WORCESTER Athletic Club 16-year-old Richard Calado, not only became Midland Indoor High Jump Champion for under-17 men at the National Indoor Arena, but also broke the club's long-standing senior men's high jump record.

In achieving 1.92m (six feet 3 inches), Calado also rea-ched the milestone of jumping over his own height of 1.84m (six feet one inch).

"This achievement is very special, because Richard almost gave up high jumping in the summer," said Deirdre Elmhirst, Worcester Athletic Club's high jump coach.

"When I contacted Richard in September to ask him to compete in an inter-county match, he told me he was considering giving up as he had had a terrible season.

"I persuaded him to do some training sessions with me at Worcester and, luckily for the world of athletics, the spark was reignited. Richard joined Worcester AC in November and has not looked back since.

"After several months of hard training, he has increased his personal best from 1.75m to 1.92m, which currently ranks him sixth in the UK in his age group and there is a lot more to come.

"Winning the Midland title was a huge boost to his confidence and a just reward for all his hard work in training," said Elmhirst.

"Richard is a pupil at Prince Henry's High School in Evesham and is currently studying for his GCSEs.

"He has the challenging task of balancing studying for his exams with his training, but is organised and focused on his aims in both areas.

"High jump is a very technical event that requires not only physical strength and power, but also considerable mental strength, because the competition always ends in failure when you have knocked the bar off in three consecutive jumps."

The next competition for Calado is the national indoor championships in March.

Anyone interested in learning more about Worcester AC should contact Deirdre Elmhirst on 01905-764316.