CHAKA'S ZERO ZERO HOUR!

Lifetime best performances continue to fall in abundance already this season for Trackspeed1-UK athletes, but the latest did not come without a hint of frustration for a hugely-improved Chaka Maillet.

Competing in a local open meeting in Norman Park, Bromley tonight (Monday 23rd) he lopped a healthy two tenths of a second off his fastest ever 100m, but clocking exactly 11.00 seconds was tantalisingly close to the elusive 10-point bracket hotly pursued by so many!

Chaka Maillet was in the form
of his life at Bromley tonight

"There are some significant barriers for a progressing sprinter," said coach John  Powell, "and eleven seconds is one.  A 10-point for Chaka will come for sure, but we all laughed out loud when the time was read out at Bromley, because for the sake of one hundredth of a second, Chaka has to wait until next time for his big breakthrough.  But let's not forget though, it was a great personal best anyway!"

Just 24 hours earlier training partners David Bolarinwa and Dean Hylton were in action at the Loughborough University International, and both posted hugely encouraging times.

Hylton set a season's fastest by three tenths of a second with a 10.72 second sprint, while Bolarinwa clocked 10.59 seconds.  The latter was slower than his opening 10.35 blast in the USA a few weeks earlier, but having been buried in final university exams ever since he flew back across the Atlantic, coach John Powell, as well as his athlete, was more than happy.

David went on to time 21.18s with a really positive 200m - his opening performance over the distance this season, and his fastest since 2013.

"There is far more to come from  David, we know that," said John Powell, "but he's got to finish his uni' course, then we can get back to business on the track."

It was an encouraging finale to a frustrating week for two other squad members, with Niclas Baker especially aggrieved after a twisted ankle sustained at home falling down the stairs prevented him from being able to accept a call-up to the England senior team for the Loughborough International clash.

It was yet another international born within the group, but on this occasion, it will be at least a few weeks before any second chances.  As this blog was published, Nic' was cautiously optimistic of getting back into training this week, and getting competition fit for the South England Championships, at Lee Valley, on June10/11th.

The vast majority of Trackspeed1-UK athletes have already surpassed their personal best times this year already, and that even stretched to the youngest member the group has had in several years.  Princess Manning, just turned 13, clocked 13.60s at Bromley in her first ever race in any competition. catapulting her into the top 80 athletes of her age in the United Kingdom.

SAM SPEARHEADS A GOLDEN WEEKEND

Sam Imhogiemhe triggered a golden county championship weekend for Trackspeed1-UK as he stormed to the Essex 100 metre title in one of the most spectacular lifetime best performances ever recorded!

Newly crowned Essex County 100m Champion Sam Imhogiemhe
is rightly all smiles after a massive personal best 10.74s sprint.

The 21-year-old sprints hopeful joined the squad last year as a modest 11.5 second athlete, and put down a decent 60m pb indoors during the winter months.  Saturday, however, saw him enter a new stratosphere with a phenomenal 10.74s win to clinch gold and wipe almost a second off his previous fastest time.

Yet more impressive though was the fact that he had been hospitalised after a car crash less than 2 weeks earlier and hadn't been able to train at all before his Essex outing!

It was the first of a clutch of medals for Trackspeed1-UK athletes competing in six different county championships.  Piers Chen took off to a nightmare start in the Oxfordshire 100m final, but recovered to run the second fastest time of his life to take gold.

In Middlesex, Niclas Baker started the 400m as hot favourite after his huge personal best 47.4s a week earlier, and duly obliged with a solo run that clocked 47.91 in the final.

Niclas Baker ran solo for the most part of the Middlesex 400m final,
which he won at a canter in 47.91s.

Three more medalist performances were to come over the weekend, with Ishmael Smith-John taking bronze in the Kent 100m final, and Oweka Wanogho clinching another bronze medalist in the Surrey 200m, albeit with a surprisingly below-par time.

Overall it was another series of outstandingly positive performances for the Crystal Palace-based squad, although the weekend ended with some concerns over injuries that hit no fewer than three of the group.

