The next generation of sporting superstars gave us a glimpse into the future as thousands of young Londoners put their talent on display at the London Youth Games Finals Festival.
The event was held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with London Marathon Events part of the organising committee tasked with creating, coordinating and delivering a community grassroots festival alongside the competitive events fronted by the London Youth Games Foundation.
Continuing the legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games, the London Youth Games Finals Festival celebrated sport, culture and community and showed the culmination of more than 50 qualifying events in more than 30 sports.
The London Youth Games Foundation – a charity which provides opportunities to more than 150,000 young people a year across London – has proved to be the starting point for many of the UK’s most celebrated sportspeople, with Mo Farah, Christine Ohuruogu and Bradley Wiggins all graduating from the London Youth Games to Team GB.
Like Wiggins, another cyclist who was a winner and progressed to be a professional cyclist is Connie Hayes, based in east London, who competed in the 2024 Ford RideLondon Classique with Team Doltcini O’Shea. Hayes, along with fellow professional Tiffany Keep (of DAS-Hutchinson Brother Cycling Team), spoke to the competitors, with Keep heading to the Paris 2024 Olympics to cycle for South Africa.
“I was here in 2016 as a 15-year-old and winning here was a massive confidence boost,” said Hayes. “I moved into the junior ranks and competed at the Nations Cup before joining the elite ranks in 2021. Some of the people here will become professionals, I have no doubt.”
“The London Youth Games are really instrumental in helping young athletes grow and giving them an opportunity to compete with their friends at a good level,” added Keep. “It also provides an environment that encourages kids to be part of sport and to achieve a high level of prestige.”
Winners in 2024 came from the boroughs of Bromley, Haringey, Hackney, Wandsworth and Hillingdon.
Layla Hall, Schools Engagement Manager at London Marathon Events, said: “It is important that all young people have access to sport and to events such as the London Youth Games that inspires physical activity across London. By giving children as young as seven access to sport, the London Youth Games is providing a platform for the next generation of champions to grow and thrive.”
London Marathon Events is one of several organisations that make up the organising committee of the London Youth Games Finals Festival, which is committed to creating sport and physical activity opportunities for young Londoners, especially those who face disadvantage, and barriers to accessing sport.
The other groups in the organising committee are LLDC, Youth Charter, StreetGames, GLL, the Greater London Authority and London Sport.