Time to salute young stars
Brian Sacks reviews yet another great year of sporting excellence
ATHLETICS ANGELICA Mayer, Or Segal and Sam Greenstein are the winners of the 2019 Daniel Sacks Awards for Outstanding Young Athletic Achievement. These awards, now in their tenth year, recognise the track and field performances of athletes aged 11 to 16 and, in particular, those who have not won the award previously.
Mayer set the tone for her season ahead by winning the Scottish U15 60m indoor title in 8.01sec. She was by far the youngest competitor in the final.
Moving into the outdoor season, and just turned 13, Mayer took gold medals in both the 60m and 200m in the World Youth Games in Gothenburg, in competition with athletes from across Scandinavia.
Mayer, a Giffnock North sprinter, then followed up this triumph by taking gold in the Scottish National U15 100m championship. Her time of 12.43 in that race places her sixth among UK Year 1 U15s.
Also competing over 200m and long jump, Mayer’s best performances of 25.93 and 5.07m set her high in the national lists for those events. In placing fourth in the U15 English Schools high-jump championship, Shaftesbury Barnet’s Segal, now 15, achieved the same height as the silver medallist, 1.78m, but lost out on a countback. But it was the competitive high point of a season in which he won almost every competition he entered.
In August, in his first season in the event, he cleared 1.80m to secure eighth place in the UK U15 rankings.
Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Greenstein, also now 15, competed prolifically throughout the cross-country, track and road relay seasons. His ten track outings over 1,500m included two Eastern Young Athletes League victories as well as second places in the Middlesex County Championships and the EYAL final. His fastest time of 4:19.6 placed him 35th in the UK U15 list, while he secured 31st place in the 3,000m rankings in his single race over the distance.
It has also been a year of notable strength in depth. Zac Segal (St Albans) proved to be a close U15 rival to Greenstein over 1,500m, recording 4:23.1. In the U17 division. Biny Bloom (Shaftesbury Barnet) progressed over 3,000m, recording 9:26.7. Barnet &
District runner Pinni Bayvel-Zayats, 12, impressed on the roads, recording 5:28 in the Westminster Mile and 17:35 in the London Mini Marathon (three miles).
Jonny Cohen (Shaftesbury Barnet) scaled 3.72m indoors for 25th place in the UK U17 pole vault lists. Anthony Papier hurled the javelin 39.98m to enter the UK U15 top 50, and also provided good service to Harrow AC in the discus and javelin. Sale Harriers pole vault specialist Ellie Wolfenden,14, improved her best to 2.21m. Dina Silverman
gained her third Barnet Primary Schools cross-country title before starting her track career with Shaftesbury Barnet. In her first year of U13 competition, Silverman entered the national rankings for 800m and 1,500m with marks of 2:43.1 and 5:26.3.
Among previous award winners, Jack Davis-Black, Adam Firsht, Jayden Klein, Gilad Nachshen and Maayan Radus have all competed extensively and progressed well over the season.
It has been a year of notable strength in depth