WILTSHIRE team manager Alison Phillips has praised the county’s athletes after another superb display at the South West Inter-Counties Track & Field Championships, writes KEVIN FAHEY.

The county’s athletes plundered numerous medals on a red-hot day at the Exeter Arena in Devon on Sunday and while official results won’t be confirmed until the end of the week Phillips is cautiously optimistic that Wiltshire may have held off a strong challenge from Devon to retain their team title.

Whatever the outcome of that competition there can be little doubt that it was another successful day for the county.

“Sunday was an amazing day with some fantastic performances from athletes in all age groups in very hot conditions,” said Phillips.

“I know some were disappointed not to get personal bests, but in that heat, and with many of the U13 and U15 athletes having competed the day before in the YDL finals, it wasn’t to be and they really should be proud of themselves.

“We have to wait to see how the team competition went, but I’m really hoping Wiltshire has retained the SW County title for another year. By my count we are level with Devon on the medals total at 84 each, with Cornwall a long way behind in third (56).

“It will depend on how many points athletes lower down the order earned us, which really shows that this is a true team competition so I’m so grateful to all the athletes who came and competed and tried so hard – and to the many parents who made it possible for them to do that.

“It shows the depth of talent we now have in Wiltshire, that our athletes in all age groups can compete against the best in the South West and win. That’s also thanks to the quality of the coaches we have at all the clubs across the county and the hard work they put in throughout the year.

“In 2012 there was a lot of talk about the Olympic legacy, and I think we’re really starting to see that coming true now as more and more people are involved in athletics either as a competitor or a supporter, whether they coach or help run a club.

“Especially when you consider that Wiltshire is a large county and many track and field athletes make journeys of over 20 miles to train regularly, all year round, and that one of our clubs (Salisbury) has struggled this year with no access to their facilities, it’s a truly brilliant result.

“Thank you everyone – we’ll make sure the team result is publicized as soon as it’s announced.”