Champion Paul plots more glory

By ian lamont ian.lamont@essnmedia.co.uk

JACOB Paul has only just been crowned the UK's best U17 400 metre hurdler, but has already set himself some ambitious targets for next season.

Not that this season is over yet, with some pole vault practice required for the decathlon, along with the U17 national championships in Bedford in August over hurdles again, plus the UK Games in September representing London.

The 15-year-old from Banstead, having won the English Schools Championships, took victory on Saturday in Glasgow against the winners and runners-up of the Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish schools competitions.

But the Wilson's School, Croydon, pupil could not match his 53 seconds from Birmingham at the Aviva Schools International, managing 55.02.

"I was really windy conditions, so it wasn't really a great time," he said. "I was in lane one, which was a new experience. I couldn't see the first hurdle from the start like I usually do."

Nevertheless, were world rankings compiled for his age-group, he might well be top of that, too.

"I managed to find the IAAF world youth rankings which goes down as far as No 20 in U18s. The No 20 has run 52.88 and I'm only 1.12 off that. All the people in the top 20 were born in 1994 or 1993. I was born in 1995 and I might be the fastest in my age-group. It will be interesting if I can get to the world youth championships next year."

Those championships will be in Lille, France, next summer, for when he has a time target in mind.

"The 53 seconds I ran has put me eighth in the all time [U17] British rankings just 0.85 seconds off the UK record. Hopefully if I can improve by that much next year it would be nice to get that. There's someone who has been hand timed [as opposed to electronically] at 51.8 seconds so that's my goal for next year, if I can stay free of injury."

Even so, Paul is not ready to make any quick choices about whether he will ultimately become a multi-eventer or a 400m hurdler.

"It's hard to say. There's a lot to work on in multi-events, the 400 hurdles seem to come more naturally, but I prefer competing in single event competitions, the whole atmosphere is better because I can cheer on my friends. In decathlon I'm the only one there."

The social element – having fun – remains key to his athletics, with a party last Saturday in Glasgow put on by the organisers seemingly one of the highlights of the weekend, during which time he enjoyed competing against and getting to know rivals from the home nations as opposed to just England, many of whom he already knew.

With the England U17 championships on August 21 in Bedford and the multi-events tournament soon after, much of the summer holidays will be marked out with training.

The pole vault, last used in indoor competition, is something he will have to pick up again, but he is also eager to resume the 100 metres, having not competed over the distance since touring Hilversum, Holland, with his club Epsom & Ewell, in April. It should come as no surprise to learn he won that, too.