By Jack Zorab

BROMLEY teenager Akina Gondwe-Onobrauche admitted she had to pinch herself after captaining her borough to gold at last week’s Balfour Beatty London Youth Games sportshall athletics finals.

The 13-year-old was in action at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, where she and her classmates from Harris Academy were representing Bromley.

And Gondwe-Onobrauche ensured she would stand out from the record 71,000 participants expected for 2012 – across 30 sports, 33 boroughs and 25 event days – as she led the school to overall year eight girls gold.

Gondwe-Onobrauche won the vertical jump event with a best of 63 centimetres to help Harris Academy to a winning total of 280 points, 17 ahead of with St Ursula’s of Greenwich in second.

And Gondwe-Onobrauche, a member of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC, insists this year’s success more than makes up for last year’s disappointment.

“I am a bit speechless at it all,” said Gondwe-Onobrauche.

“It was completely unexpected but such a great feeling at the same time.

“I am so surprised that we are the best year eight girls team and it is fantastic to be able to say that.

“Last year we had to forfeit because our school got the wrong date.

“We missed it and everyone was really gutted because we had been really looking forward to it, so to come back this year and win it more than makes up for last year.

“I am just really pleased that we came out on top.

“This was a brilliant way to wave goodbye to this competition because next year I will be too old for it.

“The whole day was fantastic.”

While Greenwich had to settle for silver behind Bromley in the Year 8 girls’ competition, they fared much better in the year seven boys event where they were represented by Thomas Tallis School.

Thomas Tallis recorded 257 points to take the title by 14 ahead of Grey Court of Richmond and captain Daniel Rickard admitted it came as a huge surprise to all involved.

“It’s a really good feeling to be the captain of the best boys team in year seven, it is fantastic,” he said. “And now we have won this it is all about coming back next year as year eight and holding onto our title.

“Although I would like to say that we came knowing we would win, that wasn’t the case and I know that we really didn’t expect it when we came.”

Meanwhile, in the year seven girls’ sportshall athletics competition, Addey & Stanhope School of Lewisham couldn’t quite find enough to top the podium as they took silver themselves.

Victories in the 4x2 lap relay and vertical jump put Addey & Stanhope in a strong position but they had to settle for second place, 14 points behind champions Bishop Stopford’s of Enfield.

Elsewhere St Thomas More Primary School, representing Bexley, were toasting hockey bonze as part of Europe’s largest annual youth sports event.

St Thomas More missed out on a place in the final after losing to St Paul’s Cathedral School of City of London on penalties but drew 2-2 in their third-fourth place play-off game with Richmond to finish third.

Balfour Beatty have agreed to support the London Youth Games through to at least 2015, meaning £1.1m worth of funding post-2012 and a total contribution of £2.5m since 2007.

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