Thackley starlet Michael Jones belied his tender years to impress at the British Gas ASA National Senior Diving Championships in Sheffield.

Despite being the youngest competitor in the men’s events, the 14-year-old Bradford Esprit member held his own against the cream of the nation’s diving talent.

Jones competed in the one and three-metre springboard events but it was on the platform where here really made his mark.

Despite facing a strong field that included Olympians Blake Aldridge and Pete Waterfield, he performed admirably to take seventh place in the preliminaries before going even further to take sixth in the final.

Fellow Bradford Esprit diver Joe Meszaros also performed well to finish just behind in eighth place.

Jones said: “Although this is the top competition in the country for all UK divers, I really didn’t feel under too much pressure – even though at 14 I was the youngest competitor in the men’s events.

“The earlier elite event in June was more important to my development as a diver, so I was determined to enjoy this competition.

“Everybody was really pleased for me – my coach, my parents, my school and my diving club pals, who all clapped me when I returned to training.”

Following his impressive display, Jones received a further boost with the news that his nomination to SportsAid had been successful, giving him a much-needed £500 to help towards training expenses.

A pupil at St Mary’s School in Menston, Jones trains 19 hours a week, working sessions around lessons.

Having taken up diving at the age of nine, he has enjoyed an incredible rise to prominence, earning a place on the England Talent Diving Programme.

At the beginning of June, he secured his best-ever finish in national competition at the British National Elite Junior Diving Championships in Leeds.

After finishing first in the preliminary round, he secured second place in the final of the boys’ B platform event, setting a new personal best along the way.

Currently he has a break in competition but has spent time at a training camp with the England Talent Squad.

Meanwhile, Chloe Hurd and Jenny Cowen have boosted their Olympic hopes by winning three medals during the championships in Sheffield.

Haworth’s Hurd, 17, took silver ahead of 19-year-old Cross Roads resident Cowen in the women’s one-metre final, City of Leeds completing a clean sweep of the medals as 13-year-old Alicia Blagg took gold.

Hurd’s other medal came in the women’s three-metre synchro with Blagg, while Cowen also reached the final of the women’s platform, where she qualified sixth and finished sixth.