Middlesbrough Athletic Club (Mandale) Indoor

24/11/07	Indoor Open	Sheffield	all	Results

15/12/07	Indoor Open	Sheffield	all	Results

12/01/08	N/east Indoor (f)	Gateshead	all	Results
12-13/01/08	North Sen comb	Sheffield	all	Results
13/01/08	N/east Indoor (t)	Gateshead	all	Results
19/01/08	Sportshall Tees Valley	Thornaby	7&8, 9&10
19/01/08	Northern Indoor Senior	Sheffield	Day 1	Results
20/01/08	Northern Indoor		Day 2	Results
27/01/08	Inter City Cup	Manchchester	sen
27/01/08	North Junior Ind	Sheffield	u17/u15	Results

9-10/02/08	Uk Indoor Champs	tbc	sen
09/02/08	Scott u13/u15 Champs	Glasgow	u13/u15
10/02/08	Scott u20/u17 Champs	Glasgow	u20/u17
16/02/08	Inter City Cup	tbc	sen
23-24/02/08	Uk Indoor Champs	Birmingham	u20/u17/u15

01/03/08	Sott Indoor Champs	Glasgow	sen
02/03/08	Busa's Indoors	Glasgow	uni
08-09/08	Eng Comb Champs	Sheffield	u17/u15
08-09/08	North Comb Champs	Sheffield	sen/u20

03/05/08	Busa's	Bedford	uni
10/05/08	N/East Outdoor Champs	Gateshead	all
11/05/08	N/East Outdoor Champs	Gateshead	all
31/05/08	Northerns	Manchchester	sen

07/06/08	Bal 2 div 1	???????
21/06/08	AAA's ??	Bedford	u23/u20

05/07/08	Bal 3 div 1	???????	sen
19/07/08	Inter Counties	Ipswich	sen

02/08/08	U23 International	Derby	u23
24/08/08	Northern Inter Counties	Gateshead	all

ADE BOUNCES BACK

The cream of Middlesbrough AC's homegrown athletic talent was on display at last weekends British Universities Athletic Championships in Sheffield.

Most of the representatives from the club who were representing Teesside University who made the trip to Sheffield were rewarded with place in the finals of their respective events or personal bests.

Star performer on the Saturday Ade Babatunde. Whilst Babatunde struggled in the qualifying rounds, only qualifying for the final in the 12 th and last qualifying place he excelled in the final. He improved his lifetime best indoor performance to 14.41 metres to secure a well earned Bronze Medal. One athlete with a very busy weekend is Scott Henderson. Henderson was representing Birmingham University and contested the mens 60 metres, 60 metre hurdles, 4 x 200m relay and the Shot Putt.

Faye Winspear from Middlesbrough achieved her aim of running under 8.00 seconds and reaching the final of the women's 60 metres. Also in the womens 60 metres was Emma Payne representing Leeds Metropolitan University, who ran 8.02 seconds in the semi final stages.

Full Results

Rick Betts

Top class local performers take part in British Universities Indoor Athletics championships.

Local athletes will be hoping to get amongst the medals at the forthcoming British Universities Indoor Athletics championships with a host of top class local performers taking part. The University Of Teesside is sending one of its largest teams in recent years with no fewer than 10 local athletes taking part in the event being staged in Sheffield over the weekend of the 15 th and 16 th of March.

The team is captained by North East Indoor hurdles bronze medallist Andrew Simpson who will be looking to run a personal best time in his event the 60m hurdles.

Teesside University boasts possibly two of the top contenders in the men's 3000 metres in the shape of Ricky Stevenson from Marske and Jonathon Taylor of Middlesbrough , both supported by the University's Elite Athlete Bursary Scheme. Stevenson is equal fastest on times going into the Championship and Taylor full of confidence after winning the silver medal in January's Northern Senior Championship's over the same distance. Completing the team in the men's track events will be Taylor 's training partner Richard Morrell . Morell from Hartlepool is competing in the 800 metres and hopes to improve on his best time and to progress through the heats possibly to the final.

