Grand Prix Meeting - Crystal Palace - 23rd August 2002

Kelly Holmes may not have made it to Crystal Palace but the club still had two runners in the 800m. Lee Bowron (31) and Shugri Omar (34) were involved in a close finish to the under 20 race that started off the evening's programme.

Lee took an early lead before Woodford Green's Chris Reynolds went to the front. Coming up to the bell Lee and Shugri were swallowed up by the pack before breaking free down the back straight to lie second and third with 150m to go.

In the dash for the line, the duo lost out narrowly with Lee finishing fourth in 1:53.24 and Shugri sixth in 1:53.93. Still, with Lee the only under 17 in the field and Shugri the third youngest there's always next year.

AAA Under 15 and Under 17 Championships - 10/11th August 2002

Darryl Thomas jumped his way to the top of the national rankings at the AAA Under 15 and Under17 Championships in Birmingham. The Ealing Southall & Middlesex athlete was just one of the club’s eleven competitors who qualified for this prestigious competition.

Following a no jump in the first round of the under 15 long jump Darryl went out to 6.48 metres in the second. This is a personal best, club record and the longest jump by a UK under 15 this year. He completed a very good series - 6.41, 6.25, 6.25, 6.15 and had the longest jump in every round except the first. He also managed to progress to the semi-finals of the 100m.

For Lee Bowron it was a return to the scene of his greatest triumph. Two years ago he sliced 10 seconds off the championship record to win the under 15 1500m, this time he won the under 17 title by a comfortable 10 metres in a time of 3:58.19.

Abdi Igi’s attempt to follow in Lee’s footsteps fell short by just 0.04 seconds with a time of 4:08.07. There was an agonising wait of 10 minutes before Abdi was awarded the silver medal in the under 15 boys 1500m. Behind him in ninth place was Abdi Wahab, with another year in the age group he is a strong medal prospect for next year. The club nearly had three in the final with Ben Stock just three seconds short of qualifying.

Sam Hynes won a bronze medal in the under 17 women's hammer with 39.12 in the last round. This was a very impressive result in her first season in the event.