Throughout the year the club participates in the Youth Development League (YDL). Teams across the country in both the Lower Age Group (LAG) and Upper Age Group (UAG) battle it out regionally in hopes of a space in the YDL National Final! 2024 was no different, having won the UAG final for the past six years and LAG final for the past two years, the club had high hopes for the season.
In order to compete in the final, athletes must compete in at least one previous match to be eligible, making those limited places on the team even more precious. We finished the season in a strong position taking the area top spot and the place at the UK YDL final for another year. This year, Prospero Group a leading teacher recruitment company, became our shirt sponsor to help us get there!
Our LAG team travelled up to Manchester on the Friday ready to compete on Saturday 31st August. The team picked up plenty of points throughout the day and lots of athletes left with medals!
There were 33* gold medals; Nicodemus S – U13B 75m B, Etse O – U13G 75m B & 150m B, Piers S – U15B 100m A & 200m A, Zamaia D – U13G 150m A, Alexander D – U15B 300m A, Oscar S – U15B 300m B, Kara B – U15G 300m B, Kian F – U15B 800m A, Aoife M – U15G 1500m A, Jake M – U13B 75mH A, Jamie E – U15B 80mH A, Alessia S – U15G High Jump A, Fayo O – U15G High Jump B, Jonathan A – U15B Pole Vault A, Rory W – U15B Pole Vault B, Ella B – U15G Pole Vault A, Luna C – U15G Pole Vault B, Alexander G – U15B Long Jump B, Emilia A – U15G Shot Put A, Kaweng P – U15G Shot Put B & Discus A, Olufikayo L – U15B Discus A, Jackie N – U15G – Discus B & Hammer A, Isla W – U15G Hammer B, Sebastian N – U15B Javelin B, Florence H – U15G Javelin A, U15G 4x100m Team, U13G 4x100m Team, U15B 4x300m Team & U15W 4x300m Team.
Athletes earned 12* silver medals; Zamaia D – U13G, 75m A, Olufikayo L – U15B, 200m B, Sophie T – U15G 300m A, Kara B – U15G 800m A, Harry B – U13B 1200m B, Zaccheus K – U15B 1500m B, Matilda M U15G 75mH A, Alexander D – U15B 80mH B, Dylan L – U15B Long Jump A, Amelie R – U15G Long Jump B, Rory W – U15B Hammer A & U13B 4x100m Team.
We had 15 bronze medals; Nicholas M – U15B 100mB, Emilia A – U15G 100m B, Daniel H – U15B 800m B, Ines M – U15G 800m B, Eva J – U13G 800m A, Evie D – U15G 1500m B, Luca H – U13B 75mH B, Alexander G – U15B High Jump A & Shot Put B, Jack R – U15B High Jump B & Discus B, Ashley M – U13B Long Jump A, Jonathan A – U15B Shot Put, Oliver B – U13B Shot Put A & Dylan L – U15B Javelin A.
*Relay medals have counted for 1 rather than the 4 given per race.
Despite leaving with 60 medals the LAG team came first by just eight points! This made us the number 1 LAG YDL club for the 3rd consecutive year! Whilst this was all going on our UAG athletes had departed and were on the incredibly long journey to the event, to prepare for their competition the day after.
The UAG had a tough act to follow on Sunday 1st September but also left with a large number of medals!
An impressive 37* gold medals; Jack N – U20M 100m B & 200m A, Oji O – U17M 100m A, Zara O – U20W 100m A, Honey C – U20W 100m B, Nina W – U20W 200m B, Alyssa F – U17W 200m B & 300m A, Leah K – U17W 300m B, Megan B – U17W 800m B, Arthur S – U20M 1500m A, Joseph S – U17M 1500m A & 3000m A, Jed S – U17M 1500m B, Liberty W – U20W 1500m B, Niamh S – U17W 1500m B, Joseph H – U17M 3000m B, Naimah M – U17W 3000m A, Caitlin H – U17W 3000m B, Jodie S – U20W 100mH A, Sienna K – U20W 100mH B, Rayhan M – U20M 110mH A, Joyce N – U20W High Jump B, Long Jump B & Shot Put B, Oscar W – U20M Pole Vault A, Finn K – U20M Pole Vault B, Charlie P – U17M Pole Vault A, Daisy S – U20W Long Jump A, Charlotte H – U20W Triple Jump A, Aaron A – U20M Hammer A, Benjamin P – U20M Javelin B, Jessie S – U20W Javelin A, Rianna R – U20W Javelin B 4x100m Team, U20W 4x100m Team & U20 Mixed 4x400m Team B.
There were 38* silver medals; Daniel O – U17M 100m B, Cheyanne N – U17W 100m A, Rayhan M – U20M 200m B & 400m A, Zuriel N – U20M 400m A, Oliver D – U20M 400m B, Ryen R – U17M 400m A, Cameron K – U20W 400m A, Julia N – U20W 400m B, Jasper B – U20M 800m B, Assia E – U20W 800m B, Hannah C – U20W 1500m A, Alexander M – U20M 3000m B, Olivia M – U20W 3000m B, Chinedu “Tony” N – U20M 110mH B, Benjamin O – U17M 400mH B & 1500mSC A, Sienna K – U20W 400mH A, Amber B – U20W 400mH B, Oliver W – U17M 1500mSC B, Harry F – U20M 2000mSC A, Ryan A – U20M 2000mSC, Archie P – U17M High Jump B, Jessie S – U20W High Jump A, Lydia W – U20W Pole Vault A, Abraham S – U20M Long Jump A, Chiemerie H – U20M Long Jump B, Joyce N – U20W Long Jump B, Rianna R – U20W Shot Put A, Erin S – U20W Discus A, Lacee W – U20W Discus B, Sapphire H – U20W Hammer A, Ellis I – U17M Javelin A, U17M 4x100m Team, U17W 4x100m Team, U17W 4x300m Team, U20 Mixed 4x400m Team A & U17M 4x400m Team.
16 events achieved a bronze medal; Chizam B – U17W 100m B, Oji O – U17M 200m A, Harrison V – U17M 400m B, Mark C – U20M 800m A, Hendru V – U17M 800m A, Hannah C – U20W 800m A, Franco H – U20M 1500m B, Naimah M – U17W 1500m A, Arthur S – U20M 3000m A, Chinedu “Tony” N – U20M 400mH B, Lydia M – U17W 1500mSC B, Andrew N – U20M High Jump A, Victor C – U17M High Jump A, Elsa P – U17W Pole Vault A, Zuriel N – U20M Shot Put & Max K – U20M Javelin A.
*Relay medals have counted for 1 rather than the 4 given per race.
The UAG team finished with an incredible total of 91 medals and secured their 7th consecutive YDL final win! Another incredible day for the team!
With the YDL final a regular highlight of the outdoor calendar, signifying the end of the season for many athletes, Blackheath and Bromley Harriers AC has once again positioned itself at the top of youth club track and field performance in the UK by winning both finals! A massive congratulations to the athletes and a big thank you to the officials, coaches, volunteers, spectators, supporters and everyone else who make events like this happen.
We would also like to thank our new shirt sponsor, Prospero Group, for their support helping to make this possible! You can find out more about what they do here: Prospero Group
Holly Platt
