Phoebe Gill has crowned a sensational few weeks with selection for Team England at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad & Tobago.

The St Albans Athletic Club youngster is part of a 59-strong squad across four of the sports on the six-day programme of competition.

The games invite athletes aged between 14 and 18 and England's team boss, Francesca Carter-Kelly, is looking forward to working with the exciting squad of athletes.

She said: "We have an extremely talented group heading out to Trinidad & Tobago who are all primed to deliver at the Commonwealth Youth Games and make it an experience to remember.

"This is a great opportunity to compete on the international stage and get a first experience of a multi-sport environment."

Gill's selection comes off the back of victory at the English Schools Championships, held in Birmingham.

She was part of 13 athletes from the St Albans club who were representing Hertfordshire, with the intermediate girls' 800m her focus.

She went out fast and although her legs suffered in the final 100m, she hung on to take the victory in 2:03.12.

 

Oscar Nagalingam, Luke Bevan and Josh Hirst were all selected to run in the junior boys 800m with the former running an impressive PB of 1:58.54.

Sophie Jacobs qualified for the final of the intermediate 1500m, finishing sixth.

Dillon Smith was another who set a PB in the senior 800m of 1:52.43 while Annabel Hedge was just outside hers as she finished seventh in the final.

Jasmine Rance continued the PBs with 12.36 in the junior 100m while Rhys Bethell, Antonia Jubb and Griffyn Archer Jones also raced on the track.

Ben Taylor was eighth in the long jump final while Sam Penfold set an U15 club record in the discus on his way to fifth.

 

Sister club St Albans Striders' annual weekend away took them to the Welsh countryside around the Forest of Dean.

Always a popular event organised by the club, this year there were in excess of 40 members who made the most of the events on offer.

First up was the parkrun at Mallards Pike where 40 per cent of the 102-strong field were Striders.

One of them won too, Stu Middleton in a time of 19:49, and he was followed home by Andy Auld and Nigel Aston in second and third.

The first female Strider was Hollie Ryder who was fifth overall, heading in Lily Seach and Jen Conway.

Other events organised were canoeing at Symonds Yat, cycling and walking, and more running.

Strider Steve Scorer enjoyed the ups and downs, and falls, of his first long fell race, the Salomon Serpent Trail 50k.

He finished third in his age group and 34th overall in a field of 557 finishers, in a time of 4:36:59.

In the Ware 10k Fleur Harvey was first in her category and fourth woman overall.