SPORTING stars of the future from the borough competed in the finals of the London youth games at the weekend.

More than 200 young people aged 11-18 who live and go to school in the borough took part in the games along with 20,000 other athletes of varying abilities and experience from across London.

Barnet, with a total of 24 medals, came 14th out of the 32 boroughs that competed during the finals weekend held at Crystal Palace.

Charlotte Wingfield, 14, was a stand out performer, earning two golds and a silver medal in the relay, 300m sprint and long jump respectively.

She said: “As this was my last year at the LYG I felt I tried my hardest and achieved the best I could.

“The LYG is a great opportunity for me to compete with my friends – the best achievement was winning the 4x100m relay.”

The junior fencing team took bronze, with the senior team taking silver and becoming joint winners overall, sharing the trophy with Enfield and Newham.

The boys basketball team were victorious over Camden and Ealing, but were unfortunately undone by the team from Haringey. They did however, get the chance to meet and have their photos taken with the NBA's Utah Jazz player Deron Williams who attended the event as part of the NBA's European Jam van tour.

Barnet's young athletes scooped gold medals in mixed fencing, 4x100m relay, 300m sprint, girl's shot put, indoor rowing as well as running, long jump, and boy's javelin in disability events.

The Barnet squad also captured several top ten finishes including, sailing, boys artistic gymnastics and archery, to see them improve on their 22nd place finish last year.

Other successes included three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze from the people with disabilities (PWD) athletics team.

Two times Olympic hurdler an former competitor for Barnet Jacqui Agyepong was in attendance to cheer on the borough's squad and show her support.

Councillor Fiona Bulmer , cabinet member for children's services said: “This is a huge achievement for team Barnet, who rely heavily on volunteers, clubs and coaches to make this event happen.

“I know our young athletes really enjoyed taking part in the games and I warmly congratulate all the medal winners”

For more information, or to compete in next years games, visit www.barnet.gov.uk/london-youth-games-2009 or call 020 7711570.