DAVID BLASTS TO ALL-TIME NUMBER TWO!

Trackspeed1 teenage sprints ace, David Bolarinwa, switched into overdrive last Sunday and notched the equal second fastest time over 60 metres by a 16 year-old in the UK - ever!l


Competing in a low key Sutton open meeting at the Greenwich Leisure arena in Surrey, the Cambridge Harrier from Thamesmead clocked 6.84 seconds to put down the fourth fastest time of the meeting.


Bolarinwa had begun the competition in the first round with a modest 7.08 second run, which prompted coach John Powell to deliver a few stern words of motivation for the second run - and they obviously worked!


David won both races, beating senior counterparts in the latter, and posting the fourth fastest time of the entire meeting.  It will be a performance which will be a small but nevertheless significant contribution toward his staking his claim for a place in the team competing in Moscow in May.  These are the trials for the World Youth Olympics, being held in Singapore in the summer.


"David is keen to be part of the Moscow event," said John Powell, "but he is a year young and there is a long way to go before we get there, He obviously has a great chance, but when you have a talent like David, it is easy to get carried away, and that is exactly what I do not intend to do."


David now remains unbeaten in eight races in what has been his first season running indoors, and he will be hoping to continue that into the London Indoor Games at Lee Valley Athletic Centre this weekend (30/31st).

"DB 7" - BOLARINWA PROVES HE'S MORE THAN NAME AND NUMBER!

David Bolarinwa steamrollered into the record books at the weekend with two golden sprints that has established him as one of the fastest teenagers ever in Britain.

The sixteen-year-old Trackspeed1 starlet proved that his initials - and competitor number (7) - at the South of England indoor Championships, stretched beyond a certain celebrity's exploits on a football field!

Gold medal number one! David (below) is all smiles after the 200m!

David clocked the three fastest times of the meeting over 200m, recording 23.02s in the heats of the 200m, 22.56 in the semi-finals, and 22.34 in the final remaining unbeaten on day one (Saturday).

In the 60m on Sunday however, he impressed right from the off. In the heat he clocked 7.10s, the semi-final still faster at 6.97s, and in winning the final, recorded the sixth fastest time by any 16-year-old Briton over the distance, 6.87s.

Arguably, David produced two of the leading performances of the weekend at the Lee Valley Athletic Centre, and the World Schools 100m silver medalist has certainly lined himslef up for the next couple of seasons as one of the most exciting teenage sprint talents around.

His 60m time has coach John Powell convinced that he can improve by the time his protegee reaches the national indoor championships in Birmingham on February 27/28th. Already though, the Cambridge Harrier from Thamesmead has his performances rubbing shoulders with the likes of British Senior International Craig Pickering and others.

"David coped with what was, remarkably, his first ever indoor competition, very well indeed," said John Powell. "Coming to grips with the sharp bends and ramps that typify an indoor arena is not easy, but David adapted phenomenally well.

David leads the 200m final home at Lee Valley

"He is a very raw talent indeed, and has an awful lot to learn, but equally as importantly, I learned alot about David at the weekend, and there is alot we can now do to improve toward the summer season. It's exciting times for sure."

David competes again this Sunday at Sutton's indoor track over 60m, and then returns to Lee Valley the weekend after to contest the London Indoor Games when he will again double up over 60m and 200m.

Also competing at Lee Valley in the South of England event was Dwayne Grant in his first indoor contest for some time. He recorded a respectable 6.81s in the semi-final, although his main focus remains on events later in the year. Femi Olowade was also a semi-finalist in the 200m but failed to make the final after a nightmare draw in lane one made qualification a virtual impossibility having misjudged pace in the first round.

POWELL FURY AT 'SHAMBOLIC PALACE'

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell has slammed the capital's sports facilities as 'seriously sub-standard' and, in the case of his home venue, Crystal Palace, 'shambolic'.

His words came as the big freeze added insult to injury, consigning his squad of talented internationals to a single 60 metre straight in a squalid indoor facility in south east London.

What was formerly the shining star and spiritual home of track and field in the UK, Crystal Palace 'National Sports Centre' is left to languish under inches of snow.

"What is even worse," said Powell, "is that the indoor track has doors with hinges hanging off hence allowing pigeons to seek refuge from the cold. The soiling all over the track has to be seen to be believed. But I've been using the facility since 1975 and I can't recall the indoors ever being cleaned.

"The corrugated plastic windows have pulled away from the walls, so we freeze in there anyway, and if it rains, the roof leaks so badly the bottom half of the track floods. There are disgusting fluid stains all over the place, it's revolting."

