Key match for BAL team
Thursday 2 July 2009
Bromley plays host to its first ever British League fixture on Saturday, 4th July, and it could prove a significant day for a number of Cardiff AAC athletes in the second British League fixture of 2009. Cardiff won the first match, held in Cardiff on 6th June, and lead the table.
Fresh from his recent AAA’s triumph and selection for the European Junior championships 10,000m, Simon Lawson chases the qualifying mark of 14.30 in the 5k. Despite being a member of Cardiff for a number of years this will actually be his British League debut. Making their season debuts are two of Cardiff's best ever jumpers as GB internationals Gary White and Elliot O’Neill open their seasons in the triple jump and long jump respectively. Both men are coming back from injuries but are rounding into shape nicely and hope to use this match as a springboard for the AAA’s next week. They will be accompanied in the jumps by Welsh junior champion Tom Kivell.
With this match clashing with the Welsh schools championships…again, the Cardiff team in the field has been decimated. Captain for the day Dave Coleman will throw in the shot and the discus, then it’s the Matt Ledger story; who will compete in the discus, javelin, hammer, high jump and pole vault. Jon Murray hopes actually to be able to vault in decent conditions in this match, after his rain affected or rain ruined effort in match 1. Lewis Long hopes to go one better than his 2nd in the first match in the high jump.
It’s a different story on the track. Welsh 100m champion Phil Doorgachurn runs the 100 and 200, where he will be joined by Liam Duff in the 100, and former Commonwelth medallist Matt Elias in the 200. Tom Miller and Gareth Wiltshire run in the 400, while the 800 looks our strongest event, with Gareth Warburton and Joe Maynard leading the charge for maximum points.
The 1500 sees recent AAA’s Under 23 bronze medallist Tom Marshall running with Harry Jones, with both men looking to build on their 2nd places in the last match. Another man chasing a win in this match will be Chris Discombe in the steeplechase, he was overtaken on the last lap in the first fixture after leading all the way, Andy Friend joins him once again here.
Cardiff AAC will be looking for a solid performance in London to keep alive their promotion push. It will be difficult to match the wonderful performance in the first fixture, but certainly a top 4 finish would maintain their position at the top end of the table.
The selected team is:
100m – Phil Doorgachurn, Liam Duff
200m – Phil Doorgachurn, Matt Elias
400m – Tom Miller, Gareth Wiltshire
800m – Gaz Warburton, Joe Maynard
1500m – Harry Jones, Tom Marshall
5000m – Simon Lawson, TBC
3000m s/ch – Chris Discombe, Andy Friend
110mH – Matt Ledger, TBC
400mH – Andy Friend, TBC
Long Jump – Elliot O’Neill, Tom Kivell
Triple Jump – Gary White, Tom Kivell
Pole Vault – Jon Murray, Matt Ledger
High Jump – Lewis Long, Matt Ledger
Javelin - Matt Ledger, TBC
Shot – Dave Coleman, Liam Duff
Discus – Dave Coleman, Matt Ledger