Press Report 5th August 2024  

Aug 052024
 

Harold Wood 5km Elvis
Wednesday 1 August

The latest round of the Elvis competition was held on a hot humid evening over a challenging 5km course around Harold Wood Park and the adjoining Poges Wood.

Ilford AC had a squad of 18 in the event and they were led home in an excellent 7th place by Chris King in 18 mins 28 secs. He was supported by the in-form Steve Philcox in 9th with 18 mins 43 secs and a great run from Ryder Islam, who is in the u17 age group, in 13th with 19 mins 18 secs.
Dan Holeyman came home in 20 mins 24 secs for 23rd with Steve Chissell recording 22 mins 06 secs in 45th .
Andy Catton was the last scorer for Ilford in 73rd with 24 mins 34 secs.

In the match the Ilford men were placed 4th and are in 3rd in the league standings for the season.

First home for the Ilford Ladies  was Gemma Ellender in 11th spot in 23 mins 31 secs with Alison Sale in 21st with 25 mins 37 secs and Pauline Tester coming home in 28 min 16 secs.
Rachel Halpin recorded 28 mins 38 secs for 4th and Dianne Crisp finished in 28 mins 43 secs for 47th. In 58th Frieda Keane closed the team scorers with 32 mins 21 secs. 

In the match, like the men,  the Ilford ladies placed 4th and are 3rd in the season’s Elvis standings

There was success for the club in the age groups results with Steve Philcox winning the M50, Steve Chissell the M60 and Dan Holeyman 2nd in the M50, Andy Catton 2nd in the M70 and Pauline Tester 2nd in the F60.

Also running for Ilford on the day were: Bradley Brown (79th  24.48)  Tony Young (84th  25.06)  Neil Crisp (105th  26.30)  Julia Galea (175th  32.21)  Sharon Honey (190th  33.53) and  Sheila Sinclair (203rd  37.27)

 

Elsewhere, at the weekend Krystle Balogun travelled up to Derby for the BMAF Track & Field Championships

On Saturday she competed in the 100m and placed 3rd F35 in a time of 12:92 seconds, then on Sunday she raced the 200m and placed 1st F35 in a time of 26.05 seconds.

  Press Report 30th July 2024  

Jul 302024
 

EYAL
21/07/24
StoneX Stadium Barnet

A record number of 46 Junior Athletes competed for Ilford AC at the final Eastern Young Athletes League fixture which took place at the impressive home of Shaftesbury Barnet, producing an incredible 48 personal best performances

Pick of the performances were wins for Damian Amaniampong (23.78) and Justice Okereke (24.25) in the 200m. Chiara Mullins Smith triumphed in High Jump with a personal best height of 1m 40cm. Hawaa Patel confirmed her ongoing improvement with a win in the 1500m in a PB of 5.38.21m breaking 6 minutes for the first time and also making a debut in the high jump. Completing the winning group was the ever impressive and improving James Thake who ran a very controlled race winning the U17M 1500m in a PB of 4.17.02m

Six Athletes had tremendous days achieving PBs in all three events they competed in. Nayla Mills Ugoh ran fantastic 30.39 in the 200m and gained bests in the Long jump and javelin. Andre Mullins Roache jumped a brilliant 4.39m in the long jump, broke 14 seconds in the 100m and equalled his high jump PB. Matthew Ayers continued his amazing breakthrough season with a superb 40.35 in the 300m and bests in the 100m and Long jump. Luke Thake ran a debut 1500m and gained new bests in the 300m and shot. Finally two u17 girls Stacey Amaniampong and Marissa Osas Bavis achieved bests in the jumps and sprints

On the day we also had nine athletes making their league debuts and for some of them their debut in the club vest. In the u13 girls Mia Borisova jumped a brilliant 4.17m in the long jump and Olivia Rae Vaughan also sprinted and jumped. For the older girls Hanifat Sanusi, Bineta Keita and Jochebed Antwi also sprinted and did the field events. For the u15 boys Adam Idoudra and Kelson Avebuan continued their impressive development in the sprints and Donnell Oligie and Kairan Kourtellas showed great promise for the future in the 300m and other events

Other results from our regular and impressive team are below

U13B

Elijah Muirhead 100m 15.45, 200m 33.26, L.J. 3.29m.     

Arnav Rathi 200m 31.12.     

