SOLIHULL pole vaulter Rowan May has double reason to celebrate after winning the English Schools Athletic Association Championships and being selected to represent Great Britain at the European Athletics Junior Championships.
The 17-year-old former Arden School pupil, who has just finished taking his A-Levels at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, equalled his personal best with a vault of 5.05m to win the title at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium on Saturday.
Then on Tuesday, British Athletics announced the second wave of selections for Team GB for the European Junior Championships, a competition for u20s which takes place later this month in Italy, and May was included.
His athletics career began aged ten at Solihull and Small Heath Athletics Club and he first tried pole vaulting on a course in 2008.
The following autumn he started regular pole vault training and transferred to Birchfield Harriers in 2010 for specialist coaching with Halesowen’s Peter Hill.
May began making excellent progress which resulted in him setting a new UK u17 indoor record and he went on to represent GB at the World Youth Championships in 2011.
Unfortunately he was unable to compete in 2012 due to a knee injury but has now made a full recovery and quickly rediscovered his best form.
