More than 60 cross-country athletes represented Croydon at the opening event of the 2015 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games at Parliament Hill last weekend.

The 67-strong squad finished fifth out of 33 London boroughs, finishing third in the boys’ competition and 11th in the girls’ category.

Whitgift pupil Harley Norman was the highest placed finisher for the borough, winning silver in a sprint finish in the U13 boys’ race.

The Surrey pentathlon champion covered the 2k course in seven minutes 34 seconds, with just six seconds covering the top five.

Joseph Seal (15th) and Jaan Stanley (30th) completed the scoring trio to ensure Croydon won team bronze.

There was team gold for the U17 men who triumphed over Enfield by a single point on the 4.5km course.

South London’s James Lyne (11th) and former Youth Games gold medallist Paul Burgess (12th) packed well, and Croydon Harrier Omar Harhara (18th) completed the team to ensure victory.

The London Youth Games is Europe’s largest annual youth sports event and is driving the legacy for increased participation in competitive sport and volunteering for young Londoners.

A record 126,897 young Londoners took part in the record-breaking 2014 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, taking the event to more than one million participants since it first launched in 1977.

To find out more about the competing or volunteering at London Youth Games, visit londonyouthgames.org or follow @ldnyouthgames on Twitter.

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