks ago. And in Birmingham on Sunday, he topped that with his first ever senior national championship medal, despite having to run the whole race blind from lane eight!

Former European Junior gold medalist Osho, a graduate from Brunel University a year ago, and who lives in Brighton, was in the form of his life, as he cruised to an easy second place in the heats in 47.88s, but then pulled out his fourth lifetime best mark of the year in the semi-final of 46.45s. He qualified for the final in third spot, and is pictured left in the closing stages as the front three cross the line clear of the rest.

The final was one of the last events on the track of the entire championships, and placed Set in the lane he loves to hate, which left him no sight of the opposition until the final throes of the home bend. Entering the straight in fourth, he had Leeds sprinter Richard Strachan, a member of the winning British relay in the recent European team contest in his sights, and never gave up. Out-dipping him at the line earned him a bronze medal, and an outside chance of a trip to the World Championships in Berlin next month as part of the 4 x 400m relay squad.

"Set has improved vastly this year," said John Powell, "and he has a lot more in the tank. Once we resolved his injury issues, he began to deliver just as I told him he would, and he simply can't stop getting better. There were some athletes not in Birmingham, but the relay selection is far from a done deal. If Set can get a lane in the Crystal Palace Grand Prix on July 24th, another personal best a bit closer to sub-46 seconds might just put him into the mix!"

Another Trackspeed1 athlete who will certainly be running at Crystal Palace is James Ellington, whose sixth place in the 100m final ahead of Olympic Gold medallist Mark Lewis-Francis, and Leevan Yearwood, who had chalked up an albeit windy 10.10s in the Bislet Games Golden League meeting a week earlier.

It was an outstanding day's work by Ellington (seen in action in Birmingham above, centre picture), who himself had put down a lifetime best 10.27s a fortnight earlier. A headwind in the Midlands eliminated any chance of that being repeated, but to reach the final of arguably the most hotly-contested and high profile event in the championships was little short of phenomenal.

"James got into the final out of grit, determination, not to mention talent," said John Powell afterwards, "and I am delighted for him. Notably he was the only athlete in that final who receives absolutely no support whatsoever from the governing body or national lottery. He is having to do things the hard way. But whatever your take on that, he cannot be denied a fantastic weekend's work off a winter that was way short of the mark. Next year he will be fitter, stronger and faster!"

Meanwhile, in Sheffield the English Schools Championships were taking place, and Trackspeed1 athletes again hit a rich vein of form. Savannah Echel-Thomson (pictured below left) shattered her lifetime best over 400m to slice almost a second off her previous best mark to record a 55.43s effort, earning bronze in the Senior Girls 400m final. Her result was a further boost to her coach while watching his seniors power through to finals in Birmingham, as he received the highly emotional call from an athlete who was busy engaging with cloud nine!

In the Intermediate Boys 400m Tom Bensted (16) was the fastest qualifier into the final, having run the fourth fastest time of his life in the semi's of 49.14, but a blanket finish saw him edged into a surprise third. It was to be a happier ending though, as he gained selection for the home international on July 18th anyway, representing England in Belfast.

"It was a close-run final apparently," said Powell, "and Tom knew he had gone out too slowly in the semi, so he tried to correct it in the final, but overcompensated. Only a tenth of a second separated all first three finishers, so it was an ok run, but it was great that he got the international for a second successive year - very few people achieve that."

In the Intermediate Girls 300m, Alleyn's School student Frederica Foster (16) from Beckenham, was expected to be among the medals, but unfortunately failed to deliver in the final and ended a disappointing fifth. It was a different story for training partner Laura Langowski, however, who produced a season's best performance in the B 400m final in Birmingham to take fourth place in a keenly contested event. The Midland Champion from Croydon said afterwards that she was pleased with her performance as it compared well with a number of top seniors who failed to deliver on the day.

Now the drama moves to Trackspeed1's home base - Crystal Palace. James Ellington has already been assured a lane in one of the 100m heats on July 24th when World Record holder and Olympic Champion Usain Bolt will feature. Set Osho should also be involved, and running on home ground where they train will undoubtedly be an advantage.

The opther resuolts from the weekend saw Ellington contesting the 200m on Sunday, but that did prove one step too far as he ran out of gas, and failed to qualify for the final. Training partner Jason Hussain continued his remarkable comeback after his serious health issues in 2008, and recorded a season's best 22.16s in the same event, but also failed to progress.

Set Osho, though, was the one who was all smiles travellilng home down the M40 on Sunday night. Below he proudly displays the bronze medal he won in Birmingham (enlarged)

HUSSAIN COMEBACK IS RIGHT ON TRACK

Trackspeed1 sprinter Jason Hussain continued one of the most remarkable comebacks to track athletics on Saturday, as he helped his club, Belgrave Harriers, storm to a second successive victory in the British Athletics League Division one competition.

Hussain, who underwent chemotherapy treatment all last summer, and who has beeen beset with injuries throughout his fight to get back to fitness, took third place in the B 200m in 22.1 seconds, and then ran second leg of a sprint relay that saw Belgrave whitewash the opposition. It was only his third race of the season after he clocked a winning 22.25s at an open meeting in Watford three days earlier.

"It may not have been a headline-making performance," said coach John Powell of his charge's efforts at the Windsor fixture on Saturday (4th July), "but people have to realise where this guy has been to in the last twelve months and what his body has been subjected to.

"The fact that he is back to semi-national standard sprinting barely nine months after his body was devastated by chemotherapy drugs is little short of amazing. And that's without considering the recent six-week enforced layoff he had due to an Achilles problem. It's been an immensely frustratiung few months, but at least now we look as if we are on the real comeback trail"

Jason is pictured above taking the baton from clubmate and training partner Set Osho on the back straight at Windsor in the 4 x 100m relay.

Hussain continued what is becoming a very classsy season for Trackspeed1, many of whose athletes now head to Birmingham to compete in the World Championship Trials next weekend (10-12th July), or Sheffield for the English Schools Championships (10-11th July).

Also competing at Windsor was Trackspeed1's hugely improved 400m ace Set Osho. He led the A race home with another classy 47.6s run, although confessed that there was a fair bit he needed to learn from the race:

"I've been working on some technical stuff with John," he said, "and there were things in that race that were a bit messy that we need to look at. But it's all a learning curve and I've been in my best form ever this season, so it should be interesting at the trials next week."

Set is pictured right as he covers the final few yards to win the 400m at Windsor on Saturday.

James Ellington, whose lifetime best 100m seven days before had turned a few heads in the world of sprinting, cruised to a 10.6s A-string second place after a nightmare start. But then he produced an awe-inspiring relay leg on third, cutting through the field like butter. It left John Powell salivating at the prospect of the trials in a week's time, and he could only describe his run as "totally world class" afterwards!

So the second weekend in July looks to be a fairly defining one for Trackspeed1. The World Championship trials will see Jason Hussain, James Ellington, Laura Langowski, and Set Osho in action, while at the English Schools, Savannah Echel-Thomson, Federica Foster and Tom Bensted will feature, with all three likely to be among or very near the medals.