Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers' young middle-distance stars Sagie Benaim and Richard Goodman started the cross-country season in fine fashion. In the London Championships at Parliament Hill, Goodman, 15, won the Under 17 race by a comfortable 20-second margin, while Benaim, 18, came a close second in the under-20 race.

For Benaim, a maths and computing student at Imperial College, it was a pleasing return to competition, having missed out on the entire track season after injuring his hip in a fall.
Goodman and women's steeplechase specialist Jo Ankier were among the nine Barnet athletes recently awarded financial and training grants by the GLL Sports Foundation, in recognition of their national and international potential.