Teesside Thrower Triumphant
Stockton discus thrower Les Richards was triumphant at the weekend winning the discus event at the under 23 trial for the European Championships. The meet which was held in Bedford pitted Les against the most talented young discus throwers in the country. The 22 year old who is a member of Trafford AC and is currently waiting to gain membership into Tees Active Sports Academy posted a winning throw of 53.94m which was the fifth longest throw this season by any British discus thrower
Les’s win was made even more remarkable as he is currently suffering with a ruptured bicep tendon injury which severely hinders his performance. Les has been coached by Paul Wilson for the last two years and travels to Paul’s base at York AC once a week. Les is also a regular sight practicing his technique in the grounds of a local school in Stockton close to where he lives.
This modest athlete said” My number one priority is to get my bicep sorted and I will be seeing a specialist next week. I no doubt will need an operation which will mean me being out of action for up to 6 weeks. I have persevered with the injury and I really feel if fully fit I would be throwing around the 60m mark.”
Les added “My long term goal is to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics and hopefully with a lot of hard work from myself and my coach plus the support made available to me through the Academy, this will become an achievable target”
If you require more information on Tees Active Sports Academy contact Academy Manager Allan McDermott on (01642) 528772 or visit new.teesactivelimited.co.uk