Young Snodland athlete Jack Green heads to USA after funding snub
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by Alex Hoad
A teenage Kent athlete with a
bright future has been crowned UK indoor under-20 champion – for an
event which is not even his strongest.
Jack Green, from Snodland, holds the
UK record for 15-year-olds and 17-year-olds in the 400m hurdles and
was ranked number one in Europe at under-20 level last season with
a personal best of 51.72 seconds – less than five seconds outside
the world record which has stood for almost 20 years.
The 18-year-old won the UK indoor
under-20 400m title earlier this month in Birmingham.
He said: "I only decided to go when I
woke up at 6.30pm in the morning and decided to get a three-hour
train to Birmingham and I didn’t even get a hotel room sorted out
until 11pm that night.
"I don’t really like indoors but there
is no 400m hurdles indoors so I have to wait for the outdoor
season. I’m building up towards the World Junior Championships in
Canada in July."
After winning his heat in 49.69 and
then the semi-final in 48.25, Green produced a stunning run of
48.01 to win the title – one of the top 20 times ever recorded by
an under-20 athlete.
The Kent AC runner will move to the US
in August to take up the offer of a four-year scholarship at the
University of Nebraska.
The Mid-Kent College student chose to
pursue a place at Nebraska – which is known for the quality of its
hurdles coaching – after failing to secure UK Athletics funding
this year.
Green said: "There is lots of depth in
hurdles there and the coach has produced several Olympic
medallists. I emailed them when I heard I wasn’t going to be
getting any funding and I heard back from the coach the next
day.
"They have been getting to know me,
talking every week and watching videos of me. It is a great
opportunity."
Green was selected for the European
Juniors last year but had to pull out due to injury, however he is
hoping he won’t have to wait too long for more international
recognition.
He said: "I plan on winning Olympic
Gold medals. The London 2012 Olympics is something which I am
looking ahead to. At this stage I am still a long way away but if I
weren’t able to compete then it would be a disappointment.
"I believe it is a realistic goal, but
I wouldn’t be too disheartened if I’m not chosen, so long as
everything is still going all right."
Thursday, March 11 2010
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