The Chronicle 682

48

ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Athletics By Becky Drury, Head of Athletics

atmosphere due to missing their first season in Fifth Form, they showed the new Athletics Team recruits what competing for Teddies is all about: boys and girls of all ages travelling and competing together, cheering for each other in each race and walking the track to watch and support the field events too. Captains Sam Gorton, Lily Helling and Sophie Tompkins led the way in this, aided by fellow Upper Sixth pupils Bella Link, Felix Abel, Charlie Bell, Daisy Helling, Harrison Wells and Phillip von der Linden during each athletics meet. The Marlborough Nitro Event was the highlight of the season, a brilliantly competitive, sunny afternoon with both the Senior A and Inter Boys winning the competition, the Senior Girls’ team achieving second place, and the Senior Boys’ B team achieving third. Two brilliant performances in the medley relay, in which all eight team members had to run, sealed overall victory for the Senior A and Inter Boys. Each team member ran beautifully in events like the elimination mile, 4-minute relay and 150m,

The Athletics Team embodies much of the Teddies ethos which our Chair of Governors spoke about during his speech at the Upper Sixth Prize-Giving Ceremony in the Gaudy Marquee. It is a team where young men and women work together, always supporting each other in order to achieve great things. Our athletes pushed each other to work harder in each training session, despite not knowing whether they would get to compete as optimistically planned fixtures were cancelled. Then, once the ESAA Covid imposed fixture ban was finally lifted on May 17th, they supported and encouraged each other in competition too. The Upper Sixth were instrumental in this, having missed their 2020 season, and with the Lower Sixth not having experienced the Teddies Athletics

Freddie Walton and Harrison Wells

but Sam Gorton and Logan Norris-Lambe especially ran far and fast for the Seniors, Jack Wood likewise for the Inters. For the girls Bella Link, Lily Helling and Lucy Draper competed very well in the sprints, javelin and long jump. The boys’ and girls’ teams also participated in the usual invitational fixtures at Marlborough, with an array of excellent performances to watch and applaud at both; we even managed to welcome a few parents to support, too. The Inter Boys successfully finished in overall third place out of the six competing schools behind Harrow and Marlborough at each fixture. Freddie Walton had two superb afternoons, each time winning all three of his races: 100m, 100m hurdles, and 200m. He was ably supported by his teammates who either won or placed in their A and B stream events: Hamza Ali (400m and 200m), Jack Wood (400m), Charlie Jones (1500m), Asa Greenwood (Long Jump), Dylan Jones (Long and High Jump), Egor Varivoda (Discus and Shot), Ndiana-Abasi Awak-Essien (Discus) and Toby Barlow (Long Jump and Discus). The Senior Boys were also overall third in both fixtures, winning or placing across a range of events at each. Sam Gorton (400m and 800m), Charlie Bell and Tom Niblett (Javelin), Logan Norris-Lambe (1500m), Felix Abel (400m) and Thomas Helm (1500m). William Barlow had two very busy afternoons placing in the High Jump, Discus and Javelin, as well as running a PB in the 100m. The Senior Girls completed our collection of overall third places, behind Marlborough and Brighton College. Joint captains Sophie Tompkins and Lily Helling placed in their respective events of Shot and Javelin, High

Hamza Ali