Thetford’s senior and junior athletes have been busy over the past week, participating in a number of events as the cross-country season draws to a close and the track and field season enters its earliest phase.

Thetford Athletics Club once again held one of its monthly winter throws meetings with athletes converging on the athletics track in Bury St Edmunds from as far afield as Chesterfield to participate it this competition.

Thetford athletes performed particularly well at this meeting, achieving a string of seasonal best or personal best performances. In throwing the discus 20.58m, Cameron Try registered not only a personal best performance but also the UK’s number one throw within the U13 age group at this stage of the season. Jordan Turner secured a season’s best throw of 33.46m in the U20 hammer whilst in the U17 age group, Joseph Nicholson’s 42.06m hammer throw was a PB along with being the fourth best throw in the UK. It’s third in the UK for Mia Browne who launched the hammer 34.68m to earn a PB in the U20 age group. V35 male, Josh Pirt also achieved a personal best throw in the discus, throwing 30.37m.

Elsewhere, it was the final outing for athletes participating in the Suffolk Winter Cross Country League with the final meet of the series taking place at Nowton Park in Bury St Edmunds. U13 boy Ben Garrod finished in seventh position with a time of 17:23mins whilst U13 girls Asha Soanes and Abigail Clouston came eightth and ninth respectively in times of 18:52 and 18:55. In the U15 age group, Aiden Try finished fourth with a time of 14:31 whilst Harley Swan was in seventh spot, crossing the line in 15:19. Both Abigail Clouston and Aiden Try finished the season in fourth position within their respective age groups whilst the Junior Boys team also finished fourth overall.

Thetford’s senior athletes also represented the club well with several high order finishes amongst the results. Lucy Tyler crossed the line in fifth in the senior women’s category with a time of 40:31min. There was a fourth place finish for Tina Plumley in the V40 category with a time of 45:35 whilst Steph Clouston came eighth, crossing the line in 49:05. Ann Kirton finished the V45 category in 16th with a time of 63.01. These performances from Thetford’s female athletes lead to a fourth place finish for the team which was the same position that both Tina Plumley and Lucy Tyler secured in their respective age groups over the course of the series.