FOUR of Bolton United Harriers’ junior athletes appeared as part of the 60-strong Greater Manchester schools’ team in Gateshead last weekend at the ESAA (English Schools’ Athletics Association) national championships and did not disappoint.

Hannah Kelly was in majestic form in the 200m, going into the event after an improvement of 0.59 seconds to a new club record of 24.91s last month.

With a national ranking of 10th in the Inter (u17) girls, a place in the final was the minimum she was hoping for.

First up was Friday’s heat in which she powered around the bend and opened up a commanding lead before easing down with 50m to go.

The 25-second barrier was broken once again, with a comfortable victory in 24.99 seconds.

Saturday's semi-final saw her line up with the UK number one just outside her.

She ran a fantastic bend to hit the straight in the lead again, but the difficult headwind told and Hannah tired slightly to finish third in 25.19s, which was actually the third fastest time of all of the qualifiers for the final.

Coach Les Hall dared to hope for a medal but knew the second semi-final had been won easily by the UK-ranked fourth athlete, so she could not rest on her laurels.

Without the best draw for the final, Hannah lined up in lane seven with all her main opponents on the inside.

A slightly more conservative bend saw her enter the straight in third again, but this time she maintained the power through the wind, keeping third place and collecting bronze.

The time of 25.18s was not her best but the effort of three 200m races and a relay inside 24 hours had taken its toll for Hannah who is 12 months younger than most of her competitors.

She then lined up in the inter girls' 4x100m relay with another Blue Vest, Georgia Lever.

The heats on Friday saw an almost perfect baton change between the girls running the second and third legs, and put the last leg runner, Regan Walker, in a great position.

She duly raced into first to qualify the team for the final.

Despite being exhausted, Hannah once again ran a superb second leg and passed to Georgia, who stormed around the bend keeping the Greater Manchester team in contention.

Fourth-leg runner Regan ran strongly and the team won a richly-deserved bronze medal with 48.07s.

In her own individual event, Georgia’s long jump was always going to be testing in blustery conditions.

Her first-round effort saw her take off well before the board and the adjustment in her run up made her second-round attempt a no jump.

Competing at these championships for the third consecutive year, she did not panic despite the precarious position – a further readjustment to the run-up was made for her last attempt to qualify for the final and, after waiting until the wind dropped, she powered down the runway.

The resultant jump of 5.38m was her second best ever, behind her club record leap of 5.48m set last month, but unfortunately this was an agonising 7cm short of the qualification mark.

She hopes to return next year even faster and stronger and will undoubtedly improve her current ranking of 24th in the UK.

There were two debutants in the junior (u15) girls’ events.

Young sprinter Taiwo Taiwo competed in the 200m.

Currently ranked 14th in the country, she was handed a very tough draw in her semi-final but kept her nerve and, despite a strong headwind, still clocked 25.97s to finish fourth.

Taiwo was disappointed for it to be only the 10th quickest overall, meaning she did not make the final, but can be very positive in knowing she has run times that will qualify her for the nationals for the next two years.

She was also selected for the Greater Manchester 4x100m relay team. The team ran superbly in the final and finished fourth, only later to be disqualified for a faulty handover.

The last of the Bolton Harriers quartet, Lydia Hodgson, competed in the long jump.

In front of several thousand spectators, Lydia struggled to get her run-up right due to the very strong headwind but still managed 4.65m.

Although it was below her best of 5.17m, she showed great resolve and determination and she will surely be back even better next year.

The team spirit within the Bolton camp was also on show, as Demi Scott and Anna Chadbond made the journey to Gateshead Stadium to support their clubmates.

The English Schools Championships is the pinnacle of any young athlete’s career and all can be proud of their achievements.

Sprinting coach Hall said: “It is great testimony to the club that we have produced so many fantastic sprinters and jumpers.”