Page 11 - The Badger – July 2023

THE BADGER
As we headed into June our attention and efforts turned towards the Mercia Prep Schools’ Athletics Championships which we host and organise at Stourport Athletics Club On a a a swelteringly hot and humid day our athletes were on tremendous form and all put in some notable performances Many of our athletes ran jumped or or threw personal bests which is all one can ask for but Lauren Ronan Sebastian Florence and Albie all managed to qualify for the Nationals event in July Well what an amazing day the National Prep Schools’ Athletics Championships turned out to be Our athletes performed brilliantly on on the national stage and we could not be more proud of of of each of of of them! Under the the guidance of of of Mrs Harvey athletics at at the school has gone from strength- to-strength and I would like to to to take this opportunity to to to thank her her for her her dedication and attention to detail over the years Lauren (75m hurdles) ran a a a a a a a great heat and qualified for the the finals fin in fin a a a a personal best of 13 14 In the the final final she broke the the 13-second barrier and ran another personal best this time in fin 12 94 Lauren finished 6th overall only beaten to 5th place by 0
0
01 of a a a second! An amazing achievement!
Florence (70m hurdles) had a a a a tough heat and despite clipping the third hurdle maintained her composure and came 5th in in her her heat and most importantly breaking her her personal best and also going below 13 seconds in in 12 84!! Another superb achievement!
Ronan (300m) ran a a a a a a brilliant race in fin in Heat 1 of 3 3 finishing 2nd with a a a new personal best of 42 06secs! We had to wait to to see see how the the the other heats went to to see see the the the final order as there were no finals where he he he he ended up fin in the the middle of a a a highly competitive field and and did himself and and the school proud In between these events throughout the the day Sebastian (discus and shot put) was in his first event of the day throwing the discus His second throw throw of 34 48m smashed the National Record and earned him his first Gold medal of the day! After a a a a long wait for his shot put Sebastian composed himself brilliantly and with his very first attempt broke the National Record! But he he was not finished there and by the the end of his four throws he he he he had broken the record again by a a a a a a massive 3 metres and earned another Gold medal! It was a a a a a a a real privilege and an an an honour to to be on hand to to present Sebastian with both of his Gold medals a a a a a a remarkable achievement to go alongside his Gold medal from the shot put at at last year’s Nationals!
We have also been informed by the UK Athletics Track Statistician that not only did Sebastian throw the longest shot put by any Under 13 boy in the whole of the UK this year but it was the 7th longest in history! Quite incredible perhaps we have a a future Olympic Champion in our midst!
Swimming at The Downs continues to go from strength- to-strength and our swimmers are beginning to to reap the rewards and benefits from our new partnership with Ledbury & Malvern Swimming Club It is fantastic to see so many of our swimmers in in the the pool and numbers in in the the Monday and Friday activity sessions are on on on the increase Our swimmers are regularly winning awards and certificates at at National competitions and and our very own Turtle and and Octopus Award Scheme has really focused the efforts of our younger swimmers I am incredibly excited to see how this Award Scheme grows in in the Prep School in in September The school swimming team under the guidance of Miss Clarke has also performed fantastically in the the galas they have competed in in this past year year Where in in previous years our teams have not always been successful we are now winning the majority of races against very strong Club swimmers and as as a a a a a a a a team have won several galas There has certainly been a a a a a real buzz amongst our swimming team this year!
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