The 137th varsity athletics match took place on Saturday 21st May at Wilberforce Road, Cambridge and it unfortunately resulted in a dominant home victory for Cambridge. We were defeated in the men's and women's blues and seconds matches by a group of highly talented light blues but there were nevertheless some outstanding Oxford performances.
The Oxford performance of the day came in the Women's blues match from Clara Blattler in the pole vault. Blattler vaulted 3.50 to break the match record and earn herself the best field performance of the day award. But her day was far from over as Clara also won the 400m hurdles, came 2nd in 100m hurdles, 3rd in both the long and triple jump and also performed admirably in the relay. The 800m was also a successful event for Oxford as Rachel Deegan and our inspirational president Catriona Witcombe took 1st and 2nd, respectively. Catriona equalled Clara by competing in six events on the day and she displayed her all round athletic ability in each of them. There were two further wins in the womens blues match, in the 5000m for Hayley Munn and in the Javelin for Katie Braham.
In the mens Blues match Oxford were dominant in the middle and long distance track events, as befits the famous heritage that includes, of course, Roger Bannister, the first man to break 4 minutes for the mile back in 1954. Chris McGurk looked supreme in winning the 1500m and he was ably backed up by talented fresher, Tom Frith, in second. Luke Caldwell took the win with a strong last lap in the 5000m and this was all the more impressive given that he had been third in a hard run 800m earlier in the day. The Oxford sprinters and field eventers battled hard all day but were generally outclassed by their Cambridge counterparts. One exception to this was Laurent Stephenson from Baliol, who won the Javelin with a personal best throw of 52.34m.
Eloise Waldon-Day was awarded the trophy for 2nd team performance of the day for her strong performances in the 400m, 200m hurdles, 400m hurdles, high jump, pole vault, discuss, javelin and shot put. It may have been noted that several athletes competed in multiple events and this reflects a lack of strength in depth across the board. This was not helped by the withdrawal of several of Oxford's very best athletes at the last minute due to injury and ineligibility. With the British Universities championships being held at the new Olympic stadium in London next summer, the athletics club will look to recruit some talented new athletes to bolster the side for the Varsity match next year.
Oxford still have the upper hand in the overall number of Mens Blues matches, with 73 wins versus Cambridge's 56. It will take a strong effort to overhaul the worrying trend that is beginning to develop, with Cambridge taking the win in the last three years, but Oxford are certainly capable of achieving that when the match returns home to fortress Iffley next year.
Women's Blues: Katie Braham, Hannah Hogben, Kathryn Twyman. Men's Blues: Jake Shelley.
by Jake Shelley
OUAC Committee 2011-12
Club President:Matthew Johnson (matthew.johnson@jesus.ox.ac.uk) - Centipedes steeplechase and XC
Men's Captain: Bradford Waldie (bdwaldie@gmail.com) - Blues Pole Vault
Women's Captain: Eleanor Gatehouse (eleanor.gatehouse@chch.ox.ac.uk) - Blues/millipedes sprints
Honorary Secretary: Caspar Eliot (caspar.eliot@new.ox.ac.uk) - Blues 400m hurdles, 400m
Treasurer and Men's Vice Captain: Ben White (benjamin.white@chch.ox.ac.uk) - Blues Triple Jump
Women's Vice Captain: Katie Holder (katie.holder@new.ox.ac.uk) - Heptathlon
Social Secretary: Felicity Abbott (felicity.abbott@exeter.ox.ac.uk) - Blues/millipedes sprints
Fixtures Secretary: Helen Hanstock (helen.hanstock@magd.ox.ac.uk) - Alumni Heptathlete
Webmaster: Gareth Morgan (gareth.morgan@stcatz.ox.ac.uk) - Centipedes Pole Vault
Kit Secretary: Tom Frith (thomas.frith@st-annes.ox.ac.uk) - Blues 1500m
Alumni Rep: Catriona Witcombe (cwitcombe@googlemail.com) - Alumni Middle Distance
THIS SATURDAY!
