One of the country's greatest ever Olympians made an emotional return to Sheffield this weekend in a bid to inspire the next generation of athletics talent and one city youngster made an immediate impression.
Sprint sensation Alex Kiwomya produced a personal best to win the Junior Boys 200m title at the Aviva English Schools Track and Field Championships at Don Valley Stadium where double Olympic gold medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes was guest of honour.
The 13 year old Notre Dame School pupil, who trains at Don Valley, is now the English Schools Champion after winning the final in a time of 22.66 seconds in front of the Sky Sports 1 TV cameras. He produced the same time in the heat before qualifying for the final in a time of 22.90 seconds.
Don Valley coach Rob Creasey said: "We are very proud of his achievements here. Alex had to work hard for this victory. He ran personal bests in the heat and the final and to do that under pressure in such a big championships shows great maturity and determination."
Dame Kelly bowed out of British athletics at the Sheffield International Venues (SIV) facility in 2005 when she competed in her last ever track race in Great Britain at Don Valley Stadium.
More than 1,400 competitors from across the UK took part in a range of track and field events over the three days at the stadium - watched by an audience of around 3,000 people.
The warm-up events were held at SIV's English Institute of Sport - Sheffield (EIS Sheffield), while Woodbourn Road hosted the hammer and discuss competitions.
Pat Smith, general manager at Don Valley Stadium, which has now hosted the English Schools Track and Field Championships five times, said: "It was a great privilege to welcome an athlete of such calibre to Don Valley Stadium. Dame Kelly's last ever Great Britain track race at the stadium was a really special occasion so it was wonderful to see her back in Sheffield and what better way to mark the occasion than with one of our own young runners taking the 200m title."
Alex's next performance is the National Championships in Bedford on August 8 and 9.
