Achilles Club FIXTURES 2015 Sat 18th April at Kingston Kinnaird & Sward (men) Sun 19th April at Lee Valley LICC (Achilles hosting) Sat 2nd - Mon 4th May at Bedford BUCS Championships Thurs 7th May at Oxford Achilles Schools Relays Sat 9th May at Oxford OUAC Trinity Cuppers Sat 9th May-Sun 10th May at Cambridge CUAC Sports Sat 16th May at Cambridge Varsity Match & Achilles Dinner 27th May at Oxford OUAC Town v Gown Wed 10th June at Loughborough Achilles v LSAC Sat 27th June at Allianz Park LICC Mon 29th June at Oxford Oxford & Cambridge v Harvard & Yale Sat 1st August at Allianz Park LICC Sat 29th August at Allianz Park LICC The LICC meetings in London are enthusiastically embraced by members of all ages, from 18 to 80. You won’t feel out of place! PRESIDENT: Dr Dewi W Roberts MBE DL (Cambridge) VICE-PRESIDENTS: Timothy M Taylor (Oxford) The Hon Michael J Beloff QC (Oxford) Air Commodore John G De'Ath MBE (Oxford) Dr Christopher JR Thorne (Cambridge) CHAIRMAN: Bridget H.R. Wheeler (Cambridge) [email protected] COMMITTEE: John Crosse (Oxford) Transatlantic Series, Lucy Spray (Cambridge) Achilles Schools Relays , Tom Dowie (Oxford) Achilles Dinner, Alan James (Cambridge) Varsity Match, Emma Hooper (Cambridge), Dr Rob Harle Webmaster & Hon. Treasurer, CUAC, Dr Chris Mar- tin Hon. Treasurer, OUAC, Matthew Buck (Cambridge) Kit – [email protected] , Dr. Andrew Hodge (Cambridge), Geoffrey Hill (Cambridge), Caspar Eliot (Oxford), Bilen Ahmet (Cambridge), Jon Brooke (Oxford), Chris Daniels (Oxford), Ralph Eliot Past President OUAC, Helen Broad- bridge Past President CUAC, Adam McBraida President OUAC, Hannah Church President CUAC, Sam Trigg Men’s Captain OUAC, James Brooks & Ed Hezlet Men’s Co-Captains CUAC, Montana Jack- son Women’s Captain OUAC, Emma Cullen Women’s Captain CUAC, Will Durkin Hon. Sec. OUAC, Will Morris Hon. Sec. CUAC, Jon Cook CUAC Alumni, Elle Gatehouse Matt Buck & Andy Hodge OUAC Alumni . TEAM MANAGERS: Sally Hughes (Oxford), Humphrey Waddington (Cambridge), Mike Collins (Cambridge), Helen Hanstock (Oxford), Caspar Eliot (Oxford), Daniel Hooker (Oxford). ACHILLES TRUSTEES: Dr. C.J.R. Thorne; Dr. D.W. Roberts; B.H.R. Wheeler; P.D.T. Willcox. Clerk to the Achilles Trust: Alan James [email protected] AMERCIAN ACHILLES FOUNDATION: Thomas N Blodgett (Cambridge) [email protected] HON. TREASURER & MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Peter Crawshaw (Oxford) 01737-761626 [email protected] HON. SECRETARY: Paul Talbot Willcox (Cambridge) 07768 735634 [email protected] Congratulations to Leslie Ellis, winner of the Achilles Trust Dinner Mile in the Varsity Match of 1936, on cele- brating his 100th birthday in November. Congratulations to Tamsin James and Emily Craven who have been successful in ob- taining accreditation as officials at Level 3P. BUCS Champions Rebecca Moore, 10000m RAF Club, 19th November. John Crosse, Brian Smouha, Giles Clifford, Adam McBraida, Alice Kaye. Ali Bajwa, Montana Jackson, Chris Brodie, Chris Daniels, Tim Lintott. Malcolm Chaplin, Dai Roberts, Chris Thorne, Andy Hodge, Dominic Emery. England Athletics Michael Painter, Hammer Tony Shiret, Tim Soutar, Peter Crawshaw and Sally Hughes are all on the board of England Athletics, continuing the Achilles tradition at the forefront of the sport’s advancement and development. Hanna Tarver, 800m 2 2014 Rankings UK Top 50, World Top 100 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow World UK Competing for the home team were Luke Caldwell and Emily Dudgeon (800m). For 7 1 Julia Bleasdale 10000m 31:42.02 England, Dan Hooker competed in the T37 100m and Ben Moreau in the marathon, while Grace 28 3 Julia Bleasdale 5000m 15:11.68 Clements 4 Luke Caldwell 10000m 28:47.39 brought her 35 4 Daniel Hooker 100m - T37 13.09 career to a close in 89 5 Grace Clements Heptathlon 5710 defence of 6 Luke Caldwell 5000m 13:33.28 her 2010 heptathlon 6 Hayley Munn Marathon 2:37:44 bronze med- 8 Ben Moreau Marathon 2:16:50 al. 83 9 Hanna Tarver 800m 2:01.82 10 Aidan Reynolds Javelin 68.72 86 10 Emily Dudgeon 800m 2:01.89 11 Grace Clements High Jump 1.78i 12 Ian Kimpton Marathon 2:18:04 12 Rowan May Pole Vault 5.20 13 Grace Clements Shot Put 13.40i 15 Ben Moreau 10000m 29:30.35 16 Michael Painter Hammer 62.95 16 Rebecca Moore 10000m 34:34.77 18 Matt Houlden Triple Jump 15.24 18 Grace Clements Javelin 44.61 18 OUAC 4 x 400m 3:16.61 19 Paolo Natali Marathon 2:20.55 19 Matt Houlden Long Jump 7.48 20 Jon Cook 1500m 3:42.27 Congratulations to Bob Shaw, his first season in the event. That 21 Achilles 4 x 400m 3:16.94 inducted into the Welsh Athletics was Wales’ first athletics medal 23 Kate Davies Heptathlon 4483 at the Games since Jim Alford’s Hall of Fame. His citation reads: 26 Andy Heyes 1500m 3:43.02 gold in the mile in Sydney in 1938. 