Thames Valley Harriers (TVH) is an athletics club founded in 1887. It is based at the

Linford Christie Stadium The Linford Christie Stadium previously the West London Stadium is an athletics stadium in Wormwood Scrubs, West London, England. History The venue first opened as the West London Stadium in 1967. It initially had a cinder running track, wh ...

, in West London, England. In track and field, TVH competes in the Premiership Division of the National Athletics League (NAL) as well as the Division 1 of the Southern Athletics League. The club has won all of its matches in the NAL since its inception in 2021 and is the sole winner of the Premiership trophy. The club also competes in road running and cross country at national, regional and county level.

History

Thames Valley Harriers is one of the UK's longest-established and most successful athletics clubs. It was founded in 1887 by seven aspiring cross-country runners who used the 'Peels' coffee house in Richmond Road, West London as a base for their training runs. Christened the Twickenham Harriers, the club flourished and to reflect its widening horizons took the name Thames Valley Harriers on 14 November 1890. TVH became a force both on the track and in endurance races. The

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

at nearby

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

increased the club's profile and a first Olympian was secured in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

when George Traynor competed in the long jump alongside Jesse Owens. Other standout performers included Ken Norris who finished second in the 1954 world cross country championships and Ron Hopcroft who set world records for both the 50 and 100 miles. TVH was also the club where middle-distance coach

Frank Horwill Frank J. Horwill (19 June 1927 – 1 January 2012) was a UK Athletics senior level 4 coach most famous for founding the British Milers' Club (BMC) and for formulating the Five Pace Training Theory which is widely used for coaching middle-distanc ...

first developed his methods, including the creation of the British Milers Club in 1963. TVH was a founding member of the British Athletics League in 1969 and enjoyed great success over the next two decades, winning the title three times and finishing in the top three on a total of 14 occasions, as well as achieving multiple wins in the Southern road relays and cross country championships. This success provided the momentum for the club to build a new clubhouse at the West London Stadium by

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough ...

, which was completed in 1979. From this platform emerged TVH's greatest ever athlete – Linford Christie - who claimed a haul of international sprint medals including 1992 Olympic 100m gold in Barcelona. The West London Stadium was renamed the Linford Christie Stadium in his honour and he still serves as the Club President. In recognition of the club's success and TVH's record of strong contribution to its local community,

England Athletics England Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in England. It was set up as a limited company in 2005, taking over the role of the Amateur Athletic Association of England. England Athletics works closely with UK Athletics, the ...

voted Thames Valley Harriers the top London club for 2015. 2021 saw the launch of a new National Athletics League, combining the former British Athletics League (BAL) for men and UK Women's Athletics League (UKWAL) into one competition. Thames Valley Harriers won all four of the club's matches to win the inaugural title. In 2024, the club won the National Athletics League for the fourth consecutive year.

Honours

* National Athletics League, Premiership winners: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 * British Athletics League, champions 1970, 1971, 1994 * UK Women's Athletic League, champions 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 *European Club Champions Cup, champions 2016

Olympic athletes

Commonwealth Games athletes

References

{{Reflist Sports clubs and teams established in 1887 Athletics clubs in London Athletics clubs in England 1887 establishments in England