Leila Newth Soars to New British Record in European U18 Final

Report by Debra Booker

ESM’s Leila Newth produced another outstanding performance to finish fourth in the triple jump at the European U18 Championships in Rieti, Italy over the weekend.

Having qualified for Sunday’s final with a new British U18 record of 13.02m, Leila matched that mark in the fourth round before extending her own national record with a lifetime best of 13.16m in the sixth and final round. The jump left her agonisingly close to a medal in an exceptionally strong international field.

The result caps an extraordinary few weeks for the 15-year-old, who was competing as a first-year U18 against athletes aged 16 and 17. Her 13.16m performance also makes her the UK’s leading junior triple jumper across all age groups up to and including Under-20. 

Leila’s attention now turns to the combined events as she heads to Bedford in August to compete in the heptathlon at the U18 UK Championship.