Divine Iheme, Shaikira King, Lucia Bertacchini and Charlie Chambers have, in turn, left their mark on the recent national championships and indoor meetings with a string of statement performances. After the surge of qualifying marks in the field events, the track has underlined the current depth of British athletics at youth level. European records, continental and global standards, seasonal leads : the United Kingdom heads towards the European U18 Championships and the World U20 Championships with genuine strength in both the sprints and middle-distance events.
The standout performance of the weekend once again came from Divine Iheme in the U17 60 metres. After clocking 6.79 in the heats and 6.71 in the semi-finals : a championship record, he delivered in the final with a blistering 6.68. In doing so, he finally broke the European U18 record previously held by fellow Briton Mark Lewis-Francis.
That time ranks as the second-fastest U18 performance in the world this season and reinforces Iheme’s status as the leading European sprinter of his generation. It was no soft final either. Runner-up Haneil Sloley, a year younger, posted 6.75 — an exceptional mark in its own right and clear evidence of the depth in the race.
Over one lap, Lucia Bertacchini asserted her authority in the U20 400 metres. She set the tone in the heats with a personal best of 54.48, one of only four athletes to dip under 56 seconds during qualifying. In the final she controlled proceedings, stopping the clock at 54.58 after passing through 200 metres in a sharp 25.83.
Her 54.48 secures the European U18 qualifying standard and stands among the strongest British youth performances of the season. In recent years Bertacchini had already demonstrated her range in the 300m hurdles, a discipline not contested at senior level, underlining her technical background. It is rare to see an athlete competitive at national level over both flat 400m and long hurdles; that versatility strengthens her long-term profile as she transitions fully to the senior event structure.
The women’s U20 800 metres further confirmed the consistency of Shaikira King. The defending champion retained her title in 2:03.99, taking more than two seconds off the championship record. Her splits : 61.7 at 400m, 1:33.1 at 600m before a composed 30.8 final 200m reflected a race executed with maturity and control.
That performance secures the qualifying standard for the World U20 Championships in Eugene. King had already run 2:00.95 outdoors in 2025, a time that placed her among the world’s leading U18 athletes. Operating consistently in the 2:01–2:03 range, she currently sits third on the global U20 rankings.
In the men’s U20 800 metres, Charlie Chambers claimed victory in 1:49.83. The pace was honest from the outset : 54.1 at 400m, 1:22.0 at 600m, before he committed decisively at the bell. The result is a personal best and the European U18 qualifying mark.
Breaking 1:50 indoors at this age is significant. At present, Chambers is the only European athlete in his category to have achieved it this season. Turkish runner Sarper Birinci, second on the European lists, trails by two seconds. On the global stage, only New Zealand prodigy Sam Ruthe has gone faster, by a margin of four seconds. In European terms, Chambers holds a clear advantage heading into the summer.
Although still competing in the U17 ranks, Michael Maguire also made a major impact across the two days of competition. His 7.69m leap in the long jump extended the British record by 16 centimetres and stands as the best performance in the world for his age group. He backed it up with consistent efforts of 7.54m and 7.51m, marks that had already secured the qualifying standards. At just 15 years old, such distances elevate him to world number one in the U18 rankings.
Taken together, these results confirm a clear trend: young British athletes are not merely collecting domestic titles; they are delivering performances of genuine international relevance. A European U18 record over 60 metres, a sub-55 second 400m at youth level, a world-class U20 women’s 800m profile ranked third globally, a sub-1:50 indoor men’s 800m leading Europe, and a world-leading U17 long jump.
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