BASINGSTOKE and Mid Hants athletes Owen Richardson and Malachi Gair both claimed silver medals at the English Championships at a windy Bedford last weekend.

Richardson went into the under-17 400m as a strong favourite despite being one of the youngest competitors in the event and secured his place in the final by winning his heat in 50.02sec.

The final was a closely-contested affair, with Richardson beaten by Matthew Pagan of West Cheshire in a photo-finish. Pagan was given a time of 49.20, just two-hundredths-of-a-second ahead of the Basingstoke runner.

The result was something of an upset given that Richardson had beat Pagan by more than half-a-second at the English Schools Championships, but it was the Cheshire athlete who dealt better with the difficult conditions.

Gair was also unfortunate not to win a national championship, being beaten on countback in the final of the under-15 high jump after he and the eventual winner had both cleared 1.86m.

Two other athletes from the Down Grange clubs reached finals. Evie Wilcox finished fifth in the under-17 discus, throwing a new personal best of 39.79m, while Mair Edwards was sixth in the under-15 200m, clocking 25.50 in the final.

At Manchester, Ben Hazell, competing as a guest, won the Home Nations Decathlon with a total of 6,906 points, well clear of club-mate Adam Akehurst in second. Sam Sleap also competed but had to retire through injury after the opening event.