Chorley athlete wins medal, aged 75

2:07pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

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There are not many athletes who scale new heights at the age of 75, but that is exactly what John Payn achieved, by winning his first individual medal in international competition.

The Chorley Athletic Club chairman took the bronze in the 20km Race Walk at the European Masters Athletics Championships, a tournament exclusively for veterans.

He was also the first counter for the winning Great Britain team as he picked up his second team gold medal in successive years.

Competing at Ljubljana in Slovenia, the race took part just outside the main stadium in hot and very humid conditions.

The course was a repeated one kilometre loop with sharp turns at both ends and John completed the first half to plan in 70 minutes, but wilted a little later on before finishing in 2:23:56.

It was his first major competition in the 75 to 79 age group and he was backed by Eric Horwill from the Midlands who is the same age, and southerner John May who is a couple of years older.

With the European Championships being held on even years with the World Championships in between, Payn holds the rare distinction of holding World and European titles.

John first started race walking at the age of 60, and he is now passing on his skills to another athlete who is aiming to prolong his international career.

Richard Robb of Blackburn Harriers has been a regular performer for the England and Great Britain Learning Disability Teams for many years, competing both in cross country and on the track, but now he is approaching the veteran stage of his career.

John has been coaching Richard since Christmas at Witton Park and Richard entered the five kilometre walk at the European Championships for Special Needs Athletes at Sports City in Manchester.

Unfortunately he was disqualified, a common occurrence for walkers, but he is typically undeterred. As his mentor shows, he still has plenty of time to adapt.