Best chance of a top three finish in the men's field events will possibly go to North East High Jump Champion Lloyd Powell from Stockton . Going into the competition Powell is ranked fourth on this season's performances' and if he rises to the occasion could provide a shock medal for the University team.

Another field athlete hoping to improve on his best performance this year will be North East Triple Jump champion and Record Holder Ade Babatunde , Babatunde will be competing in his first Universities Championships and has a tough task ahead of him with a field of 40 vying for medals in the Triple Jump.

Completing the men's field team is Chris Waugh . Waugh form Marske will be competing in the Long Jump competition and will be hoping to improve on his personal best performance of 6.55 metres.

Competing for the ladies of the University will be Faye Winspear , Adele Hall and Sophie Gibbens . North East medallist Winspear from Middlesbrough will be aiming to crack the eight second barrier when she competes in the 60 metre sprint. Joining Winspear in the 60 metres is fellow Middlesbrough athlete Adele Hall who will also be targeting the eight second barrier before she goes on to compete in the Long Jump competition. Last but by no means least member of the team is the University's Athletics Club Chairperson, Union manager Sophie Gibbens. Gibbens will be contesting the women's High Jump and will be looking to improve her best height aim for a place in the top twelve of the competition.

Also competing at these championships will be Teesside athletes who are now away studying at other Universities.

Leading these athletes is former British Universities 800 metre silver medallist Andrew Teate . Teate from Stockton and now studying at the University of Northumbria will this year be contesting both the men's 800 metres and 1500 metres. Also representing the University of Northumbria is talented Middlesbrough athlete Lauren Roche . Roche is competing in the women's 1500 metres.

Former UK top 10 junior shot putter Debo Babatunde joins his brother Ade in this competition. In his first competition for 7 years Middlesbrough man Babatunde will represent the University of Huddersfield competing in the men's Shot Putt.

The last local athlete to compete in this competition is Stockton 's Emma Payne. Payne is due to compete over 60metres and 200m representing Leeds Metropolitan University.

Rick Betts

The World at His Feet

Middlesbrough Athlete Chris Tomlinson started to live up to his enormous potential on Saturday when claiming the Silver Medal in the Long Jump at IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia Spain.

Tomlinson won the Silver Medal on his first jump with a distance of 8.06 metres.

He began his early career with Mandale Harriers (later to become Middlesbrough Athletic Club ( Mandale )) under the guidance of Coach Brian Walsh. Chris then went on to spend many successful years being coached by well respected Sprint coach Brian Davison under whose tutelage he won two English Schools Triple Jump titles and one Long Jump title. He then went on to focus on Long and Triple Jump being guided for a short while by enigmatic ex-army PTI Sergeant and Long Triple/Jumper Alvin Walker from Middlesbrough.

It was Walker who introduced Tomlinson to his coach since that date Peter Stanley. In 2001 Tomlinson broke the long standing British Record belonging to former Olympic Champion Lynn Davies. Then in 2004 he went on to finish fifth in the Olympic Games.

Tomlinson has been in and out of love with the sport enough to know the pain and sacrifice needed to reach the summit. He has suffered injuries that resulted in him being written off, but young, gifted and back; he is seeking to put the record straight.

He means it. Tomlinson is only 26 but has been tipped as a star since breaking Lynn Davies's 34-year British long jump record in 2002. He was fifth in the Olympic final in Athens in 2004 and the world was his oyster, but then came the injuries, including a serious hernia; he lost most of his contracts and appearance money and contemplated quitting. Now the desire is evident and he has joined Lloyd Cowan's sprint group at Lee Valley Athletics Centre in Enfield, North London, where he trains alongside Simeon Williamson, the prodigious sprinter going to Spain to partner Chambers in the 60 metres.

