Ex-athletes Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis spoke to Nii, Josh and Jack

School Reporters from Bartley Green School in Birmingham report from the European Athletics Trials and UK Championships in Birmingham over the weekend.

Sprints, hurdles and pole vaulting were just some of the competitions ahead of next month's European Championships.

By Nii, Josh, both 13, and Jack, 14 School Reporters, Bartley Green School, Birmingham

At the Alexander stadium, the competition was almost as hot as the day, not only because of the free vuvuzelas but also because of the athletics line-up.

This was a family-friendly event with bouncy castles and face painters.

The European Athletic trials saw some of the top athletes from all over England compete.

These trials would decide who would go on to Barcelona for the European Championships.

Joice Maduaka won the female 100 metres race

The first race we watched was the female 100 metres. After the explosion of very fast females, Joice Maduaka won the race in 11.59 seconds.

Veteran athletes, Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis, were at the event. They told BBC School Report that they would never come back to athletics: "No, it was just our job, we still love the sport but our time has gone."

Reflections on the day

Taking in all the action, trackside

Some nail-biting was going on before the interviews, says Nii.

"We met two athletic superstars, Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis. I was quite nervous because I had watched them on the television several times.

"When we finally got to interview them, my heart was racing because I didn't know how they would react to us. It turned out that they were really nice, like any other level-headed person."

Jack found the whole experience positive.

"From the moment we got to the stadium to the moment we left, we all really enjoyed the day; from the vuvuzelas to the autographs and from the food to the races."

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