WITH no three AAA's England under-13 athletics championships and Dean Oakes having Northern Ireland qual- ification by parentage, he travelled to Bangor to compete in the Northern Ireland Champ-ionships.

Bexley Sports Council awarded Dean a grant towards his trip, based on his earlier javelin throwing achievements in England.

Perhaps, typically for Ireland, it was so wet and windy that the javelin event was delayed from starting for more than an hour.

There were 18 entries but only 10 threw, possibly because of the adverse conditions.

But Dean, who is from Sidcup and is currently a pupil at Burnt Oak Junior School before starting at Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar School in September, was undeterred as he produced a super silver medal-winning throw of 28.42 metres, which was a personal best by nearly one-and-a-half metres.

After leading in the first and third rounds, Dean was just 28cms short of the winning throw and was more than three metres ahead of the bronze medal thrower.

Dean was only just old enough to compete. The minimum age was 11 by the end of June and he was 11 on June 7, while the winner of the javelin event was nearly 13 years old.

Dean was also fourth in the shot and sixth in the discus.

A member of Medway & Maidstone AC and coached by former Kent champion Clifton Green, Dean's ambition, perhaps predictably being a javelin thrower, is to continue where Steve Backley, another Sidcupian, leaves off!

Dean's brother Gary still holds the Northern Ireland Under-13 national javelin record, which he set in 1998 with a throw of 34.38 metres.

Obviously, Dean aims to break that record before he moves up to the under-15 age-group but he has plenty of time to improve.

The athletic prowess of the family is consolidated by sister Sharon, who holds the All-Ireland junior triple-jump record.

July 9, 2002 11:30