Trackspeed1 sprinter Chris Lambert, who dominated many of the athletics headlines earlier in the last decade, gains ninth spot n the all-time best UK 200m performances this week.
Lambert, an Olympian whose career arguably peaked in 2003 when he won gold in the Wolrd Student Championships, and double gold in the Europen under-23 Championships, still holds the event record for the latter event with his blistering 20.34s 200m effort in Poland that year.
"I remember the race as if it were yesterday," said coach John Powell. "Chris came off the bend in fifth, but simply switched on the after-burners in the straight. The Polish crowd were on their feet screaming, with local boy Jedrusinski in the lead.
"Chris out-dipped him on the line though, and the whole stadium fell silent as I screamed 'yes' - instantly regretting a sudden and unwanted focus of attention in my direction!"
Elsewhere in the hall of fame published in Athletics Weekly this week is under-17 sprinter david Bolarinwa, who streaks away at the top of the UK national rankings for both 100m and 200m. He sits at the head of the 100m lists with his world under-18 leading time of 10.39s - some four tenths of a second off the next best electronic and wind-legal performance.
In the 200m his best of 21.17s this year leads from second-ranked 21.77 - a huge margin, which establishes him as the sprints prospect coming through the ranks for future years.
Placed 11th in the U17 400m lists is 15-year-old Omari Carr-Miller, whose 49.60s lap took him to sixth in the national schools final, despite being amongst opponents over a year his elder. This was an especially impressive performance as he spent most of the winter laid up with a stress fracture in one shin. His rehabilitation was decribed by John Powell as one of the most frustrating possible for a keen teenager. "His resolve throughout was commendable", he said.
Elsewhere in the under-17 list can be found newcomers to Trackspeed1 this winter, including Edmond Amaning who sits in fifth spot over 200m with 21.94s (21.84 windy), and Tunde Judun who sits in 11th place in the 100m lists with a best of 10.92s (10.81 windy).
"There's a great job been done with these athletes to date," said John Powell, "and I only hope we can continue that with progress to new highs next year."
Lambert has since been dogged by injury after injury and has retired from the sport. Even his appearance in the Athens Olympics ended in tears when he pulled up with hamstring trouble. But with the other Trackspeed1 athletes, the future looks as bright as ever. Combine them with the likes of senior training partners Dwayne Grant and James Ellington to name but two, and one might reasonably expect a few more headlines in 2011 !
