Thrower Of The Week: Lawrence Okoye

Lawrence Okoye, a Brittish 19-year old discus talent puts his focus on London 2012.  He produced a massive Brittish record last week with a 67.63m – the results which he didn´t expect.

One week after Holly Bleasdale set a UK record and world age-19 best in the pole vault, rugby player-turned-discus thrower Lawrence Okoye did likewise in the discus at the McCain UKA Challenge Jumpsfest and Throwsfest in Hendon.

He became the third British 19-year-old this year to set a UK record after Sophie Hitchon in the hammer (69.43m) and Bleasdale in the pole vault (4.70m). The teen trio have provided three of the six British records set already in 2011, joining Mo Farah (10,000m), Tiffany Porter (100m hurdles) and Chris Tomlinson (long jump).

His 67.63m throw bettered his previous PB by more than four metres, and Okoye now ranks third in the world behind world champion Robert Harting (68.99) and European champion Piotr Malachowski (68.49m), and ahead of Olympic champion Gerd Kanter.

I felt pretty good warming up, but it was Abduls 65-metre throw in the first round that really made the difference,” said Okoye. That definitely helped, and the standard overall was really good.

I knew that I had a big throw in me, but when I saw it was 67 metres I just went crazy,” he added. Its really good for the event to have three guys over the World Championships A standard, especially with 2012 just around the corner.”

Okoye has struggled for consistency this year. After opening his season with a huge 63.25m, he failed to register a valid throw in his very next competition at the Loughborough International. He then finished sixth at the Inter Counties Championships with just 52.14m. It was only towards the end of last month that he broke 60 metres again, winning the England under-23 title with 61.05m.

The conditions today were fantastic, said Okoye, who goes in to next weeks European Under-23 Championships as a real medal hope. But Im a realist and I know that conditions like those dont come around every day. For all I know, it could rain next week in Ostrava. Today was pretty special, but its all about hitting the big throws in championships.