"SEASON'S OPENER IS OUR BEST YET"

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell described his squad's opening competition in the United States, where they are currently training, as "the best yet", as they returned from the annual Lake Brantley meeting.

Josh Atille (green vest) on his way to a heat-winning lifetime's fastest 200m at Lake Brantley on Saturday (30th April)

One lifetime best on day one of what will be a season packed with action, combined with the fastest ever starts for most.  Leading the way was the youngest member of the group, 16-year-old Josh Atille, who cracked his fastest ever 200m with a 22.74s run to win his heat.

His performance earned praise from coach and fellow athletes alike, after the first two weeks of their pre-season training has seen him transform from a club level competitor to a highly disciplined and focussed young athlete.

In the senior races, Jason Hussain was beaten by James Ellington, who broke his own meeting record with a strong 21.21s performance, which could have been even faster had he been pushed in the latter stages of the race.  Hussain timed one of his fastest ever outdoor 200's with 21.46s.  Lawrence Wooldridge was third in the same race with 21.94s.

James Ellington (lane 6) leads the field on his way to a new meeting
record in the 200m, with Jason Hussain in hot pursuit outside him in lane 8

"These performances were even better than they may look at first," said John, "because this meeting has no timetable and it is impossible to guess when exactly to warm up.  We were stuck in 90-plus degree heat with no shelter, and as in previous years had alot of hanging around to do with dozens of younger races being set off beforehand.  The heat was really draining on everyone."

Earlier in the day, Dwayne Grant pulled himself together to produce his fastest opener for a few years, despite suffering from a heavy cold.  His 10.54s was impressive, and won the meeting overall, with David Bolarinwa winning his heat with the second fastest time of the day of 10.69s.

In other races, Omardo Anson ran creditably to produce an 11.31s 100m, and Ellie Doel completed her 200m in 27.25s.  Winds on the day were measured at virtually zero for every race.  Details can be found on the squad rankings page of this website.

Trackspeed1 now have a brief return to training before their second competition of the trip, at the University of Central Florida, on Thursday.  And for Josh Atille, that will mean an incredible experience of training out of blocks with leading US sprints guru, Brooks Johnson, and his world class squad of athletes.

"Brooks is a great friend of this squad," said John Powell, " and we always have a couple of athletes do a session or two with his group.  It's a great learning experience for athletes as well as coach.  Not many British sprinters can say that they have trained alongside the likes of Xavier Carter, Justin Gatlin, and David Oliver!"

TS1 READY FOR SEASON OPENER

Things are going so well at the squad's pre-season training base in Florida, coach John Powell can barely dare look ahead to his squad's opening competition this Saturday.

"Training times are rarely reproduced in competition," he said, "but if you compare them with how people were running a year ago, we have a group of athletes here who are heading toward a potentially great summer season."

The one low point for the group was this morning (Tuesday 26th) when England Schools international, Edmond Amaning, pulled up with a hamstring strain for the third time in ten weeks, but the remainder are very positive.

Their opening competition is at the Florida Gliders' Spring Classic, at Lake Brantley High School track, north of Orlando, on Saturday.  The squad entry for this meeting is as follows:

100m

Dwayne Grant            

(L-R): Ellis Zorro, Omardo Anson and Josh Atille in training
at the ESPN facility, in Orlando, Florida

David Bolarinwa           

Edmond Amaning (Withdrawn)         

Omardo Anson            

200m

Jason Hussain             

James Ellington           

Dwayne Grant             

Ellis Zorro                   

Edmond Amaning (Withdrawn)       

Matthew Threadgold    

Joshua Atille                

Lawrence Wooldridge   

Ellie Doel                     

The squad may also enter two 4x100m relay teams and possibly a 4x400m quartet.

Trackspeed1 have a full programme from the Brantley meeting on.  They return to training straight away the day after, and have sessions on the Monday and Tuesday as well, before a recovery day prior to their next competition.

On Thursday May 5th, everyone will travel north east of Orlando to the University of Central Florida and compete in their annual Twilight meeting, hoping that this year it does not get cancelled due to electrical storms as was the case last year.Then its training for their final eight days in the States before returning to home shores and the season proper.

David Bolarinwa, 17, the fastest under-18 in the world last year, is 
recapturing his form in theStates after a hamstring problem interrupted 
his winter preparations.

TRACKSPEED1 SET TO IMPRESS

Trackspeed1 are spending a month in Florida, USA, training at the
impressive ESPN complex.

