Huntingdonshire’s fastest man looking for sponsorship
HUNTINGDONSHIRE Athletics Club sprinter Ryan Palmer is looking for a sponsor to help finance his climb up the rankings.
The 17-year-old 100 metres specialist ran 10.78 seconds in the final of the English Senior Boys’ race at Gateshead in July and is ranked 12th in the UK for under-20s. Now he is planning for next season and needs help to maintain his rise up the national rankings.
“I’m aiming high,” Palmer told The Hunts Post this week. “I’m aiming for 10.60 – maybe… That should take me into the top 10 of the under-20s and maybe even higher depending on what the other sprinters do.”
But it’s an expensive business, training five days a week and travelling to meetings, and the St Ives lad is seeking help from Huntingdonshire businesses as he tries to fulfil his potential.
“I want to run for Great Britain,” he said. “But there are so many expenses. A pair of spikes for example can be almost �100 and I am going to be training in Bedford every Monday during the winter – petrol and train fares don’t come cheap. A sponsor would help so much.”
Palmer, who is the current Hunts Post Sports Personality of the Year, is coached by Richard Phelan at the St Ivo track he first ran on just two and a half years ago.
In July, Phelan told The Hunts Post: “His progress up the UK rankings is all the more remarkable because he is not yet physically capable of a full training schedule.
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“Essentially his body can’t yet handle the forces he generates. Pushing too far now is likely to lead to major setbacks, so frequently backing off to avoid serious injury has limited the winter training and left him frustrated at times.”
Palmer is a former Hinchingbrooke School pupil who now attends Huntingdonshire Regional College and works part-time to fund his running addiction.
Anyone interested in talking to Ryan and Huntingdonshire Athletics Club about sponsorship should contact The Hunts Post sports desk at sport@huntspost.co.uk
