Hackney youngsters clinch bronze medal at London Youth Games

Hackney’s Urswick School are celebrating after winning a well-earned bronze medal in Europe’s largest annual youth sports event at the National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace.

The mixed secondary school, on Paragon Road, represented the borough at the spring games section of the London Youth Games – a two-day event that involved 2,500 young competitors from across London – and their Year 7 sportshall athletics team finished third overall.

Hackney team manager Yanya Blacksley was overjoyed to see the efforts of his students duly rewarded.

“I’m so proud of them,” Blacksley said. “We’ve worked hard the last couple of weeks and it’s apparent the girls put in the effort and they’ve come out and performed.

“There were only one or two points in it. They got one main thing they wanted – the medal.”

Sportshall athletics is one of 31 sports with points at stake being featured in this year’s London Youth Games, which is seens as the driving force behind creating a legacy for increased participation in competitive sport and volunteering for young Londoners.