Khalif Ali 1500m 5.23.83

Daniel Guiba 800m 3.12.89, H.J 1.15m, Javelin 12.09m

 

U13G

Iris Wan   1500m 6.01.9m

Drissialemoy Majen Akande 100m 17.78, 800m 3.16.2, LJ 2.72m

 

U15G

Nora Nzurike  100m 14.29, S.P 7.80m.

Kenina Nkurumah 200m 29.89, L.J 3.67m

 

Diya Kaur.  300m 57.59, 800m 3.07.13

Sophie Burrow. Discus 16.30m, Javelin 13.06m  

Sofia Crane.  Hammer 11.29m, Shot4.06m

 

U17W

Adaeze Oyem 80mH 14.06, 100m 14.12, Shot 6.90m

Mya Ward 300m 47.84, 800m 2.53.4, L.J. 3.41m

Leila Lauder 1500m 5.29.38, 800m 2.38.03

 

U15B

Joshua Matthews 800m 2.34.27, 300m 45.12

Barney Perkins 1500m 5.07.98

Ethan Guiba 800m 2.55.47, H.J 1.20m, 200m 25.94

Dhanusshan Ponnambalam Shot 8.83m, Discus 21.66m, Javelin 19.68m

Stephen Amoli. 800m 2.52.59

Relay – Damien, Justice, Adam, and Matthew – 48.62

 

U17M

Joshua Babalola. 100m 12.62, 200m 23.99 

Jaskirat Singh 100m 12.15, T.J 10.98m

Samuel Crane 400m 62.85, 1500m 4.33.81

Jayden.  H.J 1.35m, L.J 5.28m

Jamari.  100m 13.58, 200m 27.87 L.J 4.24m

A record points total rounded off a great season for our young athletes in the joint Ilford AC/Orion team. Big thanks must go to team managers, supporters and Club track Officials for all of their hard work in making it such a successful season.

  Press Report 23rd July 2024  

Jul 222024
 

U15 Boys ‘Club Connect Relays’
London Olympic Stadium

Ilford ACs U15 Boys had the honour of competing in the final of the 4 a 100m relays at the Club Connect Relays Championships, part of the Diamond League Event at the London Olympic Stadium last weekend.

Matthew Ayers on the first leg got off to a great start before handing over to Adam Idoudra who ran a strong leg down the back straight before passing the baton to 3rd runner Justice Okereke. He used his great strength to attack the final bend in great style, a safe last changeover saw the baton passed to finisher Damien Amaniampong who powered down the home straight to finish off an outstanding effort by the team in a time of 46.42 beating the previous U15 Boys  4 x 100m  Club record which was  set in 1958.
This was a remarkable achievement considering the limited amount of opportunities that the squad has had to work together and also losing their fastest sprinter Jaydan Roberts-Edwards to injury prior to the event .
The squad were really appreciative of the support from Club members on the day and the help given to them by Senior sprints Coach

Nat Senior and Senior athlete Jason Kalala which really helped their performance

Queen Elizabeth Park 10k

As an opener for the Diamond League event, England Athletics put on a 10k event in the Olympic Park, enabling people who were unable to get tickets, as well as those that did, to witness a top quality 10k race for free.
All clubs affiliated with England Athletics were invited to send in runners, and Billy Green was selected to represent Ilford AC.
In warm, muggy conditions, Billy Green ran his best 10k for 5 years to finish in a time of 50 minutes 12 seconds which placed him 3rd in his age grouping and earned him a medal, a flapjack and a can of sparkling water.

 

Herts and North Middlesex Vets League
Harrow

Ilford Vets travelled to Harrow for match 3 in the Herts and North Middlesex Vets League on Monday 1 July. A finish above St Albans would almost guarantee attendance at the end of season final as divisional champs.

Several athletes competed in more than one event to ensure full coverage of the programme.

Sam Malekout covered V35 events winning 100m in 12.76s, third in 300m in 45.05s despite a quadricep injury approaching the finish and second in discus with 26.73m.

Chris Scott in V40 finished third in the 100m in 13.47s and won the 300m in 43.13s.

Henry Ricketts returning from an Achilles injury placed sixth as the V50 100m in 14.47s and as the non-scoring athlete in the 300m finished in 49.39s.

