Team Kennet Athletes Shine at South of England Championships
A small team of Team Kennet athletes travelled to the South of England Championships in Chelmsford over the weekend, producing an excellent set of performances despite competing in extremely challenging conditions under an Amber Heat Warning.
Leading the way was Isla Ladds in the Under 14 Girls’ Discus. Isla produced the performance of her career, smashing her personal best with a superb throw of 29.00m. The mark earned her a bronze medal and moved her to 10th in the UK rankings, finishing just centimetres away from both the silver and gold medal positions.
Isla also competed in the Long Jump, progressing through the morning qualifying round with a leap of 4.48m to secure her place in the afternoon final. She went on to finish an impressive 10th overall with a best jump of 4.25m.
Fellow Under 14 athlete Ella Larkin enjoyed an outstanding two days in the 800m. Running in the first of four heats, Ella knocked almost two seconds off her previous best to qualify automatically in third place with 2:21.90. Returning for the final the following day, she produced another remarkable performance, taking a further two seconds off her lifetime best to break the 2:20 barrier for the first time, finishing 8th in a high-quality final with a superb 2:19.53.
In the Under 15 Boys’ Javelin, Noah Lauder Clark also celebrated a personal best, throwing 46.30m to claim an excellent 5th place against some of the best young throwers in the South of England.
Also representing the club was Oscar Hook in the Under 15 Boys’ Hammer. Having been unwell throughout the week leading into the championships, Oscar showed great determination to compete, recording 35.46m to finish 11th.
With multiple personal bests, a national top-10 ranking, a championship medal and several top-10 finishes, it was another successful weekend for Team Kennet athletes competing on one of the region’s biggest stages.
