Havering crowned London Youth Games 2026 Aquathlon and 2026 Swimming (Boys) Champions
Across 2 London Youth Games events, team Havering have brought incredible pride to the borough, proudly achieving Gold in LYG Aquathlon, Gold in LYG Swimming Boys Competition and Silver in LYG Swimming Girls Competition.
The 2026 London Youth Games Aquathlon Competition delivered an incredible day of sportsmanship and competition on 28th June 2026, as 400 young people from across London came together at London Aquatics Centre for a chance to compete against their peers.
It was a day to remember for the young athletes proudly representing the borough of Havering as they fought off stiff competition to come out on top to secure a Gold medal finish.
Participants representing 30 London boroughs showcased exceptional determination and commitment across their swim followed by a run, competing to complete the races in the fastest time possible.
The winning boroughs of the LYG Aquathlon competition:
1st: Havering
2nd: Richmond
3rd: Lewisham
In the 2026 London Youth Games Swimming Competition, 429 young people from across London came together at London Aquatics Centre for a chance to compete against their peers at the London Aquatics Centre on 27th June 2026, as participants representing 27 London boroughs demonstrated their competitive spirit across both a Junior and Senior competition.
The winning boroughs of the Swimming Boys Competition:
1st: Havering
2nd: Bexley
3rd: Bromley
The winning boroughs of the Swimming Girls Competition:
1st: Croydon
2nd: Havering
3rd: Bromley
Like many sports within the London Youth Games programme, LYG’s competitions have long provided the initial platform for many young stars to forge successful careers, with alumni including the likes of Alex Yee, who took part in London Youth Games for Lewisham and went on to become the most successful Olympic triathlete ever, with two Olympic golds, a silver and a bronze. He was also the first Brit to win both the Olympics and the World Championships in the same year (in 2024).
Dom, Havering Team Manager for Swimming said: “I’m absolutely over the moon with how the teams performed today. All the swimmers come from different clubs in Havering and it’s the dedication of those swimmers that have done the borough proud. It’s been an absolutely fantastic day and one of the best run youth swimming events we had in the past 5 years we’ve been doing this.”
Amelia, swimmer for Havering added: “I found the whole competition really fun. We got into our competitiveness, tried our hardest and supported our team. To me, this medal means that we can do anything that we put our mind to as a team.”
Peter Dyer, Havering Team Manager for Aquathlon said: “The London Youth Games is a has a good competitive, really relaxed environment, which is great. The younger year 7s look up to the older ones competing and I think that gives them really good role models. All the team are friends, they all train together, help each other and cheer each other on on the course. I love seeing the youngsters succeed, and it's a really good day out. With this competition, it's hopefully bringing the next generation through."
At a time when an alarming 44% of young people aged 11–18 regularly feel lonely (Youth Matters: State of the Nation Summary Report), the London Youth Games serves as a crucial social lifeline, bringing thousands of young people together to build lasting friendships and connection.
The Games remain dedicated to ensuring that every young person in London has access to inclusive and empowering sporting and physical activity experiences. The 2026 Aquathlon Competition highlighted the power of sport to build confidence, resilience, and community.
The event was brilliantly supported by the Borough Team Organisers, Team Managers, parents and volunteers, whose support ensured a memorable experience for all involved.
The London Youth Games Foundation supports more than 10,000 young people across London each year, delivering opportunities across 37 sports for all 32 boroughs & the City of London. Please show your support to the Games by following us on Instagram @ldnyouthgames or donating here: Countdown to 50 Years of London Youth Games Foundation
Havering crowned London Youth Games 2026 Athletics Champions
The 2026 London Youth Games Athletics Competition delivered an incredible day of sportsmanship and competition on 21st June 2026, as 264 young people from across London came together at Hillingdon Sports Complex for a chance to compete against their peers.
It was a day to remember for the young athletes of Havering, who did their borough proud, performing brilliantly across the day, across multiple athletic events, to finish as overall team champions, securing a Gold medal finish on the day.
Participants from 22 borough teams showed determination, pushing themselves and having fun competing in track and field events to represent their borough - with participants competing for both individual and team podium places. The stands were filled with support from parents and teammates with great borough support for those on the track.
The inclusion of Athletics at the London Youth Games has long provided a platform for future careers, with alumni including the likes of Olympians Dina Asher-Smith, Linford Christie, Christine Ohuruogu, Desiree Henry, Bianca Williams, Desiree Henry, Lina Nielsen, Asha Philip and Laviai Nielsen.
Joanne Day, Havering Team Manager, said: “The team have really supported each other, and they've done brilliantly. So many of the girls also achieved personal bests and they’ve had so much fun. It's been really good and I’m proud of them.”
The winning boroughs of the Boys and Girls Competition:
Gold: Havering
Silver: Richmond
Bronze: Redbridge
Against the backdrop of data showing that 16% of young people feel unsafe in their local area (Youth Matters: State of the Nation Summary Report), the London Youth Games offers a secure, positive environment where young Londoners can thrive free from worry.
The Games remain dedicated to ensuring that every young person in London has access to inclusive and empowering sporting and physical activity experiences. The 2026 Athletics Competition highlighted the power of sport to build confidence, resilience, and community.
The event was brilliantly supported by the Borough Team Organisers, Team Managers, parents and volunteers, whose support ensured a memorable experience for all involved.
The London Youth Games Foundation supports more than 10,000 young people across London each year, delivering opportunities across 37 sports for all 32 boroughs & the City of London. Please show your support to the Games by following us on Instagram @ldnyouthgames or donating Countdown to 50 Years of London Youth Games Foundation.
Havering crowned London Youth Games 2026 Judo Champions
Havering LYG Cross Country 25/26
Ruby LYG33 Success
Ruby's LYG 33 Success
Our very own Ruby Price has been selected to be a member of the LYG33 programme. "LYG33 is a youth engagement and leadership programme that empowers young Londoners to influence the future of London Youth Games and sport."
Ruby recently attended an LYG33 event and this is what she had to say about her experience.
"I was privileged enough to be chosen as one of the marketing leads as a member of the LYG33 leadership team for 2025/26. To kick things off, I attended leadership day 1, and during this day I was introduced to the programme and my fellow members. Everyone was extremely welcoming and nice so we all got on really well as a team. We were shown the values and mission of LYG33 and how the company would like projects to be youth-led so as a team we started to brainstorm some ideas on how we would like to encourage more people to take part in sport by raising awareness through youth voice. The following day, we met again at William Perkin School because we learnt that LYG were involved in creating the sports hall at the school. This has a deeper meaning as it represents students from state schools who don’t receive the same sporting opportunities as others. Therefore, to remember the legacy of Wilf Slack, who was a great cricketer for Middlesex, LYG helped to facilitate the cricket centre. It is the only cricket centre that is a part of a school in London and is 1 in 5 cricket centres in state schools across the UK. It was a real honour to play sports in this facility throughout the day. Also, during the day we were introduced to the majority of the staff members who we will be working with and it was great to get to know them. We also mapped out our goals which we want to achieve from our specific roles and those which are personal to inspire us and help shape our future. To finish the day, we discussed our different ideas from the day before and together we organised them into groups so hopefully by this time next year you will see a difference and our team can leave a legacy onto the next group, so please look out online and in schools across the boroughs as we raise awareness about LYG activities and ensure we gain inclusion, integrity and collaboration. So far, we’ve created a safe and comfortable environment to work in with each other so we can’t wait to properly get started and help encourage young people to sport which we are all passionate about."
We look forward to following Rubys successes through the programme.
