After eight years in GB’s Top 30 Men’s Decathlon Teams, of which six were in the Top 20, our male Masters just failed to maintain that record in the pandemic – stricken “unofficial’ competition. They scored 10,826 points, just 32 behind Flitwick, to finish in 31st place. The highest ranked Beds team for the past ten years, they also “unofficially” relinquished their Top East Region club placing to Chelmsford, having been the top club since 2014.
The final results for the “annual” competition in 2021 were actually derived from combining the limited number of Masters’ meets that took place in 2020 and 2021, either side of the 18 month hiatus caused by the pandemic. This meant that the Club’s four highest scoring individuals only competed in a total 24 out of a potential maximum 40 qualifying events. Chelmsford’s men on the other hand secured 35 qualifying races between them whilst Flitwick’s men registered 31 races over the two years.
For Team Luton, Alastair Gibb alone managed to notch up the maximum ten individual qualifying swims and only then by travelling to Newport for four events in November 2021. Dave Wright has constantly been one of the Club’s four highest scoring team members. His total of 3,126 points from seven races meant he was placed in the Club’s team for the 11th successive year whereas, for the first time, the 2021 team featured Ian Stoughton. Still holding Club Masters age group records dating back to 2004 and 2006, Ian competed in five races way back in March 2020. The Club’s 3rd highest placed male was however Graham Powell with just four qualifying races events, all in October 2021.
Jo Mitchinson, Kelly Cooke, Michelle Neal and Karen Mackenzie competed in a total of just 20 events. As a result Team Luton finished in 58th place with 8,070 points in the 2021 Ladies Team competition. That meant they were once more the second highest ranking Beds Club, behind South Beds Masters and ahead of Flitwick. In the 2019 competition a team of Karen Mackenzie, Laura Smith, Alice Pinney and Kelly Cooke scored 10,980 points from 29 races to finish 48th nationally.
The individual points and rankings are shown below:
Men's Decathlon Results 2021
| Beds Ranking 2020/21 | Beds Ranking 2019 | Name | Age (2021) | Points 2020/21 (No. of races) | Points 2019 (No. of races) | GB Ranking 2020/21 | GB Ranking 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 7 | Alastair Gibb | 61 | 3,413 (10) | 3,660 (10) | 85 | 160 |
| 4 | 6 | Dave Wright | 60 | 3,126 (7) | 3,837 (10) | 134 | 138 |
| 10 | 2 | Graham Powell | 65 | 2,145 (4) | 5,115 (10) | 383 | 39 |
| 11 | Ian Stoughton | 62 | 2,142 (5) | 388 | |||
| 13 | 13 | Colin Mayes | 66 | 2,038 (5) | 2,905 (7) | 439 | 356 |
| 14 | 21 | Malcolm Barton | 66 | 1,840 (5) | 2,352 (8) | 560 | 565 |
| 15 | 22 | Sam Bradley | 28 | 1,685 (8) | 2,210 (10) | 648 | 641 |
| 3 | Alex Mason | 25 | 5,110 (10) | 40 | |||
| 16 | John O'Rourke | 52 | 2,660 (10) | 442 | |||
| 28 | Nathan Bentley | 22 | 1,667 (4) | 1,014 | |||
| 39 | Ian Norman | 51 | 682 (4) | 1,955= | |||
| 42 | Tom Lambert | 25 | 589 (2) | 2,047 |
Ladies Decathlon results 2021
| 2020/21 Beds Ranking | 2019 Beds Ranking | Name | Age (in 2021) | Decathlon Points 2021 (No. of races) | Decathlon Points 2019 (No. of races) | 2020/21 GB Ranking | 2019 GB Ranking |
| 1 | Jo Mitchinson | 42 | 3,196 (6) | 82 | |||
| 14 | 17 | Kelly Cooke | 45 | 1,781 (4) | 2,024 (5) | 453 | 546= |
| 16 | 4 | Karen Mackenzie | 48 | 1,621 (4) | 3,881 (10) | 531 | 108 |
| 17 | 20 | Michelle Neal | 41 | 1,472 (4) | 1,813 (5) | 593 | 646 |
| 19 | 14 | Alice Pinney | 22 | 1330 (4) | 2,290 (7) | 787 | 431 |
| 23 | 7 | Laura Smith | 27 | 1,120 (3) | 2,785 (7) | 671 | 276 |
| 18 | Sharon Thompson | 54 | 1,835 (10) | 636 | |||
| 21 | Jodie Armstrong | 39 | 1,621 (4) | 751 | |||
| 24 | Sonia Bentley | 53 | 1,047 (4) | 1,171 | |||
| 25 | Lorraine Sadler | 50 | 935 (4) | 1,250 | |||
| 28 | Gwen Skingley | 39 | 814 (4) | 1,338 | |||
| 33 | Clare "Chippy" Murphy-Snape | 42 | 635 (3) | 1,471 |