Trackspeed1 have taken 11 athletes some four thousand or so miles south west to the luxury town of Orlando, Florida, where their four-week training camp is already seeing some massive lifetime best marks being set in training.

The group ranges from 16-year-old Josh Atille, to 28-year-old Dwayne Grant, and  none of those in between are dragging their feet now they have hit the sun!

Their winter training had been close to a nightmare at times with the British  weather confining the group to the indoor straight at Crystal Palace, but as the cold snap passed, performances improved, and now coach John Powell is hoping this is the start of things to come this summer:

"There isn't an athlete out here who is under-performing," he said, " and whilst I wouldn't put pressure on individuals by predicting their future at this stage, I really couldn't be asking for alot more so far.

"In training rep's on the track we have had PB's al over the place and, although it's my hand timing, and way short of official, it's all leading to a really upbeat trip this time round."

The group open their competitive season on Saturday April 30th when they compete at the Florida Gliders Spring Classic meeting at the Lake Brantley High School facility, in Orlando, and then move on to the University of Central Florida meeting on Thursday 5th May.

"Opening marks are always interesting," said John, "but they rarely represent what an athlete is really going to produce at his or her peak later in the summer.  IT's good feedback for me though, and we are really looking forward to getting off the mark now."

The athletes training in Florida are: James Ellington, Joshua Atille, Ellis Zorro, Ellie Doel, Dwayne Grant, Jason Hussain, David Bolarinwa, Edmond Amaning, Omardo Anson, Matthew Threadgold, and Lawrence Wooldridge, with therapist Greg' Funnell.

POWELL HIITS 35 !

Today (April 16th) marks the 35th anniversary of Trackspeed1 coach John Powell taking his first coaching exam at the very venue he has coached at for every one of those three and a half decades - Crystal Palace!

Aged 17, John was verbally examined by Linford Christie's coach, Ron Roddan for his then 'Assistant Club Coach' badge, blissfully unaware at the time what a massive  impact on his life - and that of countless aspiring athletes - his role as a coach would have.

Since that auspicious day in 1976, many names have passed through his hands, or have been recruited to the sport during his time as one of the most successful youth team managers in the country with Blackheath and later on Belgrave Harriers.  Joice Maduaka, Phillips Idowu and Chris Lambert will be the better known names of recent years, but the number of athletes graduating from club to international level through his Trackspeed1 squad - so named only a few years ago - exceed all but the most senior coaches in the UK.

"I simply can't imagine life not being a coach," said John, who is a Police Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, "and I reckon I'll be doing even more of it later this year.  To say time flies is a cliché, but it really does, and after 30 years in the Police this year, I can retire on a full pension.  My athletes won't know what's hit them when I get all that free time!"

John's CV as a coach is attached to this website, and it is clear that is efforts have not been restricted to these shores.  His link with Harvard University through graduate athlete Chris Lambert were cemented with an appointment to their casual coaching staff, and his links and partnerships with individuals and groups all over the globe have made Trackspeed1 a brand unto itself.

"It's no secret that it has been a very sore point when it comes to athletes moving on," said John.  "I've never really learned to take those sort of knocks on the chin, and I still get riled when it's clear that outside forces have been at work.  Athletes here get a seriously good deal, but the grass is so often made to appear greener.  But very few sprinters have ever improved after leaving, which surely counts for something.  That's why I hold such respect for athletes like James Ellington, who moved to another coach, but was big enough to admit it wasn't working, and come back.  And now he's setting PB's again!

"The job satisfaction from coaching is unique, and it's incredibly addictive.  But coaches in track and field are hugely under-rated - few people outside the sport see the trials and tribulations we have to suffer for the sake of success."

A production company are shadowing John and his squad this year with a view to producing a documentary film on what lies behind success on the track.  Supported by Adidas, it promises to link his Policing role, the Met-Track scheme he founded in 2005, and a number of the athletes in his squad.  Set against the background of London as the Olympic city in 2012, it will graphically illustrate just how tough it is to reach the top.

GOODBYE CRUEL WINTER

It's been a winter many Trackspeed1 athletes will want to be forgetting as the warmer temperatures at last hit home shores. 

Hamstring injuries have been a huge problem for coach John Powell's charges - so much so that he is looking to review his entire programme at the end of the year with other coaches and advisors both at home and abroad.

