Budding sportsmen Rowan and Nathan Hargreaves have vowed to come away from next year’s Balfour Beatty London Youth Games with medals after impressing on their first indoor rowing appearance for Kensington & Chelsea.
It was the first time that talented brothers Nathan, 15, and Rowan, 13, had swapped the outdoors of the river for the indoors and, amid tough competition, finished nine and 13th in their respective age groups.
And according to Nathan, rowing at events like the London Youth Games – Europe’s largest annual youth sport events – will help improve the pair no end ahead of their move to Richmond Rugby Club next year.
“We’ll hopefully be coming back next year, providing we get through the trials for the indoor rowing team again,” said Nathan, who attends Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School with Rowan.
“I rowed for about two years out on the water but this is our first competition on dry land as it were. We got involved thanks to our cousins who are keen rowers and then heard through the school about the London Youth Games
“We had only eight people in the rowing relay and you needed ten to compete for the win but we did really well for a reduced team.
“Rugby is our main sport and I would love it to be my future job. Bank of England isn’t a massive club but we’re moving on next year to Richmond, which will be a bigger level.
“Hopefully we can both go up through the age groups at Richmond. We also play every weekend at school from September to December.”
Kensington & Chelsea made strides in a number sports across the Games this year, to add to an impressive first place in kayak slalom.
There were fifth-place finishes in both boys’ and girls’ volleyball and the female table tennis team – which improved by a staggering 14 places.
And table tennis team manager Jon Kaufman insists the borough will only improve further when talented primary school players come of age.
“I’ve got some tremendous young kids coming through, there’s a lot to be positive about for the future,” he said.
“The pair here this year, Federica Bonato and Lucia Shakespeare, have done really well – even better than I thought they would.”
The London boroughs and Balfour Beatty invest in the London Youth Games to build stronger communities through competitive sport.
