Hastings AC duo triumph in South East match

Elise Lovell equalled the county record in winning the women’s long jump, while Louisa James clinched the women’s hammer title.

James continued her successful summer with a winning throw of 58.90m, albeit one which was short of what she managed in winning the England Athletics U23 Championships and South of England AA U20/Senior Championships in recent weeks.

Multi-eventer Lovell matched Leanne Buxton’s 2007 record of 5.96m and finished around half a metre clear of her nearest rival.

She said: “I knew I had been jumping well recently. I’ve been consistently in the 5.70s with a bit of room on the board and I managed to get everything perfect on the day.”

Lovell also finished second in the 100m hurdles. She described her time of 14.55s as ‘average’, although she did have to contend with the girl next to her knocking a hurdle into her lane, costing her a bit of time.

What’s more, she was part of the Sussex women’s sprint relay team which raced to a dominant victory in a quick time of 48.62s, finishing around 30m clear of the field.

Sussex finished a very good fourth overall, behind Middlesex, Essex and Kent, and well ahead of the strong Hampshire and Surrey teams.

Lovell’s splendid performances in Basingstoke came despite competing in four events for Hastings AC in the latest Southern Athletics League match the previous day.

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