THE School Games National Finals took place at Loughborough University between Thursday, August 30 August and Sunday, September 2, with Ilkley’s Dominic Coy contesting the triathlon competition.

The 16-year-old Ilkley Grammar School pupil was part of the Yorkshire squad and performed well, finishing fourth.

Dominic finished in second place in the aquathlon event, which formed the first leg of this three day triathlon competition. He followed this with a good cycle performance the following day, ultimately placing fourth.

Of his performance, Coy said: “I’m really happy with my performance in the aquathlon; I came out of the swim much quicker than I was expecting so that was good. I managed to hold it on the run and not get caught.

“I was a bit nervous about the cycle skills test because in the past I haven’t been too confident on the bike, but in the end I did quite well. I enjoyed the road race as well; there was a nice group of five of us who bunched together.

“It didn’t quite go to plan in the final stages of the race and I just missed out in the end, but it’s still great experience. The guys on the podium really deserved it!

“I had great fun in the relay, I was really pleased with my performance personally too and to get back up to second was great.”

Now in its 13th year, the event – featuring over 1,000 school-age athletes – saw some of the most talented schoolchildren from across the UK compete in 11 different sports.

Some of Britain’s biggest sporting stars have previously competed at the School Games before going onto international success, including Ellie Simmons, Jonnie Peacock, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Adam Peaty.

The School Games has provided a fantastic springboard for some of the most talented school-age athletes, with over 200 graduates of the School Games Finals competing at this year’s Commonwealth Games, winning 85 medals.

The Games, which is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and the home country sports councils and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, was established in 2006 after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and formed a key part of the legacy programme.