“There are athletes who look good in training and there are those who rise to the big occasion,” Tomlinson said. “Simeon is the latter. I think he'll do very well in Valencia and will relish the pressure.” As for Chambers, Tomlinson's pragmatic view is that, having served his ban, he should be able to run, but the penalties remain too lenient. “Dwain probably thinks that, too,” Tomlinson said.

The speed work is paying off. Tomlinson wants to reach 6.7sec for the 60 metres and said that he does “OK” against Williamson. “People underestimate long jumpers,” he said. “I remember being at a meeting with Mark Lewis-Francis [the British sprinter] in 2004 and he was up against Dwight Phillips [the Olympic long jump champion]. He said, ‘Who's this bloke?' I told him and he was pretty dismissive. Then Dwight went and beat him by about three metres.

Tomlinson extended his British record to 8.29 metres in Germany last summer but needs to be jumping farther than 8.40 to be in medal territory. His jump of 8.18 in Stuttgart this month was a British indoor record and he looks to be a star in the making. He is getting married to Lucia Rovardi, who plays the lead female role in The Buddy Holly Story in London 's West End . The wedding is to be held in May in Arpino, Italy, and Tomlinson, a Buddy aficionado, denied it could be a distraction in Olympic year. “I only have to turn up and say ‘I do',”

There's one that always makes me laugh. There's two fish in a tank. One says to the other: "How do you drive this thing?" Chris Tomlinsons favourite joke as qouted to John Ashdown
Thursday February 7, 2008 in the Gaurdian.

Next stop Beijing for Middlesbrough 's favourite athletics son.

World Championship Athletics by Rick Betts:

Pentathlon:

Rising Middlesbrough Athletics Club starlet Ashleigh Wood had the biggest day of her fledging career so far last weekend.

The 15 year old Jean Simmons coached athlete won the Gold Medal at the Scottish Athletic Associations combined events championships in the Pentathlon to move into second place in this years British rankings.

Ashleigh's day included a massive personal best in the 800m knocking over 20 seconds of her previous time. She also recorded a seasons best of 1m59cm in the high jump.

The Gold medal winning performance marked an incredible star to year for the young athlete which has seen her place in the top 4 in the UK in the sprint hurdles and long jump and in the top 20 in the Triple Jump and High Jump.

Result: U17 Girls pentathlon: 1 st A Wood Middlesbrough AC (Mandale) Shot 8.19m, Hurdles 8.94 sec, L/Jump 4.98m, H/Jump 1.59m, 800m 2m.37.02secs.

Rick Betts

England Indoor Athletics Championships

Richard's an all time great, 14 year old Middlesbrough AC sprinter Richard Hodgson stole the show at last weekends England Indoor Athletics Championships staged at Birmingham.

The talented sprinter already ranked at Number one in the UK and seventh on the all time list at 60 metres consolidated his UK position by improving on his personal best in each three of the rounds of competition. However in the final of the event he left his rivals trailing in his wake by winning the 60m in a time of 7.08 seconds a time that puts him second on the United Kingdom all time list.

Also competing at this national competition in the colours of Middlesbrough AC were Charlie Dryden, Chloe Gill, Jayme Norton, Ashleigh Wood and Ashleigh Stone.

Gill and Stone competed in the U17 Triple Jump where they finished in 5 th and 11 th places respectively. Norton narrowly missed out on a place in the u17 300m final although she did have the consolation of setting a new personal best time in the semi final.

Dryden competed well in the 60m setting a new best in the heats before improving his Long Jump bets by over 25 centimetres to finish seventh in a high class competition with over 30 competitors. Wood the Scottish Indoor Pentathlon Champion completed a very successful indoor season by finishing seventh in the sprint Hurdles final setting personal bests in each of the rounds.

