Multievent Champs 09
Inter Service Multi Event Championships - Tidworth - 20 & 21 May 09
By Flt Lt Ben Trapnell
The annual Inter Service Multievent Championships were held in sunny conditions at the Tidworth Oval. The competition combines the individual Service Championships as well as pitching all three Services against each other and is widely regarded as one of the toughest events of the Track and Field calendar. The athletes compete in either the Decathlon or Heptathlon as both individuals and as a Team. This years Championships also played host to the Womens Pole Vault competition for the first time in Inter Service compeition. The 2 days of competition has their fair share of ups and downs but after a close run competition, the Mens Team took the Inter Service team title in the Decathlon and Cpl Laura McGawn took the individual crown in the Heptathlon.
Day 1 of the Decathlon started with SAC Tony Higbee coming second in the 100m, backed up by SAC Mark Plowman and Team veteran FS Frank Chapman. All three athletes hail from RAF Odiham. Mark came bouncing back in the Long Jump establishing himself as a challenger for the Individual title.
In the women’s Heptathlon Cpl Laura McGawn, of DCAE Cosford, demolished the opposition in the 100m Hurdles. She went on to win the High Jump and Shot, establishing a clear lead over the other athletes.
The end of Day 1 saw Cpl Lee Okoroafo of the Army in the lead, with Mark in close contention and Tony not far behind in 3rd place. With Frank in 5th the team competition was looking hopeful. Speaking from Track Side Wg Cdr Howard Marsh said ‘It’s been a great first day and everyone has done exceptionally well. The effort that has gone into today has been fantastic!’
Exploding into Day 2, Tony recovered from his blocks slipping to record a fantastic win in the High Hurdles.
Laura also started her renewed campaign with a bang recording a PB in the Long Jump. She then put in a gutsy performance in the final event, the 800m, leading all the way to the finish line. This confirmed an emphatic win in the competition and a PB in terms of overall points, which will no doubt help her campaign for Commonwealth Games selection no harm. Unfortunately with no other RAF Womens competing the Army were uncontested as a team and took the team honours. The challenge is now to find other athletes to back Laura up and challenge the Army next year.
The male RAF Athletes showed their class in a close fought Pole Vault competition, with Tony just failing on an attempt at 4m. In the final event of the day the experience of Frank won out over the youthful exuberance of Tony and Mark running a tactical 1500m to be the first RAF Athlete across the line.
It was a tense wait for the team results and in the end it came down to 179 pts between first and second place, very close considering the combined team scores were around 15000 pts, which saw the RAF regaining the title we lost in 2008. SAC Higbee took the individual Silver after a strong second day with SAC Plowman taking the Bronze.
Of special note is that the match also hosted the first ever female Pole Vault competition in Inter Service competition. The Navy took the honours on the day with an impressive performance annoucing this new event onto the Inter Service programme.
Overall, a very successful competition for all involved. The team spirit and camaraderie between the athletes was fantastic. If you'd like to get in touch with next years campaign to retain the title, send us a Query.