Michael Osunsami as the scoring V50 athlete over 300m finished fifth in 45.77s.

Neil Crisp covered both 100m and 300m sprints as V60 finishing third and first respectively in 16.13s and 51.24s. His long jump of 2m 10 achieved third and he also ran as a non-scorer in the 1500m crossing the line in 5.31.96.

Gerald Daniel as V70 athlete finished third in both 100m and 300m with times of 15.97s and 56.64s. His long jump of 3m 46 secured second.

The 1500m age groups were V35, V40, V50 and V60. Malcolm Muir as V35 finished in 4.45.96 to claim fourth. Berekhet Berakhy chased Malcolm in the straight to finish in 4.46.62 to win V40. Fabrizio Stefanoni in the V50 finished second in 4.48.73. David Butler was the scoring V60 athlete claiming third in 5.34.77. Steve Chissell ran as a non-scoring athlete finishing in a time of 5.40.43.

Southern Athletics League 3 (SAL)
Cambridge

Ilford AC had a difficult day in the 3rd southern league match of the season in Cambridge. 

A competitive match combined with some of its best performers being unavailable led to the team finishing last in the match and needing a good result in the final fixture to avoid relegation. Despite this there were some excellent performances on the day, some new personal bests and young athletes trying new events for the first time. 

The under 17 female athletes put in some great performances on the Day.
Marissa Osas- Bavis and Chisom Chijioke both attempted the high jump for the first time. They both came in at the lowest height and Marissa carried on to jump 1.30m and Chisom 1.15m to place and score for the team. Marissa also recorded a new PB in the 100m (13.4) and Chisom also competed in the 100m and triple jump. Backing their teammates with new bests were Stacey Kwarteng-Amaniampong (13.7 in the 100m), Adaeze Oyem (14.0 in the 100m, 6.35m in the shot) and Benita Keita (2.78 in the long jump and 14.7 in the 100m) All the ladies also competed in the relays with Marissa and Stacey stepping up to the 400m.

There were also some great performances from our young male athletes. Jaydon Kyle McDermott set a new Long jump PB of 4.78m and also ran the 400m. Joshua Babalola threw a new best of 25.80 in the javelin and scored in the 200m. Samuel Crane ran a new PB of 4.28 in the 1500m and ran the 3000 steeplechase for the first time. 

James Thake was slightly off his best but claimed valuable points in the 400, 800, high jump and 4×400 relay.

Aron Berhe again showed his versatility and willingness to try unfamiliar events in the triple jump, 400 hurdles and 800m. Jamari Hoyte made a promising debut with good performance in the 100, long jump and relays. For the under 20s Ian Johnson equalled his PB in the 100m (11.3 seconds) and Oliver Blainey showed his class winning the 400m and anchoring the relay.

The young athletes were well supported by our regular senior athletes, many competing in multiple events. Nat Senior ran a best in the 200m and did the 100m, shot and discus also. 

Krystle Balogun had a really strong day with bests in the 100, 200 and a win in the 400m. Nat and Krystle also ran in the relays helping the young athletes. 

In the middle-distance Anna Crawley, Jordan Hinds, Josh Adler, Malcolm Muir, Dylan Harrod and Pauline Tester put in their usual strong performances for the team. Highlights were Josh 400 hurdles debut and a win for Dylan in the b string 800m. Bradley Brown also ran a strong non scoring 5000m.

Finally, Wes Clarke, Pete Whiting and Clare Thake competed in multiple throws and jumps which contributed greatly to our points score on the day.

  Press Report 16th July 2024  

Jul 152024
 
Newman Hilly 5 (Elvis)
Hainault Forest
Wednesday 10th July

 

The Annual Ilford Hilly 5-mile cross country race, incorporating round 4 of the Summer Elvis League, was held at Hainault Forest on a warm Wednesday evening.
This year, following a 2 year break for refurbishment works, the race returned to its traditional route starting in Hainault Forest Country Park. 

Ilfords men had a great performance on the night, with our first 3 runners separated by less than 30 seconds in 3rd, 4th and 5th places.
In 3rd place, in a time of 28:42 was Christopher King, 4th place was Malcolm Muir in 28:53, who also claimed 1st M50 on the night, and in 5th was Stephen Philcox in 29:08 claiming 2nd M50.

