THREE local athletes have become national champions after success at the England Athletics U20 Championships in Bedford.

Blackburn Harriers Alison Leonard and Sophie Hitchon have gained automatic selection for the European Junior Athletics Championships, which take place in Novi Sad in Serbia between July 23 and 26, having reached the qualifying standard.

But Robbie Schofield from Ribble Valley Athletic Club faces a race against time to get the time he needs before the July 12 deadline.

The England U23 Championships were included at the same meeting and a third Blackburn Harrier, Paul Bradshaw, won a silver medal.

He has been included in the 52-strong Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad, named on Tuesday, for the European U23 Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, between July 16 and 19.

Chorley-based 800m ace Alison Leonard missed a medal by the thickness of a vest in last year’s European Junior Championships in Poland, and for a while it looked to be touch and go whether she would get another chance after a stress injury in the thigh blighted her early season.

But a season’s best 2:04.50 put clear daylight between her and the chasers at the weekend and lifted her to second in the ‘Power of 10’ rankings.

The hammer competition once again proved that there is no U20 in the country capable of upsetting an in-form Sophie Hitchon.

Still not yet 18, she has long since come of age in the event, and in her six-throw series she three times beat her championship record from a year ago.

Her final effort of 61.36m was her best and it left her all but 10 metres clear.

Robbie Schofield isn’t resting on his laurels after winning the 800m in a personal best time of 1:49.82 seconds – the first time he has run sub 1:50.

The 18-year old was due to run again last night in a British Milers Club Meeting at Leeds to try for the 1:49.5 he needs for Serbia.

With a sub 1:48 already to his credit in the 800m, Paul Bradshaw knew that second in the U23 race would probably be enough for him to gain his first Great Britain vest.

Two more local athletes had reached the necessary levels in the U20s this season, but neither Leigh Lennon nor Holly Bleasdale could reproduce their best form.

It is a measure of how far Blackburn’s Bleasdale has progressed in the pole vault that she was disappointed with 3.60m for sixth. Lennon, from the Ribble Valley club, was fifth in Leonard’s 800m final with 2:09.07.

The selectors have been notified that she was unwell on race day, but she would probably need to win the English Schools’ to have a chance of swaying them.

Karl Billington is even younger and the 17-year-old’s performance in finishing fifth in the 5000m rates most highly as he returned 14:49.77 with a conservative approach in hot conditions.

Another Blackburn prospect, Luke Evans, fought his way through his heat and semi-final to make seventh in the 100m final in 11.07 seconds.

Pendle heptathlete Eleanor Markendale was alone of our locals in contesting two events, taking fourth in the U23 long jump with 5.71m and fifth in the 100m hurdles in 15.09 seconds.

Kelly Hilton, of Chorley Athletic Club, cleared 12.45m for fourth in the U23 triple jump, while two more East Lancashire men featured in the U23s.

Former Pendle star Ben Lindsay was 11th in the 5000m in 15:21.44 and Blackburn’s Paul Whittle clocked 15.68 seconds for the 110m hurdles.