A reminder of the European Masters Athletics Championships in Madeira 2025. Steve Smythe was present in Madeira, both as a competitor and as chronicler. Here is the fourth of his reports from the Championships, a chance to look back at some highlights. These words have also been published in Athletics Weekly. BMAF is grateful for the chance to repeat them here.
The pictures of Ellie Stevens, the W35 Heptathlon competitors Including champion and shot winner Jo Rowland (2805) and Mark Symes leading M55 1500 are by Jonty Mitchell
Subject: GB masters 1500m runners lead the way in Europe
On day four of the European Masters at Madeira, British 1500m runners exceeded the haul of the 400m runners the day before as they won an astonishing nine golds in the discipline.
Metric mile golds went to Chris Loudon, Ellie Stevens, Paul Grange, Dean Richardson, Andrew Ridley, Jed Turner, Anna Garnier, Colin Spivey and Sarah Roberts.
Together with golds in the throws (Jo Rowland, Evaun Williams and Rachel Wilcockson) multi events (Rowland) and cross-country (Betty Stracey and team), Britain jumps past Germany to top the medal table.
Britain now has 37 golds, 29 silver and 24 bronze to Germany’s 33, 35, 26 with France now a distant third (24, 19, 22).
Loudon, who won world indoor medals in March at 800m and 3000m, this time focused on 1500m and with a fast last 200m kick, he won by two seconds in a fast 4:01.67 as he beat France’s Olivier Galon (4:03.66).
Britain had five of the top nine with Michael Holness the best of the rest in sixth in 4:08.20.
Also winning the W40s was 10,000m and multi world indoor champion Stevens.
The US-based runner won in a time of 4:33.19 from GB team-mate Laura Haggarty (4:41.01) with Alexis Dodd fifth in 4:53.60.
Britain also won M45 gold through Paul Grange who was making his international masters debut.
An assured run and strong finish saw him win in a time of 4:06.62 from Italy’s Francesco Nadalutti (4:08.19).
The 2019 and 2023 world indoor champion Dean Richardson, who was team manager earlier in the year in Florida, this time focused on competition and won M50 gold with a typical well-judged effort.
He was timed in 4:07.51 as he won from Victor Martinez of Spain (4:10.01) with Les Newell fifth in 4:21.71.
There was a one-two in the M60 race as world champion and world outdoor record-holder Andrew Ridley outkicked world indoor champion Rob McHarg 4:35.75 to 4:37.83 thanks to a long kick 400m from the finish.
A gold looked likely in the M65 race though most eyes were on world indoor champion at 800m, 1500m and 3000m Dave Clarke or European Indoor champion John Thomson.
However sadly Clarke had to drop out with a bad hamstring pull while battling for a medal and Thomson looked set for gold but a strong late kick by Jed Turner gave him a shock win and his biggest win to date in 4:56.78 to Thomson’s 4:57.12.
It showed his great improvement as in the previous championships in Pescara in 2023, Turner had not been able to make the M60 final at 400m and 800m.
World W70 mile record-holder and the 2022 world W65 champion Anna Garnier, won a slow tactical race in 6:48.65. Ex-Brit and former champion Alison Bourgeois was second in 6:51.86 in the colours of Switzerland.
Lynn Jenkins, who ran the cross-country earlier in the day, took bronze in 7:04.77.
Sarah Roberts had also run the cross-country and after second places there and at 400m, she returned to a gold standard with a 6:21.83. Second went to Italy’s Lucia Soranza (6:36.16) as Roberts’ gold medal winning cross-country team-mates Anne Dockery was third in 7:05.29 and Carolyn Gale fifth in 7:25.29.
Following his 400m gold, Colin Spivey won the M90 1500m in 8:50.36.
Only one M85 managed to beat the 91 year-old and that was multi world record-holder and phenomenaJean-Louis Esnault who ran 6:48.18.