Less than a minute later in 8th place was Sam Rahman in a time of 29:32, followed just 9 seconds later by Joshua Adler in 10th place.

The male team was completed by Danny Holeyman, coming home in 18th place in a time of 31:21.
With all 6 team members finishing in the top 20, Ilfords men easily claimed 1st place on the night and now find themselves 3rd place overall after 4 matches.

Finishing outside of the team places, but winning age category prices were the following:-

Neil Crisp 1st M60 in a time of 33:07 for 27th place, Steve Chissell 2nd M60 in a time of 34:54 for 37th place and Andy Catton who placed 2nd in the M70 Category in a time of 38:29 for 70th place

Neringa Masilioniene, competing in her last race for the club before returning to live in her native Lithuania, won the ladies race in a time of 30:39.
Neringa came to Britain in 2009 and joined Ilford soon after as a race walker. Whilst a club member she represented Lithuania at the 2010 and 2014 European Championships, 2011 and 2013 World Championship and the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
A few years back she successfully began competing at running, and this was the latest in a long line of victories for Ilford AC.
 She will be very much missed by her friends at the club.

In 8th place was Gemma Ellender in 36:55. Joanne Reeves was 24th in 42:12, Dianne Crisp 24th in 44:10 and Julia Galea 57th in 49:53.

Sadly, the ladies were unable to complete a team of 6, and subsequently finished 7th on the night and moved to 4th overall in the table.

Also running, and running well on a difficult course was Joel Denning 30th 33:33, Alan Pearl 44th 36:15, Michael Perkins 51st 36:54, Bradley Brown 66th 38:20, Tony Young 84th 40:53, and Edward Skinner 101st 42:35

 

Saucony London 10k
Sunday 14th July

The London 10k is one of the largest 10k’s in Britain attracting over 14,000 runners.
The race takes runners through Central London, traffic free, and takes in Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.

En route the runners pass several bands and large union jacks draping the streets.

Ilford this year sent a small squad of 2 runners, both performing very well in hot conditions.

Billy Green came home in 51 minutes 10 seconds and Mandy Reid ran well for 57 minutes 22 seconds

  Press Report 9th July 2024  

Jul 092024
 

Essex Relay Championships
Southend
Sunday 7th July

The Essex Relay Championships were held at Southend’s Garon Park Stadium at the weekend in showery blustery weather, and Ilford entered two junior teams.

First off were the U15 boys.

Matthew Ayers had a great start and ran a strong bend to hand off to debutant Adam Idoura who powered down the back strait to pass the baton to Justice Okereke who used his great strength to battle the bend and the strong breeze for a really good baton change with last leg runner Damien Amaniampong who showed his sprinting ability by going away from the third placed athlete and securing a brilliant SILVER medal for the team.
Their finishing time of 47.5 seconds was just 0.8s off the Club record which was set in 1958.

A brilliant, gritty run by the team considering the absence of our fastest sprinter Jaydan Roberts-Edwards who is currently nursing a broken elbow.

The U17W were in a very strong final with teams from Chelmsford and Southend among the favourites.

Stacey Amaniampong got the team off to a great start handing over to Adaeze Oyem who attacked the back strait with great determination before handing over to Omo Ojo  for the third leg. Omo ran a strong bend before handing over to Marissa Osas-Bavis  who chased down the three athletes in front but she was unable to improve on their 4th position in a season best time of 53.6.

A great effort by the team.

Orion Forest 5
Epping Forest

Saturday 6th July

The Forest 5 is a series of 3 races in Epping Forest, held on the first Saturday in June, July and August, the 3rd of which incorporates the ‘Elvis’ race hosted by Orion Harriers.

The race was held on a rainy, unseasonably cool Saturday morning over a 1 lap 5-mile course which featured a few climbs.

Ilford AC had 8 runners representing the club. 

First home for the club in 4th place was Steve Philcox who claimed 2nd M50 on the day in 31:59. Next home in 20th place was Danny Holeyman in 35:47, followed closely by Dave Thomas in 23rd place in 36:24 and 2nd M60.

Steve Chissell was next home in 26th place for 37:06, followed by the club’s first female, Mandy Reid in 45:28 for 71st.

Jim Tilbrook came home in 85th place in a time of 47:42 followed by Frieda Keane in 53:43 for 97th and Julia Galea in 54:05 for 101st