PORTSMOUTH’s Mountbatten Centre has proved a happy hunting ground for Lynden Olowe this summer.

Olowe, who turns 15 this week, pocketed under-17 men’s 400 metres silver at the Hampshire County Championships last month.

And on Saturday the promising one-lapper upgraded that to gold at the Hampshire Schools’ Track & Field Championships with steady 52.1-second run.

Olowe, who lives in Woolston and competes for Southampton Schools, started out running 300s last year and has quickly adapted to the longer distance – even though he does need reining in at times.

Lance Vinter, his coach at Southampton Athletic Club, said: “Lynden’s personal best was 54-something and then he went off way too fast in the Hampshire Championship heats and ran it in 51.23.

“He ended up with silver in the final, beaten by an upper age lad from Guernsey (Teddy Le Clerc).

“Lynden’s at the lower end of the age-group and he’s the fastest in the country this year at the younger end of it.”

Pleasingly for his coach, Olowe got his race management spot on on Saturday, holding energy in reserve to qualify behind Reiss Jarvis in his heat before beating the Eastleigh & Winchester lad by over a second in the final.

Eddie Jenkinson, who sits top-three nationally in the men’s under-17 discus, almost certainly booked his ticket to next month’s English Schools’ Championships with a winning throw of 44.38, beating Eastleigh & Winchester Schoools teammate Ben Upfold (41.24) to the crown.

Andrew Douglas, who currently reigns supreme in the UK under-17 pole vault rankings, eased to pole vault glory with a 2.50-metre clearance.

The Gregg School student won silver as a first-year intermediate at last summer’s English Schools’ Championships, since when he has upped his personal best to 4.60.

Luke Powell (Gosport & Fareham Schools) and Patrick Whelan (Southampton Schools) – both members of Southampton AC – dominated the intermediate boys’ middle distance events at Portsmouth.

Powell comfortably headed the 800m (2.01.6), while Wheelan led the 1500m home in 4.22.4.

Sam Wellington (Gosport & Fareham Schools) was another intermediate golden boy from Southampton AC, taking the shot put title with 12.66.

With several athletes competing in the South of England Under-20s at Lee Valley, there were understandably low turnouts in the senior events.

But Southampton Schools’ Mo Mahamed made his mark in the 1500m, winning in 4.02.8, while brother Abdi followed Eastleigh & Winchester’s Calum Upton (6.17.2) home in the 2000m steeplechase.