While not diminishing the achievements of British athletes competing in the recent World Athletics Championships, the fact is that they have been beaten in the medal stakes by the young team that represented the UK in the WorldSkills Competition.

Team UK came away with three gold and six bronze medals from last week’s WorldSkills event in Calgary. The 26-strong squad also received 13 medals of excellence. It means they returned home with one more gold and three more medals overall than the athletes managed. They also beat the UK’s 2007 skills team, which took just just one gold.

Richard Sagar, from Langholm, won gold in the electrical installations category. He studied at Dumfries and Galloway College and works for Eden Electrics.

Adam Smith, from Orpington, won gold in cooking. He studied at Birmingham College of Food and Tourism and works at The Ritz Hotel in London.

Mark Nevin, from Edinburgh, took gold in painting and decorating. He studied at Telford College in Edinburgh and works for Nevin of Edinburgh.

Daniel Cain, from Grimsby, took bronze in autobody repair. He did an apprenticeship at Thatcham (the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre). Trevor Woods, from Co. Fermanagh, took bronze in joinery. He studies at Omagh College. Joe Massie, from Liverpool, took bronze in floristry. He studied at St Helens College.

Charlotte Burford, of Penkridge, near Stafford, took bronze in beauty therapy. She studied at South Staffordshire College. Katie Watson, from Hamilton, gained bronze in restaurant service. She studied at the University of Strathclyde.

Stewart Wright, from Northampton, took bronze in aircraft maintenance. He studied at the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering (DCAE), Gosport and Kingston University.

London will host the next WorldSkills Competition in 2011.