Most improved borough in fishing competition

Ealing won a bronze medal at the London Youth Games angling finals at Tyler’s Common Fishery on Sunday (2nd June).

They were the most improved borough in the competition having only finished 15th on their last appearance in the angling competition in 2011.

The borough finished behind gold medallists Croydon and runners-up Bexley on a glorious day’s fishing supported by the Environment Agency near Harold Wood in Havering. There were a record 24 boroughs taking part in the competition, a 20% increase on 2012.

In the individual classifications, the senior gold was won by Matt Oliver of Enfield with a haul of 113lb 7oz from Horseshoe Lake, almost 40lb clear of the next best in the category. The juniors fished Willow Lake and John Doyle of Tower Hamlets came out top with a bagful weighing in at 104lb 12oz.

Ealing’s Team Manager James Thornhill said preparation was the key to the team’s success. He said: “We are really pleased. They have been doing a lot of practicing, so it’s nice for them to come away with a medal.

“It’s especially nice for Nathan (Russell-Wade), as he did his highest ever match total 72lb 4oz, which was a fantastic weight. We run a ‘Get into Fishing’ project in Northala Field.

“We’ve got our own lakes there, so we are very lucky to have a facility to practice at. But we delivered and we are very pleased. Hopefully, we’ll be able to come back and go one or two better next year.”

The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games is Europe’s largest annual youth sports event. A record 104,463 young Londoners took part in the 2012 London Youth Games.

The 2013 London Youth Games will be the biggest in history featuring 85 competitions across 33 sports and 27 event days, culminating in finals week at the National Sports Centre Crystal Palace in July where the overall winning borough are awarded the Jubilee Trophy.

There were 44 former London Youth Games competitors who took part in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games winning 14 medals, including nine gold from Mo Farah (athletics), David Weir (disability athletics), Bradley Wiggins (cycling), Joanna Rowsell (cycling), Naomi Riches (disability rowing). To find out more and to get involved, visit www.londonyouthgames.org

4th June 2013