"I can't believe how many athletes have had hamstring issues this winter," he said, "but I have to say that in most cases, I am completely satisfied that a lack of strength and conditioning on the part of the athlete - and/or careless management of recovery periods during training - are the main root causes.

"We had quite a few younger athletes join what was essentially a senior group last summer, and unfortunately they have chosen to learn their trade at this far higher level the hard way - despite many warnings from me.  But we're pretty much good to go now - summer beckons, and those athletes going warm wather training are gearing up for a great trip."

About half the squad travel to Florida for a mnth's pre-season preparation on Sunday (April 17th) where they will use the ESPN Wide World of Sport facilities that outstrip the comparatively miserable surroundings they have had to tolerate during the winter.  Tjose athletes not travellling will be hoping for some scceptable UK weather after a winter nightmare that saw the entire squad programme suspended for a week atone stage.

Trackspeed1 athletes train in Florida last year: they will compete in 2
meetings while there, and field a squad relay team who will target 
the hugely impressive 40.69s mark set four years ago!

"This was the worst winter I can remember in a long time," said john, "with snow in November preventing me or the group even getting to Crystal palace, and consistently freezing temperatures making runs in trainng further than 80 metres indoors virtually impossible.

"We've missed out on a bit of speed endurance as a result, but I have to say everyone has knuckled down well this last few weeks, put plenty of fuel in the tank, and we are beginning to look in reasonable shape for summer.  These next four weeks will be hugely defining, and anyone not working seriously hard will be left very disappointed when the majors come round this season."

Trackspeed1's final full get-together in the UK will be on Saturday April 16th - fittingly exactly 35 years to the day aince John took his first ever coaching exam with Linford Christie's coach Ron Roddan - on the very track they will train on that day - at Crystal Palace!

SO NEAR YET SO FAR FOR PLUCKY JAMES

James Ellington could have come no closer to his first ever Grand Prix final on Saturday (19th) as he crossed the line one hundredth of a second behind third-placed Craig Pickering in his heat.

James clocked 6.72 seconds - one of his fastest ever 60m sprints, although it was inferior to his lifetime best set just seven days earlier of 6.69s.

It was a heat packed with drama with the front three automatically through to the final, and a desperate Pickering throwing himself at the line to edge out his rival.  And behind them was the fast-fading Mark Lewis-Francis who pulled up short with what looked like quite a nasty groin injury.

James Ellington (nearside) misses out on the Grand
Prix 60m final by one hundredth of a second,
 in Birmingham, as captured by photo-finish
technology.

"Craig rotated his right shoulder and that is the only reason he got the nod," said coach John Powell.  "It's ironic because James has been under strict orders never to twist round on the line, as that was a major contributor to his serious hamstring tear last June."

Ellington now returns to winter training after a few days of low key recovery work, having completed what many coaches have described as a miraculous comeback from his injury in Geneva last year.

Meanwhile, another Trackspeed1 sprinter, Matt Threadgold, was competing in the British University Championships, in Sheffield.  He was rounding off what had already been an outstandingly successful indoor season for him, with lifetime best times over 60m, 200m and his specialist distance of 400m.

In Sheffield he drew a nightmare lane two in the heats, and it looked as if it might be all over before it began, but incredibly he won the race in 22.47s to reach the semi-final.

In the semi, he drew lane four, and improved to 22.29s, but failed to qualify for the final in second place after a poor first bend left him too much to do.

Matt was far from done though, and subsequently put in an outstanding relay leg in the 4 x 200m final, taking Loughborough University to gold with an astonishing split time recorded as 20.1 seconds.  

ELLINGTON CHASES THE BIG PRIZE!

Trackspeed1 sprinter James Ellington is having one last go at chasing the big prize of another indoor 60 metres persoal best today (Saturday 19th).

James becomes the first ever Trackspeed1 athlete to take part in an indoor Grand Prix. He contests the 60m alongside Britain's best sprinting talent as well as some of the leading sprinters from around the world.

Ellington recorded his fastes time to date at Shefield last weekend during the UK Championships - 6.69 seconds.

HUSSAIN DRIVEN ROUND THE BEND!

Day two of the UK Championships saw both 200m sprinters reach finals, although Jason Hussain's first ever national final quite literally drove him around the bend!

A vastly improved 21.64s heat time compared with earlier season form was three hundredths of a second off the race winner, but that fraction of time meant that he was drawn in the dreaded lane one for the main final.

