KING’S Ely students have enjoyed yet further success at fiercely-contested regional athletics championships.

Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford on June 9th. There were 51 schools competing on the day, all with the aim of qualifying for the National Prep Schools Athletics Finals being held at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on July 4th.

King’s Ely’s star athlete on the day was Harry Marshall, 13, who came second in the final of the 200m. He won his heat comfortably in 26.1 seconds – the third fastest time of the day. To qualify, students have to finish in the top two so Harry knew he had to improve to qualify for Birmingham. In the 200m final, Harry ran a fantastic race, full of grit and determination, to secure his place at the finals in Birmingham.

Connor Marshall, 12, and Olivia Haynes, 13, ran very solid races in the hurdles, both just missing out on qualifying for the finals. Connor and Olivia also performed well in the high jump with Olivia matching her personal best with a jump of 1.30m.

James Schoenberg, 13, performed well in the 300m and triple jump, and Sadie Hammond, 13, once again showed quality in the javelin with a throw of 21.89m. Bertie Whymark, 12, also threw a very respectable 20.03 in the discus, and twins Xenia and Alexandra Marshall, 12, both ran well in very competitive fields in the 1,500m and 800m respectively.

Head of Athletics at King’s Ely, Jim Thompson, said: “The attitude of our students was fantastic throughout the day and they all performed superbly in a very competitive athletics meeting. Many congratulations to Harry on his qualification to compete for the East of England – a fantastic achievement!”

On June 18th, seven King’s Ely students also competed for Cambridgeshire in the Anglian Schools Athletics Championships held in Cambridge.

King’s Ely’s star performer on the day was Oliver Hutchinson, 17, who finished second in the senior boys’ 400m. Ben Marshall, 14, equalled his personal best in the high jump by leaping 1.55m, and he later placed fifth in the 80m hurdles, smashing his personal best with a 13 second run. Also gaining personal bests on the day was Macy Gow, 15, who ran 13.5 seconds in the 100m and Aaron Pugh, 15, who threw over 28m in the discus. Harriet Cheseldene-Culley, 14, and Arthur Plews, 15, were also not far off their best in the long jump.

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