Weekly Update - 15th July 2026

English Schools Championships, Birmingham (Fri. 10th / Sat. 11th July)

Another scorching weekend and yet another set of great results for club athletes, writes Mick Bond. We equalled last year’s record twenty-three selections across London and Kent Schools teams and came home with two golds, four silvers and a bronze medal, at what is one of the most contested events in the UK. English Schools have delayed the implementation of England Athletics’ new junior age groups, apart from in the hurdle events, making for a confusing summer at times!

Throws: The tail wind for the discus throwers did not make for great distances but Kendrick Onolememen (U15B) and Obinna Aniebo (U17M - Pictured) both came away with gold medals none the less in their respective age groups. Both dominated the field quite literally, with the only real competition being how much they could beat their opposition by (Kendrick won by 8.15m, with Obinna winning by 8.74m). Miya Cook almost made it a triple gold for the training group and was leading in the U15 girls shot up to virtually the last throw of the competition when her 11.58m lead was overtaken by the athlete from Derbyshire putting 11.60m.

Jumps: It was great to see four club high jumpers taking part in these championships and it would have been five if not for young Oladesire Ayinla breaking his leg earlier in the season.   This reflects the growing number of high jump coaches basing themselves at Sutcliffe, the indoor facilities available to them and our good links with schools who initially identify the talent. Daniel Obike jumped highest on the day in the U19 men's event placing 6th with 2.01m. Ryan Lynott cleared 1.85m in the U17 men's competition for 11th. Elazar Adejinmi (U15B) was 5th (1.80m) and Phoebe Folarin (U17W) 9th (1.58m).

In the long jump the swirling wind made for difficult jumping and Joshua-Raphael Ike only achieved one valid jump of 5.73m, nearly a metre down on his best to finish 9th.

Sprints: The wind was also an issue for the sprinters with strong plus winds in some heats followed by minus winds a minute later. Zavier Brathwaite caught a good one to run a big windy PB of 10.78 to make the U17 boys 100 final. Danielle Agyemang-Talbot was not so lucky running into a -2.6 wind in her 200 heat, whilst the other two heats had plus winds with the difference squeezing her out of the final. Emily Cadman looked good in the U19 100 heats, running 11.74, qualifying third fastest, but a poor start meant she was playing catchup through out the final, finishing 5th in 12.05. Rida Oluwa was running at the bottom of her age group in the under 15 girls 200m, equipping herself well, running 25.54 for 4th in her heat. Rida ran the first leg for London in the relay where they won gold. Jovani Lindsey ran a PB of 51.03 in the 400 heats but didn’t quite make the final.

Middle Distance: Elena Oliphant (U19 W 800m) and Lizzie Sanders (U15G 1500m) both ran well in tactical heats but didn’t make finals but Charlotte Foster front ran her heat to qualify easily for the under 15 girls 1500m final. In the final she and Madison Kindler from Essex were the two top ranked athletes and they ran side by side for 1,100m before Madison kicked in at the bell. Charlotte couldn’t quite keep with the pace initially but then started to close in the home straight before running out of track and having to settle for an excellent silver medal.

Hurdles: The club’s hurdle squad came home with two silvers and a bronze. Lily Gayle in her final English Schools before heading off to the University of Massachusetts on a sports scholarship, gave eventual winner Leah Wagstaff a good run for her money before hitting hurdle eight but still picking up silver and a PB of 14.02 over the 100m hurdles. Hans Nmaju did similarly, running in the inside lane after a bit of a disastrous heat in the 110 hurdles he took silver in 13.87 with training partner Ekene Ogbonna taking 5th in his first English Schools Championship. Elijah Olaleye went into the U18 400 hurdle final with a lot to do. Sitting 4th in the rankings, he gave it his best shot, but hit the first hurdle on his "wrong leg" but despite his best efforts could only get 3rd place. Gabby Noyce (U19W - 400H) placed 6th, whilst Tess Hepple was unfortunately knocked out in the heats of the 100 hurdles.

Pen y Fan Fell Race (AS, 5.8km, 588m ascent) (Sat. 11th July)

There can't be many sports where records set 40 years ago are still waiting to be broken, writes Clem Dixon, but the legendary Kenny Stuart's 1980s times for both Snowdon and Ben Nevis are still course records as are times set for the classic Lakeland races in the same decade. Keith Anderson's record for Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in the Brecon Beacons, is 30 minutes dead and has stood since 1992.

This year the race was selected for the British short course fell running championship resulting in medal hunters from the North of England and even Scotland making the journey, and to mark the occasion the celebrity starter was none other than Keith Anderson himself. Would he witness his record being broken?

In soaring temperatures it seemed unlikely. Finlay Grant of Sheffield club Dark Peak came closest but he was 1 minute 46 seconds adrift. Interestingly Finlay was quicker to the top than Keith had been, it was on the descent where one might have thought that the heat would have less of an effect that he lost all the time. Perhaps Finlay should have recced the route? There is no path on the descent and finding the optimal line isn't straightforward. It has been rumoured that Keith spent a whole week on the mountain before setting the record but when this was put to him he denied it strenuously. 

Four Cambridge Harriers made the trip and had a great weekend in the sunshine although unfortunately the heat got to Emma Brown on the steep ascent and she decided to turn back without completing the course. She promised to give it another go next year. 

Results: 71st Dan Allinson 50:45; 105th Clem Dixon 1.04.35; 107th Graham Maynard 1.05.23.

National Youth Development League (Upper), Eltham (Sun. 12th July)

With our best under 20’s and under 18’s suffering from “English Schools jet lag” the team was not as full as it could have been but a great all round effort saw us see off the opposition to make it three wins from three and promotion to the Southern premier division next year more or less guaranteed. There were PB’s for Cian Whelan in the U18 javelin (48.72m), Tess Hepple in the 400 hurdles (65.36) a time that would probably have made the final at English Schools!, Nia Thomas (15.26 in the U18 100 hurdles) and George Gallagher-Francis (63.19 400m hurdles)

Mid Kent 5 Miler, Staplehurst (Sun. 12th July)

Olesya Golovina clocked 35:00 at the Mid Kent 5 Miler in Staplehurst on Sunday. Her performance secured 4th place overall in the women's field and 1st place in the W45 category. The event forms part of the prestigious Kent Grand Prix, drawing fierce competition from clubs across the county.

London 10k (Sun. 12th July)

At Sunday's London 10K, Bobby Babaker was the first club member home, finishing in an excellent time of 31:49 to place 13th overall. First club woman, was Emily Tullo, who recorded a strong 42:08. Sophie Floyd also produced an impressive performance, finishing as the third U17 woman in a time of 51:53.

Cambridge Harriers Annual General Meeting (Mon. 6th July)

At the Cambridge Harriers Annual General Meeting, held on 6 July 2026, the outgoing President, Peter Hadley, stood down after completing his term of office. Phil Pape was appointed as the new President.

Cambridge Harriers would like to thank Peter for his dedication and service during his time as President and congratulate Phil on his appointment, wishing him every success in the role.