IT S been a successful few weeks for athletes at the Oaklands Athletics Academy as they continue to turn in first class performances at recent events across Europe. Antoe Walters led the way when he powered home to secure silver at the Swiss National Cham

IT'S been a successful few weeks for athletes at the Oaklands Athletics Academy as they continue to turn in first class performances at recent events across Europe.

Antoe Walters led the way when he powered home to secure silver at the Swiss National Championship in the 60m. 17-year old Antoe is now ranked in the top three in the UK at U20s level.

Oaklands students also won the Open University Relay and retained the Les Irvine Trophy for the second successive year. The team of Ronnie Sparke, Rhys Glastonbury, Thomas Carson and Leigh Lattimore dominated the field and won by a clear margin while the Oaklands B team consisting of Chantelle Bazzoni, Alexander Jones, Cameron Webb and Callum McKechnie took third place. Oaklands have been invited back to defend the trophy in 2010.

The icing on the cake came as Sparke was named to represent Great Britain at the upcoming 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships taking place on 28 March. Hosted in Amman, Jordan, this is the world's biggest winter outdoor athletics event of the season, and at 17-years old Ronnie will be the youngest person in the team.

He gained selection on the back of impressive performances at the South of England Championships and the National Cross Country Championships.

Gary Anderson, Director of Performance at Oaklands Athletics Academy, comments: "These results are the product of hours of hard work and commitment to training and development. These athletes are delivering first class performances - the results speak for themselves. We are currently recruiting for our 2009 student intake and have around 15 places on the academy available, these results show what our programme is capable of delivering. In addition to these outstanding athletic performances, our second year students are now receiving their university offers from both universities in the UK and the USA which illustrates the benefits of a combined programme of academic study and performance athletic support.