The 2026 England Winter Long Throws Championships were held at Loughborough last weekend with standout efforts from Bedford & County Athletic Club athletes:

📊 Emily Elphick – U16 Girls Javelin
Emily delivered a gutsy series in tricky, rainy cross-wind conditions during the female javelin competition finishing 3^rd with 38.13m. After trading positions with rivals early on, she threw consistently and showed technical resilience. While she didn’t reach the very top of the podium place performance was competitive and close to personal best distance, reflecting strong developmental momentum heading into the outdoor season. Emily's medal was presented by Goldie Sayers, UK Record holder and Olympic Bronze Medallist.

🔨 Mia Flynn – U16 Girls Hammer
Mia lit up the final event of the day with a powerful hammer series winning her first national title. Battling through multiple no-throws, she produced a modest winning mark on her last attempt 47.89m to clinch the title in her age group. Her capacity to refocus under pressure and finish strongly was a highlight, signaling excellent form and championship composure.

Both performances from Bedford & County’s girls were impressive and bode well for the summer season’s ambitions.

There were some excellent club performances at Battersea FNUL last Friday – as ever, the races were of a very high quality. There were road pb’s for Ed Whiting (15:07) and Lauren Nichols (17:10), and very solid seasons bests from Ed Blythman (14:17) and Sam Knee-Robinson (14:46).

It was good to see so many BCAC athletes making the very long trip north to Sedgefield, County Durham, for the National Cross Country Championships last weekend (21^st February).

Best team performance of the day was in the senior men’s race, where we had 10 athletes on the start line, with the team finishing a very creditable 6^th (2^nd southern club), led home by Ben Alcock’s fine 13^th place, a commendable effort, coming as it did just 6 days after running a half marathon pb.

Congratulations to our athletes who have been awarded their Bedfordshire County colours – Luca, Oskar, Serena, Mia, Lois, Juliette, Holly. Fraser and Sophia.

Well done to all our athletes who competed at the Eastern Indoor Track & Field Championships over the weekend.

Overall Bedford & County athletes achieved 20 personal bests and 8 medals.