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2026 England Athletics Age Group Championships: Lewes Athletic Club Juniors Soar to Success
Junior athletes from Lewes Athletic Club delivered an outstanding series of performances at the prestigious 2026 England Athletics Age Group Championships, held on 7th and 8th February at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield.
The championships, a premier indoor competition for U15, U17 and U20 athletes, saw Lewes AC’s young pole vaulters achieve national titles and multiple personal and season bests.
Lewes AC celebrated two national champions in the women’s pole vault events. In the U17 final, Sylvie Rose Ward claimed the gold medal with an excellent clearance of 3.25m, a new personal best. In the U20 category, Ava Alexandra Hayes secured first place and a gold medal with a season’s best of 3.65m, underlining the club’s strength in the discipline.
In the men’s U17 pole vault, Bill Scott delivered a superb performance to take the bronze medal with a personal best of 3.95m. Teammate Luca Mindel also impressed, finishing seventh with a clearance of 3.80m.
The club’s squad strength was evident across all age categories. In the U15 girls’ pole vault final, Jasmine Clarke-Walker finished fifth out of 11 with a personal best of 2.90m. Milly Pile placed sixth with 2.55m, while Savannah Crozier cleared 2.40m to take ninth place.
In the highly competitive U17 girls’ final, Beth Boyes, Imogen Taylor and Ayla Kimpton-Bragg all cleared 3.00m, finishing eighth (Boyes), eighth with a season best (Taylor), and tenth (Kimpton-Bragg) respectively.
Lewes AC Chair Philip Westbury said: “These performances are a testament to the enthusiasm, commitment and enjoyment shown by our junior athletes, and to the quality of our pole vault coaching programme. To achieve national titles, medals and personal bests at such a high-level championship is a fantastic accomplishment. We are incredibly proud of all our athletes for the way they represented the club on the national stage.”