World champion Mark Symes controlled the M55 race but despite a furious pace was unable to resist the strong kick of Netherland’s former UK-based Andrew Larasen who won in 4:14.80 to Symes’ 4:17.04 but the latter’s time was a British outdoor record beating his world title winning 4:17.45 last year.
The former British senior 10,000m champion and defending champion Jill Harrison finished second in 5:47.34 behind Sweden’s Karin Wahlstedt (5:33.06).
The Swede had been winning medals for over 20 years and is new to the W65 age-group.
Betty Stracey was second in the W85 1500m in 10:50.18 to Ireland’s Ann Woodlock (9:49.04) having won cross-country gold in the morning.
Kat Sutton initially thought she had missed W35 1500m bronze by five thousands of a second with a time of 5:04.08 as eight metres covered the leading quartet.
However, it was later confirmed that it was so close that she would share bronze with Spain’s Estefania Morillo.
Elke Hausler (5:35.46) was a close fourth in the W60 race just behind Austrian bronze medalist Sabine Hofer who a few hours earlier had won cross-country gold.
The race was easily won by Ireland’s world champion and former world record-holder Anne Gilshinan and was a second short of Clare Elms’ world record set earlier in the summer.
Her 4:57.93 gave her a 33 second victory.
Ireland were expected to win in the M70 race but multi champion Joe Gough was headed by Latvia’s Peteris Arents’ 5:22.15.
Dave Bedwell was fifth in 5:38.43.
Anna Critchlow was fourth in the W55s in 5:23.14 and Caroline Hale sixth (5:42.56) as Sweden’s Marie Dasler led the way in 5:07.08.
Sarah Swift was fifth in the W50 race in 5:20.48.
Though it was scheduled for Saturday the W35 hammer was not completed until well past 4am.
World masters runner-up Rachel Wilcockson won gold with 55.97m backed up by two other 55 metre throws.
She won by 11 metres and her British teammates Caroline Holdsworth (40.79m) and Suzanna Wise (40.25m) were also fifth and sixth.
In the W40 hammer which also finished a day late, Joanne John (48.52m) took bronze as Ireland’s Rachel Aker (54.04m) took gold.
The W35 shot only happened a few hours after the hammer at the main stadium in a different town necessitating an early bus journey for many of the competitors.
Jo Rowland who was making her masters debut this year won easily with a 13.54m throw from Germany’s Sandra Buttner (12.00m) with a sleep-deprived Holdsworth (11.32m) and Wise (8.99m) third and sixth.
Rowland gained her second gold of the day in the Heptathlon as she won by 269 points with a score of 5120.
Her marks were 15.44 in the hurdles, 1.59m in the high jump, 13.32m in the shot, 27.16m in the 200m, 5.37m in the long jump, 33.56m in the javelin and 2:21.79 in the 800m.
Rebecca Perry was third with 4352 points with performances of 15.74, 1.44m, 10.46m, 24.92, 4.63m, 23.57m and 2:32.68 highlighted by that very fast sub-25 200m.
Jodie Albrow won W40 bronze with marks of 12.47, 1.41m, 9.07m, 29.01, 4.68m, 31.57m and 2:36.60 as gold went to France’s Elodie Valle (4943).
Jenny O’Connor was fifth W55 (4466)
Alastair Hill was second in the M75 Decathlon with 6387 points as gold went to Finland’s Jarmo Lipasti’s 6486.
Hill’s marks were 15.65 at 100m, 3.93m at long jump, 10.24m at shot, 1.38m at high jump, 80.54 at 400m, 16.47 at 80m hurdles, 29.43m at discus, 1.80m at pole vault, 34.15m at javelin and 7:30.87 at 1500m.
Evaun Williams won W85 shot gold – her fourth so far with a 7.31m throw over a metre clear of the opposition.
Claire Cameron was fourth in the W65 shot with 8.94m and Caroline Marler was fifth in the W70 event with 8.01m.
