Luke Sinnott proudly displays one of his medals at the Invictus Games, Florida

Luke Sinnott proudly displays one of his medals at the Invictus Games, Florida

Many congratulations to Luke Sinnott on his 400m Gold Medal and 200m Silver Medal at the Invictus Games in Florida. The Games, inspired by Prince Harry, feature mentally and physically injured servicemen and women from around the world competing in a variety of sports, including track and field. As reported earlier, Luke lost both his legs and almost lost one of his arms when an Improvised Explosive Device exploded whilst he was serving in Afghanistan with the British Army. It was a privilege to hear, at the Presentation Evening in November, his account of how he dealt with and conquered his new situation. Luke, a member of BAC, is coached in the long jump (which doesn’t form part of the Invictus Games) by Brian Camp, with an eye on selection to represent his country at the Paralympic Games in Rio. Those who have been following the Invictus Games on BBC TV will have seen an item concerning Luke, featuring his wife Sophie, and their young family, which includes a clip of Luke training at Kings Park (at a time when Brian was coaching, but unfortunately we don’t see Brian!).  The item appeared in the 6th of the 7 Invictus Games programmes, and is well worth searching out on BBC’s IPlayer. Viewers will also have heard that Luke was one of a number of people specifically mentioned in Prince Harry‘s speech at the closing ceremony.  We are very proud to count Luke as one of our number.

The results of the first BAL match in Cornwall on Saturday 7 May are now available.  BAC competes in National Division 3 in this League, and, of the eight teams in the Division, BAC were 5th, only 8 points behind the 4th placed team.  Last year, after the first fixture, BAC were 4th, and comfortably retained their position in Division 3 at the end of the season.  However, team manager Tim Hughes is aiming for promotion this year, so is looking for the strongest team possible at the next fixture at Chelmsford on 4 June.  The BAC athletes (including ‘Higher Claim’ athletes) who competed in Cornwall were: James Lelliott (100m A string 3rd 11.5; Pole Vault B 3rd 3.00; Long Jump A 2nd 7.20; Triple Jump A 3rd 14.28; Discus A 5th 35.73; Javelin A 1st 54.59); Ben Arnold (100m B 6th 11.90; 200m A 7th 23.67; Hammer B 1st 9.15); Scott Rutter (200m B 2nd 23.26); Muiris Egan (400m A 8th 54.78); Adam Carpenter (400m B 6th 52.69; 400mH A 1st 21.95; Long Jump B 1st 6.50; Pole Vault A 3rd 3.60; Shot Putt A 7th 10.17; Discus B 3rd 31.33); Karl Welch (800m A 7th 2.00.05); Lewis Sainval (800m B 4th 2.00.87); Piers Copeland (1500m A 1st 3.54.55); Jamie Grose (1500m B 1st 3.59.63); David Long (3000m A 1st 8.51.17); Rob McTaggart (3000m B 4th 4.26.62; 400mH A 7th 80.88); Josh King (3000mS/C A 4th 10.16.86); Roy Long (3000mS/C B 7th 13.02.02); Cameron Hale (High Jump A 5th 1.80; Triple Jump B 6th 11.41); Andrew Brown (High Jump B 6th 1.60; Shot Putt B 7th 9.39; Hammer A 8th 23.94; Javelin B 1st 52.66).  In addition, BAC were 1st in the 4x100m and 7th in the 4x400m relays.  Congratulations to all who took part!

The Dorset County Track and Field Championships took place at Kings Park on 14 and 15 May 2016.  Many congratulations to Patrick Sylla and Danielle Broom on achieving Championship Best PerformancesPatrick‘s Long Jump of 7.29 exceeded the previous CBP (JM) of 7.10, which has stood since 1983. Patrick also holds the CBP for the U17 Long Jump, which he gained last year.  Danielle broke two U17W CBPs which she herself set last year.  In the Discus Danielle threw 40.55 (38.78 in 2015) and in the Hammer Danielle threw 54.53 (53.43 in 2015).   BAC‘s medal winners were: GOLD: Andrew Sheerin, Patrick Sylla (2), Brandon Meredith, James Newell, Janet Dickinson (4), Bridget Dence, Angel Kerin (2), Charlotte Sidaway, Iona Sheerin (2), Elle Ward (2), Isabelle Franklin, Rob Woolgar, Adam Carpenter, Ben Dickinson, Joseph Haywood, Gemma Kennard, Danielle Broom (2), Amelia Dobson, Tamika Douch:  SILVER: Dave Pain (2), Adam Carpenter, Jamie Williamson, Adam Hassan (2), James Newell, Conor Charlwood, Janet Dickinson (2), Madeleine Smith, Olivia Galloway, Izzy Wedderburn (2), Andrew Sheerin, Lewis Sainval, Lewis Wykes,  Chloe Burrows, Madeleine Smith, Iona Sheerin, Danielle Broom, Serena Sutherland (2), Elle Ward, Isabelle Franklin:  BRONZE: Andrew Sheerin (2), Andrew Speers(2), Samantha Cash (2), Gemma Kennard, Iona Sheerin, Olivia Galloway (2), Yasmin Bridet (3), Samuel Rapoport, Eva Thompson. 

The Upton House Summer Series, organised by Poole Runners, commenced on the evening of Wednesday 11 May.  Jacek Cieluszecki won the Senior Race in a time of 17.49, followed by Sanjai Sharma, 11th in 19.27, and Helen Ambrosen, 131st, and first V55, in 26.08.  275 runners completed the course, which consists of two laps of Upton House Country Park, a distance of between 5 and 6 kilometres.