A superb summer season! August 2025: Performance round up

August has been electric on the track, road, and mountains, with top athletes lighting up Alexander Stadium and England teams shining in the Home Countries Internationals. Dive into the highlights from our Age Group & Relay Championships, the UK Athletics Championships, Manchester International and much more.

Exciting England Athletics Championships

The England Athletics Age Group and Junior Para Championships saw the best young talented athletes battling it out for national titles. The next generation of young athletes are really raising the bar as lots of new championship best performances were set across the three days of fierce competition.

Revisit our round ups of the action each day:

The England Athletics Relay Championships returned to the Alexander Stadium this month and with nearly twice as many clubs competing as last year, the stands were buzzing. It was great to see the team spirit and club celebrations on show throughout the competition.

One of the races of the day was the U20 4x400m mixed relay, which saw the hosts, Birchfield Harriers, and Blackheath and Bromley battling for the title. On the final leg, Samuel Mowa (Blackheath and Bromley) was chasing Ava Freeman (Sharon Morris, Birchfield Harriers) all the way to the line, but Ava stayed in front to claim victory for Birchfield. The cheers down the home straight were electrifying and gave the hosts the edge to secure victory.

Athletes impress at Manchester International

With prize money as well as world ranking points available, this year’s Manchester International provided a suitably memorable finale to what has been a fabulous domestic season. And for a select few it also provided the chance to apply the finishing touches to their World Champs preparations.

A chance to secure World Championship selection at the UK Athletics Championships

The UK Athletics Championships this summer took place at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham and doubled as trials for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The top athletes from across the UK battled it out to book their place in Tokyo, which resulted in some outstanding performances across the two days of competition. Championship records were broken by Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet), Lawrence Okoye (Zane Duquemin, Croydon), Dina Asher-Smith (Blackheath & Bromley), Elise Thorner (Helen Clitheroe, Wells City) and Anna Purchase (Mohamed Ali Saatara, Notts AC).

Athletes shining at U20 European Championships

The GB & NI team impressed at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland with lots of athletes finishing on the podium. Innes Fitzgerald (Gavin Pavey, Exeter) excelled as she not only topped the podium in both the 5000m and 3000m but also set a new championship record. She is also heading to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.

Home International Mountain Race bodes well for World Championships

This year’s Senior Home International was incorporated into the British trial, held at Whinlatter Forest in the Lake District, for the upcoming World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. The two England teams competed well in strong fields with the women’s team topping the podium and the men finishing second behind a dominant Scotland team. A handful of the team also secured their place in the World Championship team.

England team take Cardiff by storm over 5k

A strong team of senior and U20 athletes represented England at the Home Nations 5k in Cardiff last weekend. On a wet day in Bute Park, England's Poppy Tank (City of Plymouth) picked up an individual podium position, coming home in third in a time of 16:04.50. This helped the England women’s team to take first place overall. The fastest England team finisher in the men’s race was Cameron Reilly (Daniel Wallis, Guildford & Godalming) in 10th place with a time of 14:08.6.

Upcoming teams:

• Masters trail race team v Wales
• Home Countries Combined Event International