A NORTH Yorkshire athlete will be throwing himself into retaining his spot as the UK’s number one shot putter this weekend.

Shot putter Scott Lincoln, from Brompton, Northallerton, is currently ranked number one in the UK after winning the Northern championships in Sheffield in January.

This Sunday he will be looking to hold on to that title when he takes part in the Sainsbury’s Indoor British Championