Star of the Month - September 2017

 
The delay in presenting our 'Star of the Month' award for September to James Tomlinson was because of the fact that we had been invited to present our engraved glass trophy to the super-talented teenage discus thrower at the splendid annual presentation afternoon organised by Pembrokeshire Harriers on October 1st!
 
And the standing ovation afforded to James by the athletes, coaches and families was proof of the enormous respect in which he is held.
 

Freak accident robbed him of gold!

 
Because James is now ranked second in Europe and No 4 in the world after returning from the Commonwealth Youth Games in The Bahamas from which he returned with the silver medal - which might well have been gold had there not been a freak accident!
 
James was last to throw in pursuit of the New Zealand competitor who was in the lead and unleashed a magnificent effort which clearly would have put him in the lead but its distance caught a marshall unawares and crashed into her foot before she collapsed in pain.
 
In the uproar that followed everyone rushed to her but the throw couldn't be measured because it hadn't hit the ground - although video evidence clearly showed it would have been the winning throw. He was allowed another attempt but it was perhaps inevitable that he had to settle for silver.
 

Motivation for working even harder

 
He could have been pretty miserable as a result but told us afterwards that whilst he was sick to miss out in such a manner he forced his way out of any self-pity and has since used the incident as a strong motivational stimulation to work even harder for future success.
 
To that end James has maintained his terrifically tough training regime but has also started to work hard on weights at the SAW gym in Haverfordwest under the expert guidance of Simon Roach, Justin Head and Jim Cotton.
 

Amazing to watch training

 
"I recently watched James training at SAW," said PembrokeshireSport.co.uk's Bill Carne, "and he produced a massive lift of over 23 stone to show how much his upper body power has increased over a relatively short period."
 
A video was shown about James at the Harriers' awards evening, including a right hand made bloody by sticking to practice in trying times, and he really provided a shining example for the aspiring athletes in attendance to follow.
 

Wonderful support

 
He was joined at the event by his parents, Liz and Kevin, sister Clare and grandmother, and was quick to praise the total family support that has lifted him when the going has sometimes got tough.
 
It all adds up to a young man we were delighted to choose as our 'Star of the Month' for September 2017 and we wish this modest, motivated and talented young man every success in the future because he thoroughly deserves it!