26 Hanna Tarver 1500m 4:16.9 Born in Taffs Well, Bob Shaw He also competed at the Europe- 26 Polly Keen 3000 s/c 11:12.63 moved to Manchester when his an Championships in Berne, Swit- 27 Phyllis Agbo Shot Put 12.54 father took up an appointment zerland in 1954, three times low- there in 1948 and he won the 28 Carolyn Plateau 800m 2:05.57 ering the Welsh 400 metre hur- first of his six senior Welsh titles 28 Alex Milne 3000m s/c 9:12.74 dles record on his way to finish- while still a teenager at Man- 29 Achilles 4 x 100m 42.20 ing fifth in the final in 52.3 sec- chester Grammar School. onds. He then went to Mel- 30 Sam Trigg Triple Jump 15.00/15.20w At the same age, 18, he also bourne in 1956 with the British 30 Fiona Brown Shot Put 12.22 captured the AAA Junior discus Olympic team, but failed to qual- 32 Tom Parker Hammer 56.97 and 120 yard hurdles titles on ify from his heat. 33 Chris Bannon 5000m 14:12.76 the same day at Perry Bar – both He was captain of the Welsh with Welsh junior records and 33 Jon Cook 800m 1:49.57 athletics team at the 1958 Em- the latter with a Championship 33 Helen Broadbridge Hammer 50.14 pire and Commonwealth Games best time. 34 Jake Shelley 1500m 3:43.74 in Cardiff, but just missed out on His four Welsh senior titles in the 35 Sam Trigg Long Jump 7.25 a final berth when he finished high hurdles came in 1951, 1954, fourth in his semi-final. 36 Alex Milne Marathon 2:25.14 1955 and 1957 and he won the In Budapest in 1956 he lowered 37 Paolo Natali 10000m 30:28.34 440 yard hurdles in 1954 and the Welsh record for an eighth 37 Josh Mouland Decathlon 5922 1955. He also picked up two time when he recorded 51.7 38 Christina Nick Discus 40.42 bronzes in the discus. His 1955 seconds. That time wasn’t beat- mark of 55.2 seconds in the 440 39 Will Mycroft 3000m s/c 9:26.4 en until 1974 and he also held yards hurdles stood as a Welsh 39 Nav Childs Triple Jump 14.64/14.96w the 120 yard hurdles Welsh rec- Championship record for 15 39 Georgie Howe Hammer 47.18 ord for 16 years. years. 40 Chris Bannon 10000m 30:34.80 He won four Blues for athletics 40 Andy Wheble Discus 45.37 while at Oxford University and 40 Priya Cosby 3000m s/c 11:58.04 became the first Welshman to A Taste for Athletics 42 Alison Greggor Marathon 2:52.10 win the AAA 440 yards hurdles 42 Emma Perkins High Jump 1.70 title in 1955 in a time of 52.2 My dog got to the latest Achil- 42 Laura Duke Hammer 46.77 seconds. les mail before I did. Would it The year before in Vancouver, 43 Craig Morten 400mH 53.85 be possible to get another one Canada, he struck bronze for 45 James Kelly Marathon 2:25:56 sent? Wales at the Empire and Com- 46 Fabian Downs 10000m 30:41.15 monwealth Games in a Welsh Many thanks 48 Alex Howard 3000m s/c 9:29.3 record time of 53.3 seconds in 50 Josh Abraham-Steele Hammer 51.94 Thora Glencorse 3 In Memoriam Sir Thomas Macpherson of Biallid, CBE, MC, TD, DL (Trinity College, Oxford, 1945-47) It is impossible to pay adequate tribute to all that Tommy Macpherson did for the Club and for the nation. Achilles were fortunate and proud to have a such a man at the helm of the Club’s affairs for so long. Among countless initiatives, he organised a very high profile tour to Greece and Italy in the early 1950’s, took over from Harold Abrahams as Chairman, oversaw the establishment of the Achilles Trust when the US Series had all but collapsed through lack of funds, and raised sponsorship for major tours to Australia in the late 1970’s and Hong Kong and China in the early 1990’s. Athletic achievements included a rare victory over Roger Bannister, and he competed against Zatopek while representing Great Britain in the World Student Games. In spite of impaired speech and mobility in recent years, which prompted him to resign as our President of 40 years, Tommy had remained our Patron and maintained the keenest interest in Achilles affairs: he attended the 150th Varsity Match dinner in Oxford in May, and at the time of his death had been preparing to join Club mem- bers again for an Achilles Trust dinner in London.