Duo set to go for glory in Schools Olympics

TWO runners from Huntingdon Athletics Club have been selected for the under 17 East of England Schools Team for the UK Schools Olympics in Glasgow.

Gian Zicchi, Year 11, and Christian Roberts, Year 10, are both pupils at the St Ivo School and will represent the Eastern Region at the tournament from September 7-10.

Gian has been selected for the under 17 100m and 4 x 100m relay events.

He reached the English National Schools Championships 100m final earlier this year, and has racked up county and regional titles in both school and open competitions.

Christian, also in the under 17 category, will travel to Glasgow to race in the 4 x 100m relay team.

The youngster, who reached the final of the 400m hurdles at the ENSC, will be one of the youngest athletes in his age group.

Christian has been among the medals at numerous school and open events throughout this year, in both the 100m and 400m hurdles.

Both athletes hold County and Regional titles, and have broken their club age group records for their events, setting new county records in the process.

Their achievement is particularly remarkable given the Eastern Region Schools catchment area includes Essex whose population density and sporting quality traditionally dominates most English Schools Sports.

The UK Schools Olympics event, sponsored by Sport England, will attract 1,000 of the UK's top athletes across five of the major Olympic sports.

It is being run for the first time but will become an annual event as part of the build up to the 2012 Olympics, designed to give junior athletes the chance to experience and compete in an Olympic-style environment.

All athletes will live in an Olympic village, and will experience the same levels of security, transport, medical, and dietary support given to senior athletes.