October 2025 - Madeira
Full Report - Ashley Reid
From 8th to 19th October, nearly 4200 athletes from over 40 countries descended on the beautiful island of Madeira for the 23rd edition of the European Masters Championships.
Although spread across 3 venues, the majority of the action took place at the Ribera Brava Stadium. Sandwiched between two mountains just off the south coast of the island, it was a spectacular setting.
And while the near constant headwinds coming off the Atlantic made it difficult to run blistering times, the competition levels were fierce and made for some great racing.
Great Britain sent a strong team, with over 550 athletes some of whom were from Blackheath & Bromley. Here’s how they fared…..
Helen Godsell (W70)
Ranked number 1 in UK for both 100m and 200m, Helen came to these championships as the overwhelming favourite and she duly obliged by bringing home gold in both 100m and 200m.
First up was the 100m and after a comfortable qualification in the heat, it was straight through to the final the following day.
Lining up alongside fellow Brits Anne Nelson and Doreen Craig, she coasted to victory in a season’s best 15.34 secs, despite a -2.0 headwind.
It was a similar story in the 200m, where despite being kept honest by the Swedish athlete Lilly Wizen, Helen crossed the line 1st in a time of 32.29 secs
Not content with two golds, Helen was joined by her compatriots from the 100m, plus Anna Garnier in the W70 4x100m relay where not only did they take the win, but also ran a British record 1:05.2 secs.
No time to rest on her laurels though as a few hours later she was part of the mixed 4x400m team, alongside David Cooke, Sarah Roberts and Ian Willoughby.
Although the German team proved too strong, they secured a silver medal finishing in 5:06.70.
An impressive medal haul for Helen – massive congratulations!
Duayne Bovell (M35)
Despite being at the (very) back end of his age group, Duayne arrived in Madeira off the back of a strong season, ranked 3rd in the UK in his preferred event of 100m and top 10 in the 200m so
had high hopes of coming home with a medal and so was able to ease through his morning heat to make the semi finals later that day.
And despite being edged out of the auto qualification places by compatriot Lee Dollard, he was the 5th fastest qualifier overall for the final (11.30 sec, -1.6 wind).
In a closely contested final, where all 8 athletes were separated by less than half a second, and despite posting an improved time of 11.19 secs, Duayne finished just outside the medals (again) in 4th place, in a final won by Mario Brigida from Italy in 10.92.
Although obviously disappointed, Duayne was philosophical post-race saying….. “I did my best, but there were just 3 better guys on the day” …..and vowed to hit those hills harder during the winter ahead of moving into a new age group which I have doubt will bring that elusive first individual medal at international level.
In the 200m, despite qualifying from his heat, he decided to pull out of the semis in order to concentrate on the relays which proved a wise move as, alongside Nicholas Atwell, Damaine Benjamin and Byron Robinson, he anchored the team home to a gold medal in a time of 43.17secs.
A nice way to finish the season and his time in this age group – M40 sprinters beware!
Louisa Vallins (W45)
While ranked 2nd in UK in both 100m and 200m, Louisa’s preparation was severely hampered by injury so with no guarantee that her body would hold up, she was pleased to make it through the heats of 100m unscathed, auto-qualifying in a time of 13.29.
And even more impressively, she was able to back that up later that day making it through to the final as the 7th fastest qualifier.
A slight mistake in the final, along with it being her third race in two days meant she couldn’t contend for the medals, managing an 8th placed finish.
However, after being injured only 4 weeks prior, in her own words, for Louisa to make the final was “a blessing”.
Louisa then made the sensible decision to withdraw from the 200m in order to be ready for the relay (and winter training) and was on the anchor leg of the W45 4x100m team of Anita Saunders, Janelle Quinn and Lourdes Bradley and they were able to bag themselves the silver medal in a time of 52.45 secs.
From the physio table to a silver medallist in 4 weeks – an impressive show of perseverance!
Looking back and looking ahead
For anyone considering entering an international championships, I would highly recommend it.
It’s a fantastic feeling pulling on that GB vest and testing yourself against Masters athletes from across the globe.
And it’s just about medals and PB’s, it’s being part of a community and feeling that support that makes it special.
The upcoming Championships are as follows:
– European Indoor Masters Championships 2026 – Torun, Poland
– World Outdoor Masters Championships 2026 – Daegu, South Korea
– World Indoor Masters Championships 2027 – Gainsville, Florida
– European Outdoor Masters Championships 2027 – Jyvaskyla, Finland
– European Indoor Masters Championships 2028 – TBC
– World Outdoor Masters Championships 2028 – Lima, Peru
