Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's top youngster Amelia Richards gained a superb hat-trick at the club's 26th Young Athletes Open Meeting staged in warm, bright sunshine on an almost windless Sunday.

The Hercules Wimbledon teenager was one of the top performers among more than 500 young athletes who took part in Sunday's meeting. She gave a clear indication she is carrying on where she left off from the winter indoor season during which she won the South of England girls under 15 indoor pentathlon title, and took two silver medals in the Welsh indoor championships in Cardiff over 100m and in the long jump.

It also proved she had bounced back from her disappointing performance in the England Athletics indoor pentathlon championship at Manchester where she shuddered to a halt at the first flight of the opening discipline, the 60m hurdles, after going off too fast.

Young Amelia was able to put her speed to good effect in Sunday's meeting. She began her busy day by winning the girls under 15 100m by a clear margin in 12.7 seconds, the only runners among the 28 competitors in the event to clock under 13 seconds and just one-hundreds of a second outside her lifetime best.

She again was in a class of her won as she took the long jump with 5.10m, the only jumper to exceed five metres and completed a successful day by taking the 200m in a lifetime best of 26 seconds slicing 0.3 seconds off the time she achieved in a Southern Women's League match at Crawley last July.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete in form was another 14-year-old, Joe Toomey, who won a close battle in the boys under 15 1500m by just three-tenths of a second in 4:38.3 smashing his previous lifetime best of 4:44.89 achieved last June. Three hours after winning the gold medal in the metric mile, Toomey lined up in the 800m where he again featured in a close finish, this time just losing out. However, he had the consolation of a second lifetime best in his opening track meeting of the summer. He clocked 2:13.8, 2.9 seconds faster than he achieved last summer when he topped the Hercules Wimbledon rankings for the event.

Sunday's meeting also featured the inaugural England Athletics London Region sprint relay championships. The Hercules Wimbledon quartet of Kyran Mitchell-Nanton, Luis Costa, Jose Costa and James Russell managed to take the bronze medals in the boys under 15 championship in 51.6.

Jose Costa was also second in the javelin with 32.19m and second in his 100m race while Mitchell-Nanton was third in his 100m race in 12.6. In the boys under 13 100m another Hercules Wimbledon runner, Cale Edmunds also made a flying start to his 2007 summer season by finishing second in his race in a personal best of 11.8, taking one-fifth of a second off his previous best time set last June.

Ed Saywell also smashed his personal record for 800m as he won his race in 2:23.2, more than nine seconds faster than he clocked last season. Jennifer Fernando was third in the women's under 17 800m in 2:24.4.

Two of the youngest Hercules Wimbledon runners in action at Crystal Palace showed medal winning performances. Eleanor Smith-Hahn, who is too young to compete for Merton in this weekend's mini London marathon, won the girls under 11 600m in 1:55.4, while Max Cooper finished third in the boys under 11 1000m in 3:30.1.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners will be in action in the Flora London marathon and adidas mini London marathon on Sunday. Zoe Pike and Arnaud Claverie head the entry for the main event while Laim White for Wandsworth and Joe Toomey, Ed Saywell, Luke Jones, Deyan and Michaela Knespl, Alex Cousin and twin sisters Jennifer and Rosemary Fernando for Merton, compete in the mini-marathon over the final 2.65 miles of the marathon course from Southwark Bridge.

Hercules Wimbledon hold track and field training sessions at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.30pm and on Sunday mornings from 10.30am. Further details from coaching coordinator Dennis Roll on 020 8542 9309.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club hold mid-week road running training sessions for marathon, cross country and road runners from Lauriston Cottage, 6a Southside, Wimbledon Common, at the junction with Lauriston Road, every Wednesday evening from 7pm. Contact Pete Mulholland on 020 8761 4308 for more details.