Isle of Man junior race walkers have produced a string of outstanding results at major events in England over the past two weekends.

At the English Schools Championships in Chelmsford on September 20, Tim Perry (Northern AC) and Amy Surgeon (Manx Harriers) were both chasing medals.

Defending his junior boys’ 2,000 metres title, Tim once again delivered a display of controlled speed, dominating the race from the start and finishing almost 350m clear of second place. His winning time was 45 seconds faster than last year.

In the intermediate girls’ 3,000m, Amy produced her best performance to date. Battling the warm, blustery conditions, she held her form superbly to take bronze with a 10-second personal best.

The following weekend, attention turned to Leeds where former Great Britain international Tom Bosworth hosted the inaugural Bosworth Mile at his Leeds Beckett University training base. Five Manx athletes made the trip and enjoyed a highly successful afternoon.

In the under-13 boys’ race, Jack Davies (MH) took third with a technically strong effort and a new personal best of 9min 23.61sec.

Jack’s sister Polly Davies (MH) followed with a thrilling win in the under-15 girls’ race, outsprinting Welsh rival Cerys Fitzpatrick in the final 200m to set a new best of 9:16.30.

The under-15 boys’ race saw Tim Perry extend his fine form, powering to victory in what is believed to be a new Isle of Man age group record of 7:22.25 - nearly two minutes clear of his nearest rival.

The penultimate race featured Honey-Mae Davies alongside her mum Helen in the women’s mile. Helen fought hard for third in the senior category, pulling clear to set a new Manx record of 8:25.54 and claim a podium finish.

Honey-Mae tracked the under-17 leader throughout, surging late to close the gap but eventually settling for silver in a big personal best of 8:42.29.

The men’s mile provided a masterclass from guest of honour Diego Garcia of Spain, eighth in the 20km walk at the recent World Championships in Tokyo. He stormed round the track in six minutes flat, leaving the field well behind.

It was good to see Tom Partington making a welcome, tentative return to racing with fourth place in 7:41.57. It was less good to see Steve Partington making a misguided, painful return to racing and finishing in a heap.

Polly, Tim, Honey-Mae, Jack and Helen all also took part in one-mile runs during the afternoon, with the fastest being Tim in an impressive time of 5:09.76.

The weekend concluded with a Sunday morning coaching session led by Garcia and fellow international Cameron Corbishley - a fitting finish to two weeks of outstanding achievements by the island’s young walkers.

STEVE PARTINGTON

- Calling all sports teams. We offer free publicity for local clubs and athletes in our newspapers and on our websites.

Share your match reports, tournament results, player achievements, and upcoming events by emailing [email protected]

Whether you're celebrating a big win, fundraising, or recruiting new players, we want to hear from you. Help us keep the Isle of Man’s sporting community informed and inspired - send us your sports stories today!