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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | London, ENG |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Newham & Essex Beagles: London, ENG |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Sports Science - Loughborough University: Loughborough, ENG |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Poker, Wii, painting, mountain biking, rock climbing, sky diving, watching TV, golf, playing the guitar. (Athlete, 31 Jul 2008; uka.org.uk, 31 Aug 2010; thepowerof10.info, 31 Aug 2010 |
| Injuries | He broke his left hand competing indoors at the 2011 Birmingham Grand Prix which meant he missed the European indoor championships. (dailystar.co.uk, 11 Apr 2012, morethanthegames.co.uk, 26 Aug 2011) He injured his knee in February 2011. (morethanthegames.co.uk, 26 Aug 2011) |
| Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs | He used to wear a lucky Michael Jordan sweatband to every competition, but it was stolen from his car in 2011. (telegraph.co.uk, 17 Feb 2012) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, where he got a personal best of 5.50m. (Athlete, 31 Jul 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His brother was already doing the pole vault and there was a teacher at his school who knew someone who could coach him. |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | Steve Rippon. (telegraph.co.uk, 03 Oct 2011) |
| Hero / Idol | Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Jonathan Edwards. (telegraph.co.uk, 03 Oct 2011) |
| Ambitions | Win a medal at London 2012. (dailystar.co.uk, 11 Apr 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Dan Pfaff |
| Handedness | Right |
| Training Regime | He does 13 sessions per week. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began the sport at the age of 13. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2006 |
| Competing for | England |
| Tournament | Commonwealth Games |
| Location | Melbourne, VIC |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | England |
General Interest | |
| Other information | ATHLETE COUPLE His girlfriend is Canadian pole vaulter Leah Vause, who he met after she answered a Skype call meant for fellow athlete Kelsie Hendry. After talking for a while, they took each other's details and she eventually visited him in Europe in 2010. "We didn't get off to the greatest start though - I was late to meet her off the plane at Frankfurt but luckily we bumped into each other in the airport." (metro.co.uk, 23 Mar 2012) POLE DRIVER He travels to meetings in Europe by car with his poles strapped to the roof as it avoids awkward questions at the airport. (telegraph.co.uk, 17 Feb 2012) |