City of Norwich AC’s Callum Brown lands Great Britain hammer call
City of Norwich hammer thrower Callum Brown has landed his first Great Britain call-up.
North Walsham star Callum has been selected to represent his country at the World Youth Championships in Lille, France.
The talented 16-year-old has been in superb form recently, breaking records in both the Norfolk and Anglian Schools championships – and is ninth in the world rankings.
He will travel to Brunel University on Sunday, before going out to Lille on Monday.
'I'm excited but nervous as this will be my Great Britain debut and being part of a team that is such a high standard will put a lot of pressure on me to perform well,' said a buoyant Brown.
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He was selected after gaining UK Athletics' high qualifying standard of 70 metres.
Callum ended last year on 66m, so knew he had a big challenge and a lot of hard work ahead of him to make the required mark. He first threw 70.69m in February but knew he would have to break the 70 mark several times to make the cut to the selectors' standards.
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Then came a throw of 71.94m in April, before the UK Trials earlier this month delivered an effort of 73.86m. The Paston College student took up hammer throwing just over three years ago and gradually climbed the rankings.
'The first year I was just outside the top 50 in the UK,' said Brown.
'Second year I finished top 20, third year I moved up a weight but improved to nearly 60m to finish seventh in the UK.
'Last year I finished first in the UK, winning medals in all major events and getting my first England vest.'
Asked what he hoped to achieve on his GB debut, he said to enjoy the experience.
'Being able to finish above my ranking and reach the final would be a great achievement,' he added.
And, not surprisingly, Brown's long-term goal involves making it through to the pinnacle of athletics – an Olympic Games.
'Like everybody, being the best in the world is the biggest dream, however my biggest goal is to reach an Olympics and make a final – this would also mean throwing a British record or close to it,' beamed Brown.
