Morning:
6°c
Havering's youth take gold in the capital's thrilling 'mini-Olympics'
Matthew Beard, Olympics Editor6 Jul 2009
Havering have been crowned as the capital's leading sports borough after winning the London Youth Games at the weekend.
A tense finale to London's annual “mini-Olympics” saw Havering win the battle of the outlying eastern boroughs with Redbridge in second ahead of last year's winners Bromley.
Havering reclaimed the title they last won in 2006 by dominating in four of the 28 sports - triathlon, volleyball, karate and athletics.
Havering team manager Jo Playle said: “There is an immense will to win in the borough, everyone wants to perform at their best. A lot of young people see this as the stepping stone to something bigger such as the Olympics. We have got so many magnificent volunteers in the borough and the clubs make a massive effort in getting the children prepared for the Games”.
More than 31,000 youths have taken part in the competition which takes place over six months and reached its climax this weekend at the Crystal Palace sports centre.
The LYG season begins in March with the cricket finals at the Lord's indoor venue which were won by Tower Hamlets (girls) and Redbridge (boys).
The regatta in Docklands was staged in June over four sports – rowing, canoeing, kayaking and sailing – and was won by Richmond.
Among the stars of yesterday's track and field programme, restricted to under-15s, was Sutton's Jacob Paul, 14, who won the high jump in 1:81 metres – the third in highest leap this year in the UK in his age group. Barnet's Charlotte Wingfield won the 300m in 40.3 seconds – a week after she broke the national 300m record previously held by Victoria Ohuruogu, the younger sister of Olympic champion, and former LYG competitor, Christine Ohuruogu.
In the blue riband event, Waltham Forest's Afolabi Obafemi, 14, also a talented footballer with championship side Watford's youth academy, won the 100m in 11.6 seconds.
Waltham Forest's team manager, former world indoor sprint silver medallist Darren Braithwaite, who started his track career at the LYG, said: “This is a great event because although you already have inter-school competitions, the fact they are competing against the other boroughs gives is a different dimension.”
In the traditional highlight of Saturday's programme, Haringey achieved double glory winning both girls and boys events in the basketball competition. In the girl's event, the borough defeated Barking and Dagenham thanks to a team packed with talent from the Hornsey-based Haringey Angels, the national u-14 champions.
Their male counterparts, drawn largely from the Angels' twin club, the Haringey Eagles, beat Newham in the final.
Having secured a £2m sponsorship deal with Balfour Beatty, the LYG, begun in 1977, is guaranteed until the London Olympics by which time it aims to increase the number of participants to 50,000. Chair Anthony Kendall said: “It's been a fantastic event with more sports and more competitors than ever before – it is a great advert for London.”
For full results go to www.londonyouthgames.org
Reader views (1)
I am not sure how Havering won the games. There is no sports facilities available to children in Havering whatsoever. Well done to the youths who won obviously they did it without any help for the local council.
- Jan, Romford, 06/07/2009 17:53
Report abuse