The cross-country races were held up in the mountains away from Funchal at 4000 feet altitude due to the lack of a suitable venue close or at sea level and necessitated a bus journey to get to the remote venue.
However the non-availability of grass did mean the lap was just 1km which meant eight laps for the majority of competitors which did cause some problems with lap counting as did a loose herd of goats who spurted through the scenic and tough course at one point between competitors.
The British team were strangely weaker than normal not helped by a clash with the 1500m but they still had their successes but the only individual gold went to W85 Betty Stracey but there were team successes.
Stracey ran 57:13 for the 6km well ahead of Norway’s Eva Carlsen (66:56)
Geoff Newton (35:34) gained M80 silver in the 6km race behind France’s Roger Godard (33:51).
Newton was backed up by fourth-placer Michael Johnson (37:36) and Phil Brennan (42:26) who all placed in the top seven, Britain won team gold.
Viktor Kiessel of Luxembourg won the M70 plus race in 26:44 while Britain were sixth in the M70 team race.
The overall women’s W70 plus race was won by Ireland’s Christine Kennedy (29:54) with Dot Kesterton third in 31:59.
Ireland’s Eileen Kenny (32:45) won the W75 race easily from 10,000m champion Sarah Roberts (33:51) who was making her cross-country debut and along with Anne Dockery (35:43) who took bronze and Carolyn Gale (37:21) in sixth, Britain’s W75 team easily took gold and the W70 team led by Kesterton with back up by fifth-placer Lyn Jenkins (35:43) and Louise Rowley (38:00) took bronze.
In the M55-65 race over 8km, Portugal’s Joaquin Figueiredo won by a minute in 29:36.
5000m runner-up Simon Mugglestone finished fourth M55 just two seconds off of the medals in 30:52.
Close behind came M60 10,000m champion Chris Upson (30:58) as he took silver behind Ireland’s Pauric McKinney’s 30:41.
Malcolm Eustace took M65 silver in 34:08 behind Spain’s Jesus Sacristan (32:31) and led the team to bronzes with Karl Hick (37:00) and Steve Doxey (38:27) also scoring.
Britain finished fourth in the M55 and fifth in the M60 team events.
The younger men’s race over 8km was dominated by Poland’s M35 Andrzej Starzynska who won by over a minute in 26:18.
Carl Hardman was fourth M40 in 28:26 but led Britain to team silvers with fifth M50 (29:31) as part of the team.
The overall women’s race was won by Sweden’s W35 Liduina Van Sitteren in 32:13.
The leading Briton was W60 Clare Elms (36:06) who finished just ahead of W45 steeplechase medalist Jacqueline Etherington (36:08) and both won individual bronzes.
Elms had been clear as first W60 at 6km but feeling unwell after heat exhaustion in the 10,000m and possibly the altitude she had to ease back and was overtaken by 10,000m champion Hofer of Austria who timed 35:27.
The W50 team led by Val Woodland in sixth (37:34) took W50 bronzes.
In the M65 100m semis, world record-holder John Wright was easily fastest with 12.53 while Steve Peters (13.07) and John Browne (23.20) topped M70 qualification.
Darren Scott (12.08) was the fastest M55.
Heptathlon medalist Rebecca Perry (12.17) was the quickest W35 and Lisa Boland (12.60) topped W40 qualification.
W55 Christine Harrison-Bloomfield (13.11) and W70 Helen Godsell (15.41) were also quickest.
Pics include
Ellie Stevens (by Jonty Mitchell)
W35 Heptathlon Inc champion and shot winner Jo Rowland (2805) by Jonty
Mark Symes leads M55 150 (Jonty)
Other pics not by Jonty and uncredited
Paul Grange in M45 1500m
M60 1500m competitors Inc Andrew Ridley (2790)
M60 1500m early on
Sarah Roberts and fellow cross-country team champions at the 1500m
GB women competitors at the 8km cross country