Blackheath & Bromley Harriers at the 2025 European Athletics DNA Club Championships

September 20th and 21st 2025, Lieria, Portugal

The fourth edition of the European Athletics DNA Club Championships took place this past weekend in Leiria, Portugal. For the fourth consecutive year, Blackheath & Bromley Harriers had the honour of representing Great Britain – a privilege earned thanks to the combined efforts of over 80 athletes, coaches, officials, and managers who secured the national YDL title earlier this season.

A squad of 20 athletes, including travelling reserve Beth Regan, team managers Helga Pulin, Tim Soutar, Ian Firla, and physio Mike Reeves met at Luton Airport for the short flight to Lisbon, ready to take on the best clubs of Europe.

The DNA Format

The European DNA (Dynamic New Athletics) format is fast-paced and innovative. Each event is contested head-to-head, round by round, with points contributing to the team total. Day one sees six teams compete, with the top three advancing to the A Final and the bottom three into the B Final on day two. All roads lead to the final event – “The Hunt” – a pursuit-style mixed relay where the points are converted into head starts and deficits, and the first team across the line wins the match.

Day One – Narrowly Missing the A Final

The team got off to the perfect start with our 4x400m mixed relay quartet of Ryen Rennie, Alyssa Firla, Gracelyn Kendeck, and Sam Mowa, who stormed to victory, holding off a hard-charging Irish team to take maximum points.

Momentum built as one of our youngest athletes, Emilia Adese, made her competitive debut with the 4kg shot. Unfazed by the weight increase, she dominated her opposition to secure another maximum points haul.

On the track, Amber Bloomfield produced a strong run in the 100m hurdles, close to her season’s best, while Andrew Nikoro powered through the 110m hurdles to add solid points with 4th place. In the 800m, Niamh Stanley bravely stayed with the leaders through 500m before fading slightly in the closing stages against a powerful field.

In between those, Chinedu Ndukwu tackled the 400m hurdles with real determination. First to the opening barrier, he clipped one hard mid-race but showed grit to stay on his feet and battle home, ensuring the team gained valuable points.

The DNA format gives each field event centre stage, but the head-to-head structure – one jump or throw per round – means PBs are rare. Dennis Savage battled gamely in the long jump to finish 4th, while Jackie Nzekwe, more at home in the hammer circle, gave her all in the high jump to place 5th.

Back on the track, Cheyanne Nketia ran superbly in the 100m, pushing through the cold, windy conditions to take 2nd place, close to her PB. Meanwhile, Max Kennedy came agonisingly close to a lifetime best in the javelin, eventually finishing a strong 2nd in a tight contest.

Next up was our world record holder Divine Iheme, who lit up the track in the 200m with a commanding win, again just shy of a PB despite the adverse conditions.

Heading into “The Hunt”, the team sat 4th overall – just outside the coveted top three needed for the A Final. The deficit was six seconds to third and ten seconds to first.

The Hunt team – Aoife McDonagh (600m), Oliver Driscoll (400m), Nevie Tamblyn (200m), and Jed Starvis (800m) – rose to the challenge. Aoife closed the gap with a gutsy opening leg before Oli and Nevie piled on the pressure. By the time Jed took the baton, we were within striking distance. His heroic run clawed us to within two seconds of 3rd place, but agonisingly short of qualification. Despite missing the A Final, our squad clocked the fastest Hunt time of the day – proof of the quality in the team.

Day Two – Dominating the B Final

The disappointment of day one fuelled the team’s determination to make a statement in the B Final. Right from the start, it was clear there would be no half measures.

The unchanged 4x400m mixed relay squad set the tone with a gun-to-tape victory, crossing the line a staggering ten seconds clear. The video tells the story – the gap to second place was enormous.

Emilia Adese was again imperious in the shot put, this time equalling her PB from Day 1 to ensure her second consecutive maximum-points win and complete a season without a loss in both the 3 and 4kg. Dennis Savage, fresh from the unique experience of post-competition drug testing the previous day, jumped the second-longest mark in the field but finished 4th due to the format quirks – still valuable points for the team.

From there, the first places kept flowing. Niamh Stanley took command of the 800m from the gun and held off all challengers to secure victory. Jackie Nzekwe rose to the occasion in the high jump, clearing a competition PB for more points.

Cheyanne and Divine again dominated the 100m and 200m, while Amber, Andrew, and Tony delivered more crucial contributions across the 100, 110 and 400 m hurdles.

In the javelin, Max Kennedy set himself a challenge before the competition by symbolically marking an “X” at 51m on the grass. In the final throw of his season, he sailed past it, recording 51.7m to take a richly deserved win and a PB.

That left just The Hunt. This time, it was Blackheath & Bromley who carried the advantage – a commanding seven-second lead. Aoife blasted the opening 600m to extend the margin, Oli ran a dominant 400m, Nevie delivered another flying 200m, and Joe Scanes cruised the anchor 800m to seal victory. The team crossed the line more than ten seconds clear, celebrating a decisive B Final triumph.

It was a bittersweet ending. The squad took pride in dominating the B Final but knew their performances would have stacked up well in the A Final – the times and distances later confirming we would have been medal contenders. Still, there was satisfaction in finishing the competition with such emphatic victories and in sharing post-event celebrations with athletes from across Europe.

Special recognition goes to Beth Regan, who travelled as reserve and was a huge support to her teammates throughout the weekend despite not getting the chance to compete herself.

A weekend of pride, resilience, and camaraderie – and another chapter in Blackheath & Bromley’s long tradition of competing at the highest levels of European club athletics.