2023 Martin Hedge Sponsorship Fund

Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Martin Hedge Sponsorship Fund:
Tom Odell and Jack Higgins.

Tom’s targets this season were to run sub 11 seconds for the 100m, run a PB in his 200m and to represent Hampshire Schools in competing at the English Schools T&F Championships in Birmingham.  This he achieved and thanks to the support of the Martin Hedge Sponsorship Fund Tom was able to travel to the Southern Champs in Walton and the England U20 National Championships in Chelmsford gaining valuable experience competing at a higher level.  Southampton AC has also supported with funding towards Tom’s winter training and in particular working with Solent Uni with Data Testing.  This has helped him, and his group, to identify weaknesses and work specifically on areas to improve speed.  Tom’s reward for the hard work he’s put in is evident and the experiences gained had enabled Tom to be more confident in his running against older athletes.   We’re looking forward to building on from this success and possibly improve his 200m PB further before the season finishes.  Thank you Southampton AC and the Martin Hedge Sponsorship Fund.

Jack was able to use the fund support to compete in this year’s England u20/u23 championships.
He was 3rd in his heat with a new PB of 48.27s and qualified for the final.
In the final he ran 48.37s coming 6th in the race but 5th overall in the championship.
Jack continues to excel for the club, representing us in both the Southern and National Leagues. Lowering his 400m best to 48.08 and 200 to 22.10 at the recent match in Bromley.

If you are interested in applying for the fund in the future, details can be found here: