GB Masters Medals for our athletes!

The weekend of 11-12th March provided the first opportunity of the year for Masters athletes (age 35+) to compete at a major Championships.
This year, three Yate athletes made the trip to Lee Valley to compete in the Great Britain Indoor Masters.
First up on Saturday was Karen Jones, competing in the V55 classification Hammer Throw.  Although an Indoor Championships, the hammer throw is, for obvious reasons, held outside!
Having  won this competition last year, Karen was looking to defend her title and knew she probably needed something special to give her a chance.  She certainly didn’t disappoint, throwing a new Personal Best distance of 35.69, beating her nearest rival by almost three metres!
Later in the day, Karen was involved in the Weight Throw.  This is an event very rarely seen on the mainstream athletics calendar, but a permanent fixture in Masters Championships.
Using a 7.26kg weight, Karen was hoping to improve on her 2016 Bronze medal.  Possibly still high on adrenaline from her earlier PB, she managed an impressive 10.52m, which was, again, enough to secure her second gold medal of the day.

Also competing on Saturday was Midland League Team Captain, (and world bronze relay medalist from Sydney last year), Matt Muggeridge in the V40 classification 400m.  Clocking a time of 54.83 Matt did enough to secure a bronze medal.

Day two of the Championships saw a return to competing for the club for ex-Irish International Hammer thrower, Eugene Lawlor, who last competed for Yate in the late 1980’s!
Having the great misfortune of losing sight in one eye just two weeks before the Championships nobody really knew what to expect.
As it turned out, there was no need to worry, as Eugene comfortably won gold, posting a distance of 48.71m which would have put him eighth on the UK all time list, if only he wasn’t Irish!
Following Karen Jones lead from the previous day, he then completed a successful double, by winning the V60 Weight Throw, with a distance of 14.52m

Returning to action for the second day, Matt Muggeridge lined up in the v40 200m.  Clocking a time of 24.51 Matt was again rewarded for his efforts with a silver medal.

Well done to all three athletes.  The signs are already very encouraging for a successful 2017 outdoor season for you all.

Thank you Matt Spicer for this excellent report