JOE MASSIMO admits he has not taken off the gold medal he won at the English Schools Championship since he was presented with it on Saturday.
On Friday, the Lower Kingswood resident won his heat of the junior boys' 300m in a personal best time, which was also a Championship best performance of 35.62 seconds.
"I travelled up to Birmingham with the Surrey team on Thursday afternoon and had a really chilled time with all my friends which took my mind off the race to come," Massimo explained.
"On Saturday morning, I had a good warm-up and fully prepared for my heat. I had a good start and hit the first 150-metres really hard.
"It was the first three to qualify from each heat but my dad told me to treat each race as a final as every athlete at the championships was going to be very good. I then kept going as fast as I could as I would have 24 hours to recover for the final.
"I won the heat in a time of 35.62 which was a championship-best performance. I was really pleased with the time and thought that would get me a good lane draw for the final."
The 14-year-old then beat his own record in the final to pick up gold and set another championship best on Saturday, winning the race in 35.21 – a UK best for his age group.
And the teenager, who is ranked number one in the UK, admitted he was exhausted but ecstatic after winning the race.
"On Saturday, I felt relaxed and really looking forward to the final.
"There was a big crowd at the stadium but I tried to cut them out of my thoughts and remained focused on the race ahead," Massimo said.
"My nearest rival had also got a fast time so I knew it would be a tight race. I was given lane six and my rival was given lane three.
"The gun went off and I got out really quickly. I hit the first 200m really hard and came off the bend with my rival close on my inside. I then kicked again and pulled away from him and just kept going.
"When I went through the line I was absolutely exhausted but really happy as I had achieved what I had set out to do and win the gold medal.
"I then saw the time of 35.21 and just kept smiling. The time is a UK record and the fastest time for my age group ever.
"I was presented with my medal on Saturday afternoon and have not taken it off all weekend.
"The whole experience of English Schools Athletics Championships has been fantastic."
