Nicholas Percy (Isle of Wight) beat the under-17s Scottish record twice, before setting a new under-17s British record to take the silver medal in the final of the men’s Discus at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The Scottish record (already held by Nick) was broken on his first throw and beaten again with his second, which put him in a medal position on 59.46m. He looked like he’d bettered himself again on his third throw but his foot slipped from the circle and the attempt was deemed a foul.

Nick slipped into fourth place, before launching a huge final throw of 62.96m, winning the silver medal, and setting a new British record. It took the longest throw in the world this year from South African Gerhard De Beer (67.44m) to put Nick in second, but he was delighted with the result.
“I am so happy with my result, having thrown almost a three metre personal best”, said Nick. “The competition was really tight, with people delivering some huge throws, particularly the world leader for the year.”

He continued: “I’ve thrown a few over 60m before but I hadn’t hit one in competition until today. To save it to the last throw was fantastic, but I feel upset for the guy I pushed into third. We’re all great friends in the throws and we’ve been cheering each other on and congratulating one another on our performances.”

Athletics Team Manager, Darren Ritchie added: “Nick has done a fantastic job today to win the silver medal. He really showed what kind of an athlete he is by breaking his Scottish record and then the British record on his last throw. He was up against a world class field and he should be very proud of his achievement.”

Percy; the Commonwealth Games Scotland athlete of the month winner for August, will compete again tomorrow (11th September) in the final of the men’s hammer.