Please find below the timetable for the 2011 OUAC Cuppers Competition at the Sir Roger Bannister Track, Iffley Road Sports Centre, OX4 1EQ.
FIELD EVENTS
12.00 Pole Vault
13.00 Discus
13.00 Long Jump
14.00 High Jump
14.00 Javelin
15.00 Hammer
16.00 Triple Jump
16.00 Shot
TRACK EVENTS
12.30 400 m Hurdles
12.55 800 m
13.15 100m
13.45 200 m Hurdles Men
14.00 3000m Steeplechase Men
14.20 400 m
14.50 100m Hurdles Women
15.15 1500m
15.25 110 m Hurdles Men
15.35 5000 m
16.00 200 m
16.20 2000 m Steeplechase Women
16.40 4x100 m Relay
16.55 4x400 m Relay
Unless otherwise specified, events will be run with women first, then men.
There is a £1 entry fee per athlete per event.
Achilles won both the men's and women's matches at the first LICC match, which took place at Parliament Hill on Saturday the 23rd April, in 25 degree temperatures. Full results can be found
here .
Faith Norster and Felicity Abbott ran well in the sprints, achieving 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 100m, and half blue times in all of their races. Catriona Witcombe won the 800m by 6 seconds over minty-green Achilles member Noelia Ferruz, and Dark Blue alumnus Emily Binner ran an excellent 400m in the white and gold vest of Achilles.
At the classic Kinnaird and Sward Trophy match on the same day, good performances came from Tom Frith, back from injury and running well to win the 1500m, Fabian Downs taking second in the 3000m and Kevin Kimuana, who ran a 22.6second 200m.
The distance runners have already been chalking up excellent performances at BMC and Open meetings - particularly notable were Jake Shelley and Luke Caldwell's performances in the BMC 3000m at Watford, and Andy Heyes and Chris McGurk taking stunning 1-2 in the Loughborough University BUCS trials races. Watch this race .
It is all looking good for the Dark Blues with only weeks until Varsity...
The winner of the Hall of Fame for the decade 2000 to 2010 is the legendary
Fraser Thompson .
Fraser was a member of the remarkably strong Freshman team for the 2003 Varsity match, at which he completed a stunning 800m, 1500m, 3000m triple. President of the club the following year, Fraser truly bleeds Dark Blue.
He won the Blue cross-country varsity match 3 years running: in 2002, 2003, 2004, was 3rd in 2005, and took a staggering total of 7 individual wins for the Blues team at the athletics varsity. At BUSA, Fraser completed the 5k/10k double gold in 2003, was 2nd in the 1500m in 2004, and repeated the 5k/10k in 2005, this time getting silver and gold respectively.
However, as true testament to the grit and determination that marks him out as one of the Hall of Fame contenders, in his final varsity match in 2006, Fraser ran the final few laps with a torn calf, after it became apparent that he needed to secure 2nd place behind Oxford’s Ben Moreau in order for the team to win the match. Shouting out that he would need medical help at the end of the race, Fraser dug deep and beat both his opponent tabs, helping to ensure the win. A true Dark Blue legend.
Fraser collected his award at the OUAC and OUCCC 150th anniversary and Hall of Fame Dinner, which was held at Keble College on the 3rd March. 10 OUAC Presidents attended, as well as special guests Ron Hill, Richard Nerurkar and Julian Goater.
As we approach the end of the indoor season, there many excellent results to look back on and to take forward into the outdoor season and on to Varsity.
We have acquired a number of notable new recruits this term, with Katie Braham winning the FEAR javelin event in her first athletics competition for 3 years, shot putter Jon McKinley taking great strides, and Roland Crouch and Sam Wareham turning their hands to the track after a winter of rugby in the 21's. Another excellent find has been Nadine Prill, who is continuing the OUAC trend of talented German athletes with her long sprints prowess.
There were some very good performances at BUCS indoors, in particular, Clara Blattler achieving 5th place in the pole vault and Catriona Witcombe placing 9th in the 800m in a new indoor PB. The goal for the upcoming outdoor BUCS championships will be to field strong teams in both the men's and women's relays and to increase the number of dark blue finalists and semi-finalists - BUCS offers an opportunity for OUAC to show that it can punch above its weight against the classic 'sporting universities' - yes, there is more to University athletics than shoeing the Tabs.
