Super Mise captains Cardinal Pole to London Youth Games gold
Hackney teenager delighted to represent borough
Hackney teenager Makinde Mise admits he had to pinch himself after captaining his team to gold at last week’s Balfour Beatty London Youth Games sportshall athletics finals.
The 13-year-old was in action at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, where he and classmates from Cardinal Pole Catholic School were representing Hackney.
And Mise ensured he would stand out from the record 71,000 participants expected for 2012 – across 30 sports, 33 boroughs and 25 event days – as he led Cardinal Pole to overall Year 8 boys gold.
Cardinal Pole picked up victories in the obstacle relay and standing triple jump events en route to amassing 277 points, 20 more than their nearest challengers Grey Court School of Richmond.
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And after topping the table Mise couldn’t believe his luck having finished a disappointing eighth last year.
“I am delighted that we have won the gold at the London Youth Games,” he said. “It feels great to be able to call yourself a champion, and it was really unexpected too because we came to the same competition last year and finished eighth.
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“But that meant that we were really up for it this year and we wanted to put it all right and we were determined to show what we could do.
“We really wanted it this year and that drove us on to win the gold, although it was still unexpected.”
While Cardinal Pole’s Year 8 boys were storming to the title, Our Lady’s Convent High School, representing Hackney in the Year 7 girls’ equivalent, found the going tougher, finishing down in sixth overall.
But there was plenty to shout about for 12-year-old Onyeka Ofoedu as she came away with gold in the shot put, even if it was expected.
Pleased
“I did expect to win because last time at an event in east London against other schools I also came first,” she said.
“I practice a lot because it is fun trying to push the ball as far as you can to see if you can improve every time you do it.
“I was pleased with my distance of 8.10m but at school before I have gone over nine metres and so it would be good to do that in a competition.”
Balfour Beatty have agreed to support the London Youth Games through to at least 2015, meaning �1.1m worth of funding post-2012 and a total contribution of �2.5m since 2007.
