By Jonathan Green

Jonathan “JJ” Webb admits winning gold in the men’s sabre was the perfect way to round off his Sainsbury’s School Games career.

More than 1,600 talented school children descended on Manchester to compete in 12 sports across four action-packed days.

And Webb, from New Eltham, was one of the stars of the Games, seeing off Will Halliwell in the final to claim the title while also helping England to team gold.

The 18-year-old now has five gold medals from his three appearances at the Sainsbury’s School Games and believes his experiences will stand him in good stead for his future ambitions.

“I was definitely there to win it and fortunately I managed to pull it out on the day so I am definitely happy with that,” Webb said.

“The team event was good fun like they always are. We had a strong team and we went out and dominated the field like I expected us to.

“It’s my third time competing at the Sainsbury’s School Games and I always enjoy competing at them.

“Every time I come here it’s a great event and it’s great to have a nice crowd there for the support. It’s definitely one of the highlights of the year.”

The Sainsbury’s School Games is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust.

The event has helped to launch the careers of many British athletes, including heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds who were watching the next generation of British stars coming through.

Webb was not the only competitor to taste success in Manchester with Divine Oladipo, Theo Haslam and Aml Sinclair all claiming golds in the girls shot put, boys 50m freestyle and boys epee fencing respectively.

And it was third time lucky for Lewisham fencer Ayesha Fihosy who won a maiden gold medal at the Sainsbury’s School Games at the third attempt in the girls foil.

“I'm really pleased with my performance – this was my third year there and I'd never won it before,” said Fihosy, who is part of Salle Boston Fencing.

“I'd always come second or third, so winning it feels amazing.

I'm confident that I can continue to improve - if I've still got my coach by my side and all the support around me there's no reason I can't keep getting better.

“Events like this can only help publicise fencing - I think more people are getting involved, so I think the School Games is great publicity for our sport.”

The Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games, which is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, was held in venues across Manchester from September 4 to September 7.

Visit 2014schoolgames.com for more information.

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