2 June 2009

Paralympic hopeful Daniel Lucker promised to repay the faith shown in him by UK Athletics and return from the IWAS Junior World Championships with a gold-laden haul.

The 16-year-old had a double cause for celebration when he was selected as one of 15 promising athletes to receive funding from the UK Athletics Heroes Project, supported by Original Source, before picking up the up-and-coming disability athlete award from the British Athletics Supporters Association.

And Lucker – who is primarily a middle distance racer – is determined to maintain that winning feeling when he heads to Switzerland in July.

He said: “It’s great that people have started to notice me,” said Lucker.

“To win the supporters award was great. People like Ian Jones and Katrina Hart have won that in the past and gone on to bigger and better things so it’s up to me to do the same.

 “I’ve gone up an age group to the under-18s so I will be one of the youngest but that doesn’t bother me – I still think I can bring some gold medals home with me.

“2012 is the main aim for me and if I keep working as hard as I am at the moment then I should be OK for that, which would be amazing.”