22nd January 2008

Buck For Sheffield

 

23 January 2008

 

 

Yorkshire athlete Richard Buck takes to the track at the Norwich Union World Trials & UK Championships in Sheffield next month with his sights set on a place in the British team at the World Indoor Championships.

 

Buck, a second year student at Leeds Metropolitan University, was part of the Norwich Union Great Britain & Northern Ireland 4x400m relay team competing at the World Championships in Osaka last year.

 

And the experience has left the 21-year-old eager to prove he’s got what it takes to compete on the international stage.

 

Buck will pull on the GB vest this weekend [Saturday 26 January] as he competes over 400m at the Norwich Union International in Glasgow.

 

After that the City of York athlete returns to the EIS-Sheffield for the Norwich Union World Trials & UK Championships on 9 and 10 February.

 

He said: “I was really happy to be picked for the GB team in Glasgow and with training going well hopefully I should be running quite quickly.

 

“After that I intend to run in Sheffield and hopefully at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham, and then go to the World Indoors in March.”

 

Buck raced last weekend at the Northern Indoor Championships in Sheffield, clocking 47.05 seconds to take gold over 400m. Now he wants to prove he has the ability to keep recording fast times.

 

“I’m looking forward to going back to the EIS-Sheffield it’s always a great venue. That’s where I want to show the selectors I’m the one for the World Indoors,” he added.

 

Competition for places in the British men’s 400m squad remains tough with the likes of Tim Benjamin, Andrew Steele and Martyn Rooney all out to shine in Olympic year.

 

But the opposition only serves to spur Buck on as he works towards securing an individual spot at the Olympic Games in Beijing in seven months time.

 

He said: “Running in the relay at the World Championships in Osaka really made me want to train harder so that I’m not going to the Olympics with a relay spot. I would like an individual spot there.

 

“Osaka has given me real incentive to keep working. There’s a lot of competition in the men’s 400m but that really helps drags the event forward. It’s tough and it’s a bit frustrating sometimes with so many people trying to get on the team, but in the long run it’s going to help the event massively.”

 

Tickets for the Norwich Union World Trials & UK Championships at the Sheffield EIS on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 February are available by phone on 08000 556 056 or online at http://www.ukathletics.net/uka-major-events/sheffield/