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England Athletics Age Group Championships. Incorporating the Junior Para Championships U15/U17, Powered by Citroën: An action packed Friday

Day one of an action-packed championship programme got under way spectacularly with form guides ripped up and titles won by contenders rather than favourites. It made for a fabulous start to the weekend and thanks to a Championships record and countless personal bests, it perfectly illustrated just how exciting and unpredictable the age-group championships can be. Long may it remain so.

Day one of an action-packed championship programme got under way spectacularly with form guides ripped up and titles won by contenders rather than favourites. It made for a fabulous start to the weekend and thanks to a Championships record and countless personal bests, it perfectly illustrated just how exciting and unpredictable the age-group championships can be. Long may it remain so.

The U15 boys’ shot was an equally fabulous competition where pre-championships form counted for nothing. Johnny Jones (Michael Martin, Trafford) add close to a metre to his best with a fourth round 16.54 to take the gold medal. That wasn’t just a PB, it was also the 11th furthest throw of all time. But such was the depth in this competition, he couldn’t rest on his laurels as Sebastian Seldon (Greg Beard, Worcester) responded with a massive throw of his own in the fifth round. His 16.21 was also a lifetime best, securing silver ahead of Logan Cowling (Lewis Capes, Kingston upon Hull), English Schools title, who had to settle for 15.81 on this occasion. “I just went for it,” said Jones afterwards, adding he hadn’t really done anything special or different. “The adrenaline was running through me, but now I hope I’ll go over 16 again at my next competition.”

Milo Hilborne (Crawley) also rocketed up the all-time lists with 4.01 in the U15 boys pole vault. That was good for the 12th best height ever cleared (and the best the country in 2025) in a competition that saw him complete eight first-time clearances.

Unusually, the final round in the U15 boys triple wasn’t about who jumped the absolute furthest. It was down to who would record their second-best distance. Going into the final round Cruz Collins (Leeds City) held the lead thanks to his 12.79 second round jump compared to Toluwani Okelola (Keith Hunter, Rossendale) who jumped the same distance in the fifth round. But with a second-best distance of 12.67 compared to Okelola’s 12.33, he looked to have won. Then, with his last jump Okelola surely thought he had the gold medal in his grasp as recorded 12.76. Then, Collins with almost the final jump of the whole competition responded with a 12.76 of his own! Rarely it wasn’t the second-best jump that separated them, but rather the third. Now that is close!

Afterwards each couldn’t praise the other enough and both were as excited as each other about their rivalry and form. “I held my step this time and that really helped,” said Collins. While Okelola thought his improvement was down to his “run-up which made all the difference.”

Track action on a Friday at the England Champs is always about the middle and long distances regardless of age. And this was no different. Gabrielle Pinder (New Marske) really stood out from the pack in more ways than one. She hit the front from the gun in the U15 girls 1500 and ran away from the field. She stopped the clock at 4:25.20, a personal best for the English Schools champion (by more than three seconds) and more significantly a Championship record, removing 4.7 seconds from the 17-year-old mark. Superb.

The U17 men’s 1500 was equally memorable as it was impossible to call with 30 metres to run. The lead changed hands three or even four times in the final 100 metres, with Ewan Withnall (Graham Lamb, Burton) eventually emerging triumphant in 3:53.87, a whopping six second improvement on his previous best. “I thought I’d gone too early, as they came back at me. And even though I rate my kick, I’m quite surprised to have won,” Withnall said, before revealing his secret: He had mum’s porridge for breakfast.

Combined Events

U17 women heptathlon

Molly Mills (Jessica Taylor-Jemmett, Sale Harriers Manchester) was just outside her PB in the first event, the 80H. She finished with 11.37, which was a solid start for the No.2 on the UK all-time lists. It was early days for course, but she looked in control and ready for a competitive opening day. And she needed to be as Jasmine Nkoso (Anthony Mayhew, Herne Hill), the U15 champion from last year was also in impressive form, winning the second heat in a PB of 12.30. The high jump did see a slight change as Rosie Lewis (Phillip Budd, City of Portsmouth) moved from seventh to first thanks to her 1.65 clearance. Mills, however, was just 22 points adrift after her 1.53. The shot can see things shuffle again which is precisely what occurred as Nkoso threw 14.61 with her final-round effort, almost 150 points more than Mills’s 12.42. It meant that going into the final event of the day, the 200 it was Nkoso who led from Mills – 2354 to 2233. A powerful looking 25.32 by Mills showed she meant business. Nkoso ran 26.21, which meant it was the Herne Hill Harrier, Nkoso who led overnight.

U15 girls hexathlon

Scotland’s Dionne Maguinness (Airdrie H) got things rolling with a snappy looking 12.08 on the 75H. Continuing where she left off in the hurdles, Maguinness then stretched her lead to 66 points thanks to her 5.25 long jump. Behind her Jennifer Mardle (City of Norwich) jumped 5.07 to go with her 12.22 hurdles. The field headed back to their respective overnight accommodations after the javelin, won by Maguiness with 34.78. Mardle threw 25.57 to keep herself in contention.

*The Para ambulant long jump saw perhaps the best performance as Elliott Griffiths, F20 (Mike Holmes, Liverpool Harriers) jumped 6.15, world class from an U17 athlete.

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