Hedge End race walker Nick Ball strode his way to another title last weekend.
The talented teenager won the under-20 10k event around the perimeter paths of Sheffield's Don Valley Stadium at Race Walking Assocation's younger age-group championships.
Ball won comfortably by more than six minutes in a time of 44.47 - the fifth time this year he has beaten the 47 minute qualifying standard for the IAAF Race Walk World Cup to be held in La Coruna, Spain next month.
He has since been selected for those championships and will be looking to improve on his previous performance in Germany 2004, when he placed 41st as a mere 16-year-old. He will be hoping for a top-20 finish this time.
Only six walkers will compete from Great Britain out of a possible 21 places, such is the high standard required to qualify.
Nick's younger brother Chris also had a good day out in Sheffield, winning his first national title in the under-15 boys' 3k walk. He clocked a personal best of 15.54 to leave his nearest rival trailing 85 seconds in his wake.
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