SOPHIE Walton became the first ever Horwich Harrier to win a medal at the English Schools Athletics Track and Field Championships in Birmingham last weekend – and she picked up a double.

Representing Greater Manchester, in the junior 200m she won her heat in a personal best time of 24.82secs and then followed up with a great run in the final to take the bronze.

Then, in the 4x100m relay, she joined three other Greater Manchester team-mates to win gold.

These performances helped give Greater Manchester junior girls second place overall in the Championship Shield. Coach Trevor Williams said: "Sophie has worked hard for this success on the national stage.

"It’s a great achievement and well deserved."

Last Friday, at Robin Park, it was the final of the Wigan Primary League and Horwich had a great turnout of more than 20 young athletes, many of whom will want to go on to emulate Walton’s achievement.

The team had podium places across all the events but a special mention goes to Alastair Sharrock who was a triple gold medallist at 75m, 150m and in the long jump.

Coach Glynne Lever believes the future of the club is in great hands with these juniors.

He said: "The number of happy, smiling faces was a joy to watch."

Lever is one of three of the Harriers’ coaches who have achieved recognition for their commitment to the junior athletes by being shortlisted as a finalist for the Bolton Active Sport Awards in September.

He is understandably pleased his daughter, Katie, has also made the shortlist and she was given a farewell track party by her group of athletes ahead of leaving for university in September.

The third shortlisted finalist is Tony Hesketh who coaches the junior and senior fell runners, as well as organising club events and fundraising for charity.

Horwich seniors, Gareth Booth and James Jordan are in rich veins of form and followed up their second and sixth places at Astley Park the previous week with first and third places at the Caldervale four-mile road race where Jordan narrowed the margin on Booth, who in turn held off a strong challenge to win ahead of Blackburn’s Christopher Davies who had also been one place behind him at Astley Park.

Geoff Leech, a relative latecomer to running and now one of the club’s Running Leaders, often turns out as a pacer at races on the Fylde Coast, but last weekend in the Windmill Half Marathon at Lytham he recorded a near personal best of 1hr 45mins – a time he would not have dreamed of five years ago.

It was the fourth round of the English Fell Championships and two Harriers made the short sea passage to the Isle of Man for the Sea To Summit race from Laxey promenade to the summit of Snaefell – a route of nine miles and 3,700 feet of ascent.

Nick Leigh had a strong 14th-place finish and Mark Walsh enhanced his fell career record with 61st place in a strong field.

At parkrun, another man in form, Richard Howarth, clocked first place again at Cuerden Valley, although the top performance this week goes to Lukas Siska at Haigh Woodland where his 16:32 time for the 5k was only 10 seconds off a parkrun PB.

Lindsey Brindle was second female at Worsley Woods and Milly Lever, an under-14, was second female in a time of 20:02 at the Stretford parkrun with a grading of 78.45 per cent, almost matching Lukas’ 78.93 per cent.

Horwich RMI Harriers results: Ian Terry Memorial 5k race (Whitworth) – 11th David Barnes 22:14;

Caldervale four-mile road race – 1st Gareth Booth 20:37, 3rd James Jordan 21:25;

Windmill half marathon road race (Lytham) – 83rd Geoff Leech 1:45:51;

Kate Burge Sea to Summit fell race (Isle of Man) – 14th Nick Leigh 1:22:14, 61st Mark Walsh 1:38:56;

Ironman UK (Bolton) – 591st Ian Hamer 11:44:18, 860th Mark Kmiec 12:24:06.