After two days of competition it came down to the 1,500 metres for Avon athlete Adam McBraida.

The discipline that all multi-eventers hate decided whether McBraida was going to win the intermediate boys' octathlon title at the South West Multi-Events Championships at the Exeter Arena.

It was more about guts and desire than fitness and skills as the athletes had to haul themselves around three-and-three-quarter laps of the track in the eighth and final event of a thrilling competition.

"Going into that last event, Adam had the slenderest of leads over Somerset's Robert Clowes," said Avon team manager Dave Turner.

"The few points were worth less than a second in the race itself, so Adam knew he had to beat him. We devised a plan and it worked a treat."

For McBraida, whose main event is the sprint hurdles, the 1,500m is akin to tackling a marathon – but with Turner's support he applied himself magnificently to clock a personal best time of 4mins 41.4secs.

With Clowes a second behind, McBraida punched the air in delight as he crossed the finish line knowing the gold medal was his.

"I was delighted with that 1,500m and really happy to win the event," said McBraida. "I really enjoyed it."

It was one of five personal bests that McBraida set over the weekend in addition to the discus, shot, high jump and the 400m, in which he broke 50 seconds for the first time with a very impressive 49.6secs, which raises all sorts of possibilities for him in the future.

Victory completed a remarkable month for McBraida as he also won two gold medals at the South West Schools Championships in the 100m and 100m hurdles.

Avon team-mate Taylor Stevens also had a good competition, culminating in a superb 1,500m, in which he clocked 4mins 36.5secs to win by nine seconds to climb from fifth to fourth overall.

In the junior boys' competition, Sam Kamara finished seventh, while Katherine Godfrey and Zoe Laing were the county's top performer sin the junior and inter girls' events respectively.

Results

Junior boys pentathlon: 1 Jake Cussell (Somerset) 2479. Avon: 7 Sam Kamara 2204 (80H 12.8; SP 10.30; LJ 5.13; HJ 1.48; 800 2:30.1); 14 Alex Taylor 1807 (12.4; 7.54; 4.78; 1.63; DQ; 15 Luke Lodge 1724 (13.5; 9.24; 4.63; 1.57; DNF). Teams: 1 Somerset 7194; 2 Wiltshire 6540; 3 Avon 5735.

Intermediate boys octathlon: 1 Adam McBraida (Avon) 4709 (LJ 6.08; DT 24.44; JT 34.18; 400 49.6; 100H 13.8; HJ 1.72; SP 10.83; 1500 4:41.4); 2 Robert Clowes (Somerset) 4698; 3 Alex Lee (Dorset) 4599. Avon: 4 Taylor Stevens (Avon) 4226 (5.57; 28.29; 38.85; 53.1; 15.7; 1.60; 9.27; 4:36.5); 16 Callum Court 3154 (5.58; 20.38; no mark recorded; 54.4; 17.2; 1.51; 8.34; 5:06.4). Teams: 1 Somerset 12768; 2 Avon 12089; 3 Dorset 11790.

Junior girls' pentathlon: 1 Lottie Richardson (Cornwall) 2852. Avon: 10 Katherine Godfrey 2204 (75H 12.5; SP 6.18; HJ 1.39; LJ 4.08; 800 2;49.1); 18 Bethan Wakefield 1800 (13.8; 6.95; 1.39; 4.66; DNF); DNF Dorathy Graham (16.0; 6.19; 1.36; DNS). Teams: 1 Cornwall 8124. 6 Avon 4004.

Intermediate girls heptathlon: 1 Rebecca Chapman (Devon) 4390. Avon: 8 Zoe Laing 3310 (80H 12.9; HJ 1.39; SP 6.38; 200 28.3; LJ 5.06; JT 121.41; 800 2;45.4); 12 Ashley Frost 2963 (15.9; 1.42; 6.83; 30.4; 3.83; 29.25; 2:43.9); 14 Hollie Worsfold 2931 (14.5; 1.42; 6.34; 30.1; 3.94; 21.03; 2:44.5); 17 Stephanie Dunning 2772 (14.7; 1.27; 7.00; 30.4; 3.75; 20.91; 2:41.1). Teams: 1 Devon 10388; 4 Avon 9204.