Rick Betts

Northern Athletics Indoor U17/U15 Championships Sheffield 28th January 2008

Under 17 Women Long Jump FINAL Ashleigh Wood 5.02, Ashleigh Stone 4.88

Under 17 Women High Jump FINAL Ashleigh Wood 1.55

Under 17 Women Triple Jump FINAL Chloe Gill 11.44, Ashleigh Stone 10.93

Under 17 Women 60m Hurdles FINAL Ashleigh Wood Middlesbrough 9.00

Under 17 Women 60m FINAL Jayme Norton 8.29

Under 15 Boys 60m FINAL Richard Hodgson 7.23

Full results

North Eastern Counties Athletic Association Indoor Championships 12 - 13 January 2008 Gateshead International Stadium.

Under 13 Boys High Jump 1st Patrick O'Connor 1.40

Under 17 Women Long Jump 1st Ashley Wood 5.40, 2nd Chloe Gill 5.22

Under 15 Girls Long Jump 6th Alice Hurwood 3.59

Under 13 Boys Long Jump 1st Patrick O'connor 4.20, 5th Samuel Norton 3.53

Under 17 Women High Jump 4 Ashley Wood 1.55

Under 20 Men Triple Jump 2nd Charlie Dryden 13.24, 3rd Nick Phelps 12.63

Senior Men Triple Jump 1st Adebayo Babatunde 14.23

Under 13 Boys Shot Putt 1st Samuel Norton 6.14

Under 17 Women Triple Jump 1st Chloe Gill 11.27, 3rd Ashley Wood 10.66

Senior Men Long Jump 5th Adebayo Babatunde 5.80

Under 13 Boys 60m hurdles 1st Patrick O'Conner 10.80

Under 15 Girls 60m hurdles 4th Alice Hurwood 12.81

Under 17 Women 60m hurdles 1st Ashley Wood 9.05

Under 20 Men 60m hurdles 1st Nick Phelps 9.41, 3rd Andrew Simpson 11.04

Under 13 Girls 60m Heats H2, 2nd Rachel Highfield 8.81

Under 13 Boys 60m Heats
H1, 2nd Matthew Routh 9.0, 3rd Patrick O'Conner 9.0
H2, 2nd Samuel Norton 9.1, 4th Jack Farrow 9.9

Under 15 Girls 60m Heats
H2, 4th Tara Newmarsh 9.10, 6th Katy Farrow 9.28
H4, 1st Eleanor Mullen 8.75, 3rd Alice Hurwood, 8.89, 4th Hannah Seagrave 9.09

Under 15 Boys 60m 1st Richard Hodgson 7.42

Under 17 Women 60m Heats
H1, 2nd Katie Welford 8.15,
H2, 2nd Ashley Wood 8.08, 3rd Jayme Norton 8.14
H4, 1st Jess Kennedy 8.24

Under 17 Men 60m Heats
H3 3rd Shaun McCartney 7.80

Under 20 Women 60m Heats
H1, 2nd Faye Winspear 8.10
H2 4th Holly Boyd 9.04

Under 20 Men 60m Heats H2, 6th Andrew Simpson 8.14

Under 15 Girls 60m semi finals
SF1, 6th Alice Hurwood 8.84
SF2, 4th Eleanor Mullen 8.70

Under 17 Women 60m semi finals
SF1, 2nd Katie Welford 8.16
SF2, 2nd Ashley Wood 8.10, 3rd Jayne Norton 8.17, 4th Jes Kennedy 8.25

Under 13 Girls 60m A Final 3rd Rachel Highfield 8.85

Under 13 Boys 60m B Final 2nd Jack Farrow 9.83

Under 13 Boys 60m A Final 2nd Matthew Routh 8.96, 4th Samuel Norton 9.19

Under 15 Boys 60m Final 1st Richard Hodgson 7.42

Under 20 Women 60m B Final Joint 1st Holly Boyd 9.10

Under 20 Women 60m A Final 3rd Faye Winspear 8.01

Under 20 Men 60m B Final 6th Andrew Simpson 8.18

Under 17 Women 60m B Final 1st Jess Kennedy 8.23

Under 17 Women 60m A Final
3rd Ashley Wood 8.14, 4th Katie Welford, 8.18, 5th Jayme Norton 8.21

Full results