Borough collected four medals in various kayak disciplines last month

Islington Gazette: Oliver Pryce took senior male kayak slalom silver for Islington at the London Youth Games (pic: Better)Oliver Pryce took senior male kayak slalom silver for Islington at the London Youth Games (pic: Better) (Image: Archant)

Islington youngsters had great success at the London Youth Games canoe and kayak gala last month, taking four medals in total.

The leading light for Islington at the event, which was held at the London Regatta Centre in Newham, was Dylan Gregory.

The Islington youngster clocked 58 seconds three times at the event to finish a second clear of a Kingston rival and win gold in the junior male slalom event.

It was an improvement on last year for Gregory, when he had to second for a silver medal in the competition.

There was also a silver medal for Olive Pryce in the senior male slalom category in his final year competing in the London Youth Games.

After the agony of finishing fourth last year, Pryce led the 2018 competition after the first two runs before dropping back to second place.

However, after last year’s disappointment, the Islington youngster was thrilled to get his hands on a medal.

There was also a silver for Islington in the team competition, making up for some of the disappointment the borough suffered last year when controversially missing out on a medal.

The team hope to do even better in 2019 and claim overall victory in the team competition following their second-place finish this year.

One member of the borough squad also collected a medal in one of the spring disciplines, with Michelle Hawkins third in the female lightning category.

Those results have helped contribute to a strong start for Islington in this year’s Jubilee Cup, the overall standings which combines together the results from across all sports.

The borough currently sit 14th overall, with their highest-ever finishing position being 26th.

At the start of this year’s London Youth Games cycle, Islington had hoped to amass over 800 points and having collected 293 from 10 events to date, they are on course to do that.

There is still a long way to go in this year’s London Youth Games as the Islington squad across all sports look to break new ground by setting new records.

And if their recent success in both the kayak slalom and kayak sprint events at the London Regatta Centre are anything to go by, it could well be an historic year for all involved with the Islington set-up.