It has come to light that we had two more multi-talented junior Harriers competing alongside Tori at Tynedale on Saturday. Under 17, Charlotte Rutter who is one of our most experienced combined events athletes, and Under 13, Lottie Graves who was taking part in her first ever pentathlon! Lets see how they got on….
Under 17 Women
Charlotte’s first event of the day was definitely one of her strongest, the 80m Hurdles. She’s established herself as one of the country’s best, ranking 17th over this distance in 2019, so she was hopeful of doing well here today – which of course, she did. She was the only athlete to cross the line in under 12 seconds in a time of 11.86s, just outside her PB of 11.7s. A fantastic start to the day!
Next up, one of Charlotte’s favourites, the High Jump. Like most, it’s been a while since Charlotte’s had chance to compete at this event; the last time was back in March and that was indoors. Today she jumped extremely well, and matched her indoor PB of 1.51m to take 3rd place, keeping her top of the leader board so she was more than happy with that.
Third event, the shot put, historically another strong event for Charlotte (there’s not many that aren’t!) Today she certainly gave it her all, smashing her PB by 40cm in the process; she took 2nd place with a best of 10.72m, keeping her in that top slot.
Next, the Long Jump. Another great effort and some fabulous jumping from all competitors. Charlotte was only beaten by one of them and took 2nd place with a best of 5.06m. Not quite a PB this time but enough to keep her in 1st place overall with one event to go……
As a sprinter, if Charlotte has a weaker event, she’d be the first to admit that the 800m is her Achilles heal. But as she’s got older her endurance has definitely improved and today she ran her best 800m ever, knocking 5 seconds off her previous best, finishing in 2:40.81 to take 2nd place.
Overall, a magnificent effort. With a grand total of 3167 points, Charlotte remained at the top of the leader board with a 67 point lead, to take a well deserved 1st place. Outstanding performance, Charlotte, well done!
Under 13 Girls
It really was a last minute decision for Lottie to take part in her first ever pentathlon. It takes a while to get to grips with any new discipline, but she had only just started the high jump and hurdles, and had little or no experience of the shot put and long jump! So understandably, Lottie was a little apprehensive about the whole thing when the big day arrived.
But in the end, she decided to take the bull by the horns and just go for it! Besides, she had nothing to lose, so she just focussed on doing her best and enjoying the whole experience.
Lottie’s first event was the long jump. She did manage to get a couple of jumps recorded last year as an Under 11, but she’s bigger and stronger now and managed to beat her previous best with a jump of 3.67m. So, one event down and a new PB; not a bad start!
Next up was the 70m Hurdles. Lottie wasn’t expecting miracles here, so getting over each hurdle and crossing the line was her aim, which she did very well in a time of 14.7s. Well done, at least with a recorded time you’ve got something to aim for next time!
Third event, the shot put. A totally new discipline for Lottie, and not a bad effort at all with a best throw of 4.73m. Look at it this way, at the same age KJT hadn’t even picked up a shot so you’ve got one up on the Heptathlon World Champion!
Next, the High Jump; another new one for Lottie and such a technical discipline which can take years to master. But one step at a time. There was some excellent jumping from all competitors including Lottie who’s best on the day was 1.25m. A tremendous start to your high jumping!
And the final event of the day, the 800m. As a keen endurance runner this was obviously Lottie’s strongest event, and of all five disciplines, where she felt most comfortable. The experience of all those NYSD cross country runs proved invaluable as she ran with confidence, and crossed the line in an excellent time of 2:55.44.
At the end of the day Lottie managed a grand total of 1542 points, and just like Tori, she is still a Year 1 athlete so looking good for next year! Well done Lottie, a fabulous start to your combined events athletics.