Clare Elms leads the way with a spate of top performances by veteran athletes already this summer
Clare Elms was unable to improve her own world W60 1500m record of 4:57.11 from last summer at a meeting at Tonbridge on Tuesday (July 1) but she still achieved a notable performance becoming the oldest woman to break five minutes.
The AW masters athlete of 2024 finished third in the race and first woman and was the only non-Tonbridge AC athlete in her heat.
It took a while to move up in a race saw four the first five from the under-15 boys age group. After being on record schedule at halfway she just slowed on the third lap but a strong finish gave her a sub-five clocking to set a world-age 61 best of 4:59.11. The time is quicker than any other woman of her W60 age group has run the distance.
On the Power of 10 age-grading the performance gathered 107.51 per-cent which is her highest age-grading of her career though she is hopeful of going much quicker later in the summer.
Elms set world indoor records at 1500m and 3000m during the winter and recently run the fastest ever W60 5km of 18:09 but she has yet to set a record on the track this summer but other Brits have set notable marks.
Harry Wakefield set a M35 UK 800m mark of 1:47.46 in Bury in May and he has set yet to be ratified marks of 3:38.57 at 1500m at Birmingham and a 3:58.42 mile at Oxford both of which surpassed Anthony Whiteman’s times.
Over 300m hurdles there have been UK marks for M65 Richard White (46.36) and M70 Ian Broadhurst (47.97), two athletes like Elms who won World Masters golds in Florida.
Another world champion W75 Sarah Roberts has set world and UK records at 800m (2:58.12), 1500m (6:06.20) and 5000m (22:40.15).
In the field M85 Roger Bruck high jumped a British best of 1.11m and M90 Warwick Dixon threw 7.24m in the shot.
Another M90 Hugh Ryan set a UK hammer mark of 18.46m though Dixon did throw further (20.14m) in setting a M90 Throws pentathlon record in scoring 2981 points.
W65 Janice Pryce improved the UK triple jump best to 8.38m.
Diana Norman broke the UK W50 pentathlon record with a score of 4158 points at Wimbledon in April, bettering the four year-old mark of her older sister Julia Machin.
There have been British marks on the road apart for W60 Elms for M65 Alan Davies at half-marathon (81:51) W75 Roberts at 5km (21:33), W65 Claudine Benstead at 5 miles (33:21) and W60 Elspeth Turner at 10km (37:00).
Over 10 miles there have been UK bests for W55 Karima Harris (59:49) and W60 Sarah Gee (63:48).
Half-marathon bests have been set for W55 Harris (77:50) and W65 Benstead (89:45) and Harris also set a W55 marathon best of 2:45:45.
Tonbridge leading results July 1Mixed events 100: r3 (-2.0): 1 D Wright (Ton, W55) 14.57. 400: r2: 3 A Pringle (Reig, M60 63.53). r3: 4 S Daly (Ton, M55) 59.92. 800: r6: M Ayres (S’oaks, U13) 2:18.57. r7: G Shade (S Lon, U13W)2:24.80. r8: 5 D Connor (E’bne, U17W) 2:08.70. r9: 1 T Bawtree (Ton, U20) 1:52.91. 1500: r3: 3 C Elms (Kent, W60) 4:59.11. r4: 4 H Gaunt (Ton W45) 4:52.60; 5 N Hanekom (S’oaks, W45) 4:54.08. r5: 2 B Shearer (Camb H, M45) 4:25.85. r6: 6 L Szumilewicz (Ton, U15) 4:15.51; 7 A Vanderberg (Herc W, M40) 4:16.27.PV: 2 M Hilborne (Craw, U15) 3.70U15 boys HT: O Oviawe (Ton) 43.04W60: HT: S Vine (Ton) 30.76