Niclas Baker fell on the stairs at home and twisted an ankle, Oweka Wanogho pulled up with a groin problem in the Surrey 100m heats after a scintillating first 40 metres, and then Yomi Adeyemi fell at the line in his Surrey 100m heat sustaining a suspected broken shoulder!

"The injuries were phenomenally frustrating," said coach John Powell, who visited the Middlesex meeting on Saturday and Surreys on Sunday.  "Oweka looked terrific out of the blocks in the 100m, but he was absolutely right to pull up when he felt a sharp pain in his groin.

"The situation with Niclas was a bit bizarre and he will need treatment this week.  What makes things worse is that Oweka and Niclas had been selected to compete in the Loughborough International next Sunday (22nd) and they now have to be real doubts.

"At this stage of the season though, you simply can't take any risks, and if they're not fit then they don't run.  There is far too much lying ahead for them to compromise the summer now.  By and large we have started really well this year and everyone is in the form of their lives, so we need to manage any hiccups like this shrewdly."

Oweka Wanogho exits the Surrey 100m as he pulls
up in the heats with what turned out to be
a very slight groin strain

It wasn't only medalist performances that impressed at the weekend though.  The squad produced five other sprints finalists, and in most cases performances were better than or at least very close to lifetime bests.  The 2016 season moves no next weekend  to the Loughborough International with David Bolarinwa, Niclas Baker, and Dean Hylton in action, with Sam Imhogiemhe waiting in the wings to see if he can grab an eleventh hour lane.

Others will be in action at the Blackheath and Bromley Open meeting on Monday 23rd, with the cancellation of this year's Bedford International Games leaving the bank holiday weekend a potential training weekend as things stand.

NINE PB'S, BUT NIC STEALS THE SHOW

Trackspeed1-UK athletes opened up their domestic season in East London today just 12 days after their return from their Stateside training camp, predictably impressing with nine lifetime best times.

Niclas Baker stole the show at Newham to record a massive
lifetime best time over 400 metres

Stealing the show though was 21-year-old Niclas Baker, who tore his previous 400 metres best time to shreds on the mondo surface that is the Newham Leisure Centre track, with an outstanding 47.41s lap, catapulting him into the top 25 in the UK.

A perfectly paced race saw him take control from the off, cruising the home bend, and holding strong on the home straight to win the race outright.  His performance cast into the shadows his existing best ever over the distance of 49.06s, set last year.

Leading short sprints performer was David Bolarinwa whose 10.66s into a -1.9m/s wind may have seen him beaten by the majority of an international class field, but it augured well for his season after a stressful week of university exam's and very little training.

Elsewhere it was a few of the largely unsung heroes of the squad who shattered previous best marks.  Emmanuel Adeoye took nearly two tenths off his 100m best, and then made a joke of his 200m fastest time with a performance well over half a second superior at Newham.

Jerome Lule, 19, ran his fastest 100m ever although was slightly wind-aided with a +2.4m/s breeze, while his 200m was another best ever, this time despite a -1.7m/s headwind.  Piers Chen equalled his fastest ever 200m after the second-fastest 100m of his career.

Chaka Maillet was forced to run into a gale of -3.1m/s in his 100m, but still came to within a tenth of a second of his fastest time ever, but then went on to crack his fastest ever 200m by a quarter of a second with a negligible +0.5m/s breeze behind him.

Coach John Powell who witnessed all the performances was more than pleased with the majority of his charges on the day.  He commented:

"Niclas was obviously outstanding, and should go faster this year.  He is a class act and could well turn some heads over the next 18 months.  It was good to see the PB's so early in the season, and from a coaching perspective I learned a fair bit about the group in a competitive environment.

"David has had a very difficult week, and was pitched into a challenging field which, if I were honest, wouldn't have helped at such an early point in the season, but he still faired really well, and will run a lot faster this year.

"There are several athletes in the group who are in their first year with me, and it's always an education when they first pitch into competition.  There was only one false start and subsequent disqualification too, which was pleasing, although that one culprit will be hearing from me next week!"

The next stop for Trackspeed1-UK athletes will be next weekend's County Championships at various venues around the home counties, and then that is followed by the annual Loughborough University International on Sunday May 22nd.