Golds galore as Rugby & Northampton youngsters storm to UK athletics title glory
Rugby & Northampton Athletic Club's Under-14 and U16 youngsters are celebrating after being crowned UK Youth Development League champions!
There were a string of brilliant performances from across the R&N team in the Lower Age Group (U14 & U16) National Finals that were held in Liverpool at the weekend.
R&N competes in the UKYD throughout the summer, and the Lower Age Group team won the Midlands Premier League earlier in the year.
That success saw the team qualify for the National Final, where they would take on all of the other regional winners from across the UK.
The meeting started in the wind and rain in the north west, and R&N got off to a slow start with London club Blackheath & Bromley leading the way during the opening events.
As the day went on, R&N pulled their way back into the match with the throws leading the way.
At the halfway point, R&N were 20 points behind but with everything to play for.
The second part of the day saw a whole string of incredible performances from the R&N athletes across the whole spectrum of events .
For the under-14 girls there were individual victories for Freya Carty in the 800m, Taya Young in the shot and discus and Eleanor Rumbell in the hammer.
In the U14 boys there were gold performances for Cairo Wilmott in the shot and Henry Marriott in the 800m - with Marriott setting a new league record in the process.
There was a second league record for Emily Elden in the U16 girls' 200m event as the R&N female sprinters dominated, with further victories for Nina Npey and Tilda Bean in the 100m and 300m respectively.
In the U16 boys, Alex Kampta produced a simply stunning finish to claim gold in the 800m and Ben Vural vaulted to gold in the pole vault.
Liam Mumbure also claimed gold in both the long and high jump, which meant the team pulled their up way to challenge at the top of the leaderboard.
A whole succession of outstanding performances from the well-drilled relay teams meant that the young athletes drove their way to the top to be crowned champions of the UK for 2026 - a day that will be remembered by all that were there for a long time to come.
An emotional club chairman Adrian White, summed up the victory saying it was 'the culmination of hard work by athletes, parents officials and coaches working together'.