A SILVER medal for Jenna Blundell plus a bronze for Rory Howorth were the highlights for Wiltshire athletes at the England Athletics Age Group Championships in Bedford.

Blundell, who is a student at St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon, smashed her personal best twice – once wind-assisted and the other legal – to claim her first national medal in the U17 girls' 80m hurdles.

“It was amazing and I still cannot believe it,” said Blundell.

“It seems like a blur but it is very nice to win my first national medal. I didn’t expect it at all and even when we crossed the line, I wasn’t sure if I had got anything.”

Blundell edged out Amy Pye of Cannock & Stafford by just 0.03 seconds to claim the silver, with Bracknell’s Darcey Fleming taking gold by only 0.04.

Blundell had already clocked a very swift 11.37 in the heats but that was helped by a following wind of 2.9m/s so was over the legal limit.

In the semi-finals, the 15-year-old recorded a legal best of 11.50, shaving 0.07 seconds off her time set when winning the South West Schools’ title in June and then matched that in the final for her silver medal, which lifts Blundell to seventh in the UK rankings for U17 girls.

Howorth’s delight at making the podium in the U15 boys’ 800m was clear for all to see because the 14-year-old St Augustine’s College student from Hilperton knows what it feels like to just miss out.

A slow first circuit in 62 seconds ensured a massive burn-up in the decisive second lap and Howorth showed good form to put himself into contention.

Howorth also shaved 0.9 seconds off his personal best with a time of 2:01.06, so really couldn’t have done any better on the day.

However, his brothers John and Robert were victims of a field of runners that was far too big for the U17 boys' 1500 steeplechase, finishing seventh and eighth respectively.

Elsewhere, Trowbridge runner Caitlin Wosika finished eighth in the U17 girls' 1500m steeplechase and Jade Littlechild from Corsham was 11th in the U17s 1500m.