Double medal joy for KES Academy star

Rebecca Johnson continued her amazing year at the Anglian Schools Championships last weekend.The West Norfolk Athletic Club under-15 star enhanced her growing reputation with a gold and bronze medal at the event involving youngsters from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Lincolnshire.This was the penultimate event leading up to the England Schools Championships at Birmingham next month.The county team comprised athletes from three age categories across Norfolk and were selected based on performances from the Norfolk Schools’ Championships a week earlier.Five athletes from West Norfolk AC were part of the team after they achieved some excellent results at that event.The junior, inter and senior teams, both boys and girls, finished the event in third place.Three West Norfolk girls were part of the junior girls’ Norfolk team. KES Academy ace Johnson once again equalled her personal best on her way to first place in the 75m hurdles in 11.7sec before clocking 13.5sec in the 100m to finish third. Beatrix Brun finished in eighth place in the 1500m in 5m12.2sec.Smithdon High School pupil Anya Faithorn finished second in the javelin with a 23.76m personal best throw.U17 Evie Clayton was part of the Inter-Girls team. Clayton finished sixth in the 1500m in 5m35.9sec.U15 Ethan Ward was the only West Norfolk boy in the junior boys’ team. Ward achieved two personal bests to finish fifth in the javelin with a 25.41m and eighth in the 1500m with 4m48.0sec.There is a national standard for athletes to achieve to be considered for selection to represent the county at the English Schools, which is regarded as one of the biggest competitions in the junior athletics calendar. Johnson’s 75m hurdles PB is quicker than the minimum entry standard for the event, setting herself up for possible selection.Only the very best UK athletes will be selected to compete in this national competition and Norfolk has supplied some national champions and medallists in the past.