TRACKSPEED1 GROUNDED !

Trackspeed1 athletes, coach John Powell, and therapists Stuart Phazey and Lucy Eggleton, have been grounded after their pre-season training camp in Florida failed to take off following the Icelandic volcano eruption last week.

The group, who would have included British Senior Internationals Dwayne Grant, James Ellington and Set Osho, not to mention youth starlet David Bolarinwa, and others, were due to leave on Sunday.  The whole group has been rescheduled now across the next few days, but coach John Powell, along with one squad member, have been put on a flight on Wednesday, and are now counting on some rapid progress.

"We are really tight for time now," said John, "and we are counting on the fact that the volcano has calmed down a bit today and might actually see UK airspace open again in time for us to fly.  We now have Dwayne booked for Thursday, James Friday, and the rest on Sunday.  But of course all that assumes there are planes in the right place to fly on!

"It's a logistical nightmare, because if I don't fly first, all the paperwork and bookings have to go with the first athlete to travel, and if that's Dwayne, he isn't one of those in our party who has a hire car reserved, so the likelihood is that at least he would have to be rebooked again."

Meanwhile, the squad have defaulted to training back at Crystal Palace and, although there were a few discontented athletes there on Sunday morning (instead of sitting on a Boeing 747 jet!), at least the weather was perfect for a track workout originally scheduled for Florida on Tuesday!

"We've got some athletes in seriously good shape this year," said John, "so wherever we train I reckon we are on for a great summer.  It's just devastating to have a month's trip to the sun that we had all been yearning after such a terrible winter, snatched from under our noses at such short notice."

The latest update was from Sky News 4pm on Monday 19th April, saying that flights could resume in Scotland tomorrow morning, and in the south by evening, but this was dependant on the volcano (below) continuing to calm down.

HUSSAIN PASSES WITH FLYING COLOURS

Trackspeed1 stalwart Jason Hussain passed an early health check with flying colours at Crawley on Sunday (28th March), as he stormed to a 300m victory almost a second ahead of the rest of the field.

Competing in a local open meeting, and anxious to put a nightmare two years behind him, the former British Junior International clocked an outstanding 34.88 seconds to underline just how well training is now going.

Jason suffered the ultimate nightmare in 2008 with a summer of misery undergoing chemotherapy which threatened his very athletics career, and the legacy of that holed last year's season below the waterline.  2010 though, it would seem, is likely to be a whole different ball game!

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell was impressed as he witnessed Hussain's Sussex run: "Jason ran well, and for where we are in training right now, anything below 35 seconds is great," he said.  "We learned alot from the race too - stuff we can work on to improve his 200m as his main event this year.  After his last couple of years, it was great to see him walk off the track with a smile on his face too."

Hussain's closest rival in Crawley clocked just over 35.7, and his performance was undoubtedly one of the best at the meeting, which represented an exceptionally early test for track athletes.  Hussain will now train on for three weeks before leaving for the squad's pre-season training camp in Florida where he will work on final preparations for the summer season for four weeks.

BOLARINWA HEADS TO MOSCOW

Trackspeed1's newest young sprints ace, David Bolarinwa, is heading to Moscow just days after returning from the United States on the squad's warm weather training camp.  The 16-year-old Cambridge Harrier has been selected to compete for Great Britain in the European Youth Olympics.

Bolarinwa, together with coach John Powell, return from the 4-week training camp, which will include at least one competitive outing at the University of Central Florida's high profile annual spring meet, and have just four days in the UK before going through another set of time zones east to the Russian capital.

The event represents the trials for the main event of the year, the World Youth Olympics, in Singapore, in August, and the powers that be reckon Trackspeed1's representative has a great chance of qualifying.  Right now the plan is that he will compete in the 100 metres.

SENSATIONAL BOLARINWA THE BEST IN UK HISTORY: OFFICIAL !

