England Athletics Age Group and Junior Para Championships 2026, powered by Citroën: The start of a new age
The England Age Group Championships is always about development and building for an exciting future, so it was really encouraging to see the standard of performances on show in Bedford this weekend. From the very first long jump that opened two days of intense excitement and drama to the long sprints that brought the first day to a close it was all about PBs, UK leading performances and on more than one occasion, a world class result.
Without question athletes competing here will one day represent Team England in the Commonwealth Games – as plenty who started their careers in this event will be doing from Monday – and this is the first step on that ladder. Here’s how the action unfolded:
U18s
A sprint friendly wind blew up in the latter part of the day which was perfect for both the men's and women’s 100 metres. It produced a series of cracking times, although at the exact moment both U18 fields lined up, it gusted too much for record purposes. First up, the women, led by Keely Little (Stephen Cottle, Torbay) enjoyed a +3.6 tailwind to fly to 11.61, her fastest ever clocking. Then less than five minutes later, the men’s race was won in a comfortable looking 10.39 by Tyler Thompson (Enfield and Haringey), the wind reading +2.5 for this race. Seconds later, it returned to normal.
Earlier in the day, it was less of an issue. There was just 70cm between first and fourth going into the fifth round of the men's U18 discus. Lawson Capes (Lewis Capes, Peterborough and Nene Valley), always tough to beat, led the way with a personal best of 54.04. He has won nine titles going into this and is always hugely competitive… and he had to be. Because behind him Chu Ononogbu (Clyde Gordon, Shaftesbury Barnet) threw 53.93 while European champion and British record holder British discus record holder, Moyo Stumpenhusen (Gary Herrington, Rugby and Northampton) who has a 64.33 to his name this year, found himself out of the medals and in fourth with 53.41. It would all come down to that final throw. Stumpenhusen dug deep and incredibly tied Capes with the very last effort of the competition (54.04) to win the gold thanks to his second-best throw of 53.41 (to Capes’s 48.96). It was his 28th domestic victory in a row, while Capes added that tenth title to his collection later in the day with a win in the shot with 19.22.
“It wasn’t ideal for me today,” said Stumpenhusen. “It didn’t really go as planned but I can’t complain; it all worked out in the end,” he added.
It was an amazing competition and perfectly demonstrated what the weekend would be all about: tight fought, top quality head to head battles. For instance, after four rounds in the women’s long jump only 2cm separated the top three, while in the women’s discus with two throws to go, it was equally close as just 22cm was the difference between first and second. In the end, the long jump title went to Alice Coshell (Geraldine Heapy, Thurrock) thanks to her fourth-round 5.75, which was an outdoor best, while it was Bethany Pendlebury (Michael Martin, Trafford) who increased her lead with 42.93 in the sixth round of the discus to take the title.
“I had a stinking first three rounds before that,” said Pendlebury, “then it all clicked.” Her win came despite a niggly injury which resulted in her pulling out of the shot. “That’s about it now for the season,” she continued, “although I do have the discus at the Schools Games in Loughborough in September.”
While all of this was going on, there were still five athletes left in at two metres in the high jump, one of England’s rapidly developing events. It was Eli Adams (Bruce Robertson, North Shields Poly) who emerged champion thanks to his first-round clearance at that height and a better card with just one failure at 1.97.
One of the pre-event favourites Emilia Adese (John Hillier, Blackheath and Bromley) lived up to that billing by winning the shot with 16.83, more than two metres clear of the chasing pack.
U16s
For many, the girls’ 100 metres was the stand-out track event of Saturday. And it’s easy to see why. Packed English Schools medallist and most of the country’s fastest runners this year, it was Annabelle Fasuba (Neal Edwards, City of Plymouth) who emerged victorious in a stunning 11.45, ahead of Honor Oteng (TJ Ossai, BFTA) who was rewarded with a tremendous 11.62. Sadly, as with all of the U18 sprint finals, the wind gusted to +4.0 ruling the times out for record purposes. Seconds later, however, it returned to a legal +1.9 and Piers Spencer-Simms (Blackheath and Bromley) used that to his advantage to power to a cracking 10.54, fully 0.24 clear of the field.
Zac Elston (Diana Norman, Epsom and Ewell) followed on where he left off in Birmingham having won the English Schools’ Champs long jump. In Bedford, he added the England title to his growing list of victories with a personal best of 7.09, his first time beyond what had been an elusive barrier… and not wind assisted!
Likewise, another English Schools winner, Mila Desborough (Bronwin Carter, Wimborne) was also in great form and used to setting new barrier-breaking marks. She’s the World’s No.1 14-year-old thanks to a 48.91 back in April. She’s also the English Schools’ CBP record holder in the javelin with 46.36 and went even further in Bedford with her opening throw of 47.49 to top the podium.
The boys’ javelin produced a fascinating battle as two brothers went head to head. Both threw PBs. Thomas Connop (Medway and Maidstone) improved by more than five metres to pick up the bronze medal with 62.99 while his brother William Connop (Mark Chapman, Medway and Maidstone) added close to four metres to his best with 69.12, the fourth furthest throw ever.
The boys’ pole vault produced an equally impressive result. Although by a quirk of the new age groups the country’s clear No.1, Milo Hilborne (Crawley) could only finish fifth in the English Schools a fortnight ago. Here, he entered as the clear No.1 in the country in the U16s and confirmed that by adding 11cm to his best to win the gold medal. His 4.41 clearance put him 36cm clear of second and 29cm away from the country’s No.2 on this year’s rankings.
Distance races are often cagey affairs at Championships, so it was no surprise to see six locked together at the bell of the girls’ 1500 metres. It made for an exciting race as six quickly became five then four and finally two over the next 300 metres. It was in the final 100 metres that Maisie Mullett (John Skevington, Wreake and Soare Valley) used her English Schools’ 800m-winning speed to power away for a comfortable victory in 4:33.12.
Junior Para
Macey Hand, F64 (Camilla Stewart, Wenlock Olympians) got her weekend under way in the best possible way with an opening 4.56 in the long jump. Displaying impressive consistency, despite competing in a swirling wind, she also recorded 4.54 twice. Logan Murray, F20 (John Mitchell, Cornwall) won the discus with a monster 29.15 with his final effort, while Elliott Griffiths, F20 (Mike Holmes, Liverpool H) hit 6.30 with his very first effort to take the long jump title. To cap a great day, he powered to a superb 11.81 in the 100 metres.
Indeed, it was a day of fast running as earlier and true to his pre-Champs form, Maksymillian Malec, T20 (Tamworth) flew to a lifetime best of 25.95 in the 200 metres. In the very next race, Hand was also in PB shape, winning her 200m in 28.28. All three times were wind-legal and very impressive indeed.