Redbridge’s Tommy Parker impressed as he claimed the very first senior individual BMX gold medal at the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games.

The Wanstead High School pupil is now focused on the World Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham this weekend.

The 17-year-old started quickly out of the gate and did not look back, coming out of the first corner in the lead and powering through the rest of the course to victory.

He said afterwards: “I didn’t expect much from myself, but I felt a bit of pressure from others so I was quite nervous.

“I’ve represented Redbridge in road cycling at the London Youth Games before, and we won that event last year, but this is the first time in BMX and it feels good to have won it.”

Parker will now step up to international level despite only taking up the sport three years ago, and will find himself among the youngest in a field.

He said: “It’s going to be really tough, especially as I have only just turned 17. It will be a stacked class of riders so hopefully I’ll be on my motors, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.

“I like the adrenaline of BMX, it gives you a real good boost when you go around the track. I’ve been riding bikes all my life, and started racing on the road when I was young, but my dad and my little brother got back into BMX and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Elsewhere for Redbridge, Teddy Parker reached the B final in the junior category and finished 13th overall, while Lexie White and Lily-Bea Parker put up brave efforts in a predominantly male field to come 22nd and 23rd respectively in the youth class. The combined efforts of the team saw the borough finish ninth overall.

BMX is a development sport within the 2012 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games – Europe’s largest annual youth sports event - and will be looking to be upgraded to full Jubilee Trophy status for 2013.

London Youth Games Foundation Chief Executive Russell Findlay said: “This is the first time that we have hosted a development sport and more than half of the London boroughs have fielded a team, which is a significant stepping stone towards the competition’s possible inclusion as a fully-fledged sport in the London Youth Games.”