Athletics: Briton Wins World Junior Championships Gold

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, a 17-year-old already tipped as a potential Olympic 100 metres champion when the games are staged in London in 2012, claimed the gold medal at the world junior championships in Beijing last night. He is the first British runner to take the title since Mark Lewis-Francis in Santiago in 2000.

Aikines-Aryeetey set a season's best of 10.37sec to add the junior title to the gold medals he won in the 100m and 200m at the world youth championships in Marrakech last year. "I'm over the moon and just want to talk about it with everyone," he said. "After my semi-final I just wanted to get out there and finish the business."

His build-up to the championships had been disrupted when he was dragged into the controversy surrounding Justin Gatlin, the Olympic and world 100m champion who tested positive for testosterone. Aikines-Aryeetey had travelled to train with Gatlin's coach Trevor Graham in North Carolina in April,a decision for which the UK Athletics performance director, Dave Collins, was criticised because a number of athletes connected to Graham had been banned for drugs.

Aikines-Aryeetey had also been suffering from a back injury suffered at Gateshead in June. But the Carshalton teenager put that behind to produce his best performance when it mattered, a skill he will increasingly need as the pressure builds in the count-down to London 2012.

Before that, though, there are the Olympics in Beijing in less than two years. "In competitive terms 2008 seems a long time away and I know it will come along quickly enough," he said. "I don't know who will be around then although I'm sure Asafa [Powell] will still be about."

Anothere encouraging performance was that of the Newham 15-year-old, Asha Philip, who came fourth in the 100m final, missing a medal by only 0.06sec. She will still be eligible for the next world junior championships in two years.