With copious medals at SESSA and strong teams at the London Indoor Games and FEAR, we are looking in good shape to carry this momentum forward into the summer - the first outdoor competition is Kinnaird and Sward (23rd April) for the men, and LICC (23rd April) for the women - let's come out all guns blazing.
OUAC alumni have also been competing indoors this season, proving that athletics life goes on A.B. (After Blues) - particular mention to Frances Smithson, who has had a fantastic season, jumping an excellent 1.75m in the high jump, and also Danny Eckersley, who has run a series of PBs in the 800m.
Happy Valentine's Day!
TRAINING THIS WEEK:
Monday: Circuits@ Iffley @ 6pm
Tuesday: Track Training @ Iffley @ 5.45 for 6pm
Wednesday: Sprints training with Eric Brees, 1.15pm.
Thursday: Track Training @ Iffley @ 5.45 for 6pm (7pm for 3km-5km runners)
Friday: Throws Training @ 2.30 with Barry
Saturday: BUCS indoors/ hill training
Sunday: BUCS indoors/ vertical and horizontal jumps training @ 11am with Paddy and Ailsa
There are only 9 training weeks until Varsity, so every single session counts at this stage. And of course, strenuous exercise is the best way to fight off those 5th week blues....
NOTICES FOR THIS WEEK:
1. Annual Dinner, 3rd March 2011
Tickets are selling fast for the OUCCC-OUAC Annual Dinner - if you have not yet emailed Elle Gatehouse (eleanor.gatehouse@chch.ox.ac.uk) to let her know you are attending, please do so ASAP. The closing date for ticket sales is this Friday, 18th February 2011. Remember to let Elle know if you are vegetarian or have any other special dietary requirements.
Special guests include:
- Ron Hill
- Julian Goater
- Richard Nerurkar
- Jason Henderson (editor of Athletics Weeky)
2. Kit orders
Andy Heyes is putting in an order for more lovely OUAC stash - get your forms in to him as soon as possible so we can try our best to get your kit to you by the end of term.
3. Harvard and Yale Match, 28th June 2011 (TT 9th wk)
Please save this date - over the remainder of this season and next term, myself and Laura Duke of Cambridge will be selecting a super-team of Oxford and Cambridge athletes to compete against Harvard and Yale in the UK leg of the prestigious and historic transatlantic series. This match is as important as the Varsity match, and of course, we would like Oxford to have a strong showing in the side that take on our Ivy League opponents. More details on this competition will be released in the next few weeks.
4. Joining The Achilles Club
Achilles is the joint Oxford and Cambridge Athletics Club for current members and alumni of OUAC and CUAC. Achilles provides OUAC with generous funding for coaching, warm weather training, Varsity matches and the transatlantic series, and raise large amounts of money to support OUAC in these ways.
Joining Achilles costs only £10 per year as a student, and in any one year as a current student you will recoup many times that amount in funding. When you join, you receive an Achilles vest, and you gain the right to compete in Achilles Matches including the Loughborough match, the LICC series and a number of other competitions. Achilles also operates an active alumni network, which can be extremely useful to soon-to-be graduates.
Congratulations and thanks to all of those who competed at the FEAR match against Cambridge this weekend. Although we may have lost out overall, many fantastic performances suggest great things to come in the summer.
Notable Performances included:
- New match record in the women's Pole Vault (Clara Blattler, Katie Holder, Catriona Witcombe)
- New match record in the men's 1500m (Andrew Heyes, Luke Caldwell, Chris McGurk, Fraser Scott)
- Excellent wins in both the men's and women's javelin
- Fantastic sprinting from the 60m women.
Further congratulations are due to the Cross Country teams who competed at the BUCS Championships at the weekend. The men's team came a stunning third, beating not only the Tabs, but also Loughborough University. Andrew Heyes led the dark blues home in a creditable 16th position.
Results of VFEAR will be on the OUAC website shortly.
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