As London prepares for the 2012 Olympics it might not be entirely unreasonable to expect some investment in legendary iconic venues such as the Palace, but Greenwich Leisure, the current tenants, don't see it that way, and actually shut the place down out of hours for two weeks over Christmas and the New Year.

"I couldn't believe it,"said Powell. "We all have to work during the day, so can't train 9-5. They actually closed for 2 weeks in the evening, although credit where it's due that they gave in to our complaints and extended the track hours on 3 nights, but I've already been told it'll be shut at the end of 2010 because of lack of use. Just when athletes are trying to prepare for the indoor season. The attitude to our sportsmen and women in this country really defies belief - and then we wonder why we can't compete on the world stage!

"I've seen how the other half live in the States, and it puts us to shame. The only decent facility we have n London is at Lee Valley and that's way too far to go for my group. Sutton's got a decent indoor straight, but it has almost no local public transport and is a nightmare to drive to unless you are local."

Powell, who has the experience of having coached US athletes in California, Massachusetts, Florida, and New York, met with Crystal Palace management recently but they were unrepentant, citing business priorities that come before cleaning the indoor track or, much less, sweeping snow off the stadium area.

"There needs to be some political will to reinvest in the Palace. If I were Mayor Boris Johnson, I would be intensely embarrassed," said Powell. "A little investment in the place, and a bit of a clean up, and I'm sure you would get alot more use and, with 2012 not so far away now, it would provide an outstanding training base for some visiting teams."

Meanwhile, Trackspeed1 got its indoor season off to a modest start at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Sunday (10th). Samuel Adeyemi shattered his previous indoor best over 400m with a semi-final 51.19s effort that only just evaded qualification for the final. He had timed 51.45s in the heat, slicing a healthy second off his then best performance on the boards.

Ellie Doel was also in action, but disappointed with a 61.12s run in her heats, and which was insufficient to progress to the final.

"Ellie would rightly be disappointed with that," said Powell, "because she has been training way faster and is worth two or three seconds better. She'll improve next time though. Sam did well - a very smooth runner who, when he gets stronger, could switch up a gear and turn a few heads in the next 12-18 months."

SNOW PROBLEM FOR TRACKSPEED1 IN 2010 !

Although the extreme weather may have interrupted Trackspeed1 operations briefly this week, the prospects for a seriously successful 2010 have far from receded, according to coach John Powell.

Training was suspended for the first time in 34 years today due to the elements, but Powell remained totally upbeat around how his squad were developing toward the 2010 indoor and outdoor seasons.

"We have some serious talent in the squad this year, and I really believe we are going to turn heads in 2010," said Powell, "although an increasing issue is being able to fund our activities. Warm weather training is key to our preparations for summer, but alot of athletes simply can't afford it, so we have to settle for second best.

Left: Trackspeed1's Jason Hussain will be one of the few attending the squad's pre-season training camp in Orlando.

"That said, we have Britain's number one 15-year-old from last year, some leading seniors including World Cup Gold medalist Dwayne Grant, along with World Trials bronze medalist last year Set Osho, not to mention various other huge potential talents who could make a really big impact this year.

"Some will have to stay at home pre-season because they can't afford the trip to the US, which of course is a tragedy, but we will be taking a select few out to our camp in Orlando."

Included in the party traveling to the US in April will be 2009 UK number ten 100m sprinter James Ellington. His stay last year shaped his season after a very frustrating winter that kept him away from the track for several weeks.

"James went over 10 weeks without track training last year, flew out to the US, and progressed to a lifetime's fastest 100m within 2 months," said Powell, "and that simply goes to show just how valuable the trip can be to athletes at that level.

"That said, we know that many athletes will not be able to afford the trip, and so we will be putting as robust a programme as possible together to work on back home in London, in order to give them the best chance of preparing well for 2010's outdoor season."

TRAINING SUSPENDED!

Trackspeed1 coach, John Powell, suspended training for the first time ever today, due to the extreme weather conditions enveloping the whole of the south east.

"Crystal Palace is on a very steep hill, never gets cleared of snow, and the whole scenario is so treacherous it would be ridiculous to expect athletes to struggle in," he said. "Even if they got there, freezing after dark would make a journey home perilously dangerous. Transport networks locally are virtually at a standstill anyway."

John's message to his athletes though this website is as follows:

"Training tomorrow (Thursday 7th) is cancelled. If you can access a local gym, do some tick- over work, then fine. If you are due to compete at Lee Valley on Sunday, I strongly advise you to check relevant websites to ensure it goes ahead. Please contact me for individual sessions meanwhile.

"At present training at Crystal Palace on Sunday morning for those not competing is still taking place. I will update via text or this website if that changes."