England Athletics is saddened to hear of the death of Mike McFarlane. Mike was a sprinter who earned a relay medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics plus represented England at two Commonwealth Games, taking gold in the 200m in Brisbane in 1982 and silver and bronze respectively in the 4x100 relay and 100m four years later in Edinburgh.

The operators of Chelmsford Sports and Athletics Centre have confirmed to us that the track refurbishment work is progressing well. We are reassured that our U20 and U23 Championships on 17-18 June will be staged there as planned.

We were lucky enough to recently catch up with PE teacher, Head of Junior Sport and Exercise, club and pathway coach, Hayley Hemmings who first fell in love with athletics and cross country at school, kickstarting her lifelong journey in the sport.

While National Volunteers Week provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate volunteers across the country, we wanted to create a series of assets that would allow us to recognise the achievements of volunteers all year round. That is why we have produced a series of volunteer milestone graphics for both individuals and clubs to share on social media. 

Rising star Cleo Agyepong had a summer to remember in 2022. The teenage shot-putter from south London won a gold medal at the U18 European Athletics Championships in Jerusalem, Israel. It saw the Blackheath & Bromley athlete being selected to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland again at the U20 World Championships in Cali, Columbia, in a competition two years above her age group.

Last weekend saw a 20-strong team of young athletes heading to Loughborough to represent England at the inaugural Loughborough Pathway International. The team was captained by England Athletics Talent Pathway athlete Charlotte Payne (Paul Dickenson, Reading AC). Despite her tender 21 years of age, Charlotte has an impressive resume; she is the reigning British Champion and the youngest British female ever to throw the hammer over 70m. We caught up with Charlotte to learn more about how she got involved in the sport, her unique relationship with her coach Paul Dickenson and how the club system has supported her development as an athlete.

England Athletics is pleased to announce that they are expanding their funetics Commonwealth Games Legacy programme to the London Borough of Lewisham from July 2023.

As part of the England Athletics Talent programme, 17 athletes and three coaches attended a warm weather training camp in Vilamoura, Portugal. The camp consisted of track, road and trail sessions along with easy runs and strength and conditioning. The athletes and coaches joined the Loughborough University group, led by Kyle Bennett, that were out there at the same time. The athletes worked very well together and learnt off each other. This worked perfectly for the training groups and enabled great training sessions. The athletes also got to work with Ciaran Keen and Steve Smith who were out there as part of our medical management team and added a huge benefit to the athletes during the camp.