Kirklees youngsters came back with plenty of medals from the 10th Junior European Schools Athletics Games.
A team of 16 competed in Italy and then the Czech Republic after being selected from the Kirklees Schools’ Games at Spen.
Kirklees gained gold in the 4x100m relay with a team of Louis Forbes, Lei-vann McGillvary, Zak Wimpenny and Cameron Branford.
Forbes, from Royds Hall, then followed up by winning gold in the 150m, when he beat the world record holder, silver in the long jump and bronze in the 60m – where he was up against the European champion from Hungary.
A number of personal bests were achieved by the Kirklees team as Alicia Marriot won bronze in both the high jump and long jump, while Wimpenny had bronze behind Forbes in the 150m.
The trip was funded by Kirklees Active Leisure, with parents and some schools making contributions, and the team enjoyed travelling and meeting competitors from all over Europe.
Everyone thanked Kirklees coach Andy Cook, who did a lot of work with the youngsters in the build-up to the event, and also voluntary coaches Neil and Rebecca Morris.
More than 1,300 athletes from 14 countries took part in the opening ceremony and one category had more than 100 taking part, so the competition was strong at all levels.
The Kirklees team was: Alicia Marriott, Chantelle Phiri, Lucy Wilding, Charlotte Bell, Lucy Bland, Rebecca Lister, Elise Conlon, Louis Forbes, Zak Wimpenny, Cameron Branford, Lei-vann McGillvary Allert, Mason Smith, Aaron Thomas, Alex Kimber, Hakan Dalbal and Harriet Fitzpatrick.