Trackspeed1 superkid, David Bolarinwa, is now the best all-round under-17 sprinter of all time!  An amazing weekend saw him take the Midlands by storm, clinching both the 60m and 200m national indoor titles in sensational style, in Birmingham's National Indoor Arena.

He clocked a lifetime best 6.81s in the 60m final on Saturday (27th) to become the third fastest of all time, and capped that with a 21.59s 200m in Sunday (28th) which is also the third fastest ever Briton.  It was within only a few hundredths of British International Tim Benjamen's 200m record mark set over ten years ago. But with different names ahead of him in each event, his combined efforts make him an all-time number  one!

Its all systems go now for the 16-year-old Cambridge Harrier, and his sights will now be focussed on Moscow in May for the European Youth Olympics, after which it is hopefully a ticket to Singapore for the World Youth Olympics.

"This was a fantastic weekend's work," said an absolutely delighted coach, John Powell.  "David is learning so much all the time, and improved even during this weekend.

"The focus in the summer now looks as if it will be the European Youth Olympics in Moscow in May.  They act as trials for a European team in the World Youth Olympics in Singapore in August.  Quite frankly, the real dilemma is what event to do - or to double up 100/200m if we are allowed to.  The way this weekend has gone - and the indications in training - would suggest David could be a real cntender for a medal in both Moscow and Singapore.  It's a great position to be in."

UK Athletics have made it clear that competing in the Youth Olympics and the World Junior Championships is not an option, but Powell isn't worried in the slightest:

"David has two years as an under-20 after 2010, and he will get a crack at both Eurpean and World Championships at that level before graduating to the senior ranks.  It would be great experience to witness a World Juniors this year while still so young, but he'll only get one crack at the youth Olympcs, so that has tobe our priority now."

Bolarinwa will now go back to training with his Trackspeed1 squad at Crystal palace, and go to the USA in April with a number of his senior training partners for pre-season training.  His otdor season is likely to open with an outing at the University of Central Florida in May.

STATESIDE VISIT STRIKES SILVER

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell travels back to the UK this week after a highly successful trip to the US with three of his senior athletes.

Dwayne Grant (centre of picture above) clinched second in the New England State Championships at Harvard University on Sunday (21st), albeit with a rather modest 60m in 6.91s after stumbling out of the blocks.

Pictured above - Jason Hussain attempts one of the toughest workouts west of the Atlantic - sprinting every section of the football stadium at Harvard University!

Training comrades James Ellington and Jason Hussain enjoyed a good break from their normal training routines.  Hussain made a long awaited return to training after a lengthy lay-off due to a foot problem, whilst Ellington was able to continue an improving winter training campaign after injury and swine flu interrupted his Autumn programme.

Pictured here - Dwayne Grant and James Ellington press ahead with the steps session at Harvard - the backdrop only tells half the story!!

The lasting memory for John Powell, however, was the slick efficiency of running a six-state championship with over 1000 athletes inside four hours!

"There are some real lessons we could learn," he said, "which would make track and field meetings far more attractive to competitors, coaches, officials and spectators alike.

Admittedly they do finals on time - averting the need for heats and semi-finals - but the whole think is over in four hours with a full programme for both genders.  There are no gaps between races, entries are taken on the day (or you can enter online in advance at reduced rate), and the whole thing runs within 15 minutes of its timetable.  Fantastic!"

Powell, who has maintained his links with Harvard ever since former Trackspeed1 Olympian Chris Lambert graduated there in 2003, was also able to maintain coach and athlete links whilst Stateside, and all four even found time for a 48-hour visit to New York.

Powell's travels will continue as son as he returns to the UK though, with a weekend in Birmingham 27/28th for the agegroup national championships.  Trackspeed1's teen sprints ace David Bolarinwa competes in both sprints on a notoriously fast track, and could post a couple of very respectable performances.

"David has been in touch since I was in the USA," said John, "and I gather training has been going well, so it's all systems go for the weekend."

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."