"I really would have loved to have been one place slower," he said, "because then I would have been relegated to the B final and got lane 6.  As it was though, I did get to my first ever individual national championship final, so I guess that's a line for the CV!"

Hussain battled well with the tight bends, but was never going to impact on the leaders who enjoyed the benefits of a far wider turn, and finished sixth in 22.29s.

Jason Hussain prepares to battle with the dreaded inside bend in the final
of the UK Trials and Championships, in Sheffield

The second Trackspeed1 athlete in action was Lawrence Wooldridge, who impressed with an indoor lifetime's fastest time indoors of 21.74s in the heat, earning himself a berth in the B final.  Both runs were from lane 4 with the final seeing him clock 21.85s.

"Both lads did themselves proud," commented coach John Powell afterwards, "and they should be giving themselves a pat on the back for producing top performances when it matters - at a national championship."

The indoor season is all but over now for Trackspeed1, with James Ellington the last senior to be in action - he will go in the Birmingham Grand Prix on Saturday (19th) over 60m where he will hope to take advantage of a notoriously fast track to further improve his lifetime best mark of 6.69s.  The younger athletes in the squad context their national championships at the same venue a week later.

ELLINGTON IS THE COMEBACK KING!

Trackspeed1 sprinter James Ellington completed one of the most spectacular comebacks ever in athletics this weekend (12th Feb), as he soared to a lifetime's fastest 60 metres, in the UK Championships, in Sheffield.

Barely seven months ago his whole athletics career hung by a thread, after a horrendous hamstring injury in Geneva threatened to end an illustrious track record spanning 12 years.

Ellington, now 25, clocked 6.69s in the semi-final at the English Institute of Sport - the second time he has improved his lifetime best this winter.  Although his sixth placing in the final was a disappointment compared with what he promised, he won many plaudits by the fact he was there at all.

Coach John Powell was upset with the final, but not because the athlete under-performed: "James deserved far better than that after the work he has put in this last few months," he said, "and both he and I know he is capable of running far faster.  But the perspective is that he has gone from being unable to walk 7 months ago, to one of the country's top 60m sprinters again, and that is nothing short of totally phenomenal."

National coach Tony Hadley commented: "The boy did well - I remember the injury in Geneva - it's amazing he's back at this sort of level so quickly.  Incredible"

Mentor coach Clarence Calendar said: "He's going to fly over 100m.  It's great he's back so quickly - many athletes in the past have had serious injuries like that and have taken more than a year to get back to even vaguely good form."

Ellington clocked a cool 6.76s in the heat, cruising most of the way, and taking second behind Mark Lewis-Francis, and was sixth in the final with 6.72 after his best ever run in the semi.  He now looks toward the Grand Prix next Saturday as a likely final curtain on his indoor season, and that could be impressive too as he takes to the fastest track in the country in Birmingham!

Day two (Sunday 13th) will see Trackspeed1's Jason Hussain and Lawrence Wooldridge take to the indoor boards over 200 metres.  The squad's indoor season will close in 2 weeks with the England age-group championships.  Powell will be enthused for the summer though. With indoor pb's in abundance, and four of his top sprinters abstaining due to injury niggles, this summer could develop into one of the most successful yet!

SHEFFIELD BECKONS

Trackspeed1 will have all eyes on Sheffield this weekend with three of its most talented stars in action in the European Championship trials, to be held in the English Institute of Sport venue in Yorkshire.

James Ellington will lead the squad's line-up as a classic fly in the ointment for the normal sprint stars, after his superb second place in the Lee Valley London games final a couple of weeks ago.  After his victory over the likes of Harry Akinees Arietee and Craig Pickering he will be confident of a really positive performance in Sheffield.

Jason Hussain has been showing some very encouraging repetitions in training recvently which suggests that he could spring a surprise int he 200m, while training colleague Lawrence Wooldridge has been running so well, this comparative unknown on the national scene could make a name for himself.

Trackspeed1's Matthew Threadgold would have competed in the 400m, after a fantastic pb of 48.50 midweek over 400m, but he has decided to prioritise the British Universities Championships next week.  And Dwayne Grant would have been a further competitor had it not been for a groin strain that has forced him to shelve his indoor season.

"I've never been so positive over an indoor season," said Trackspeed1 coach John Powell.  "Our guys are in serious form and could really turn heads this weekend.  It's a pity the likes of Dwayne and Matt aren;'t going to be here, but that's life, and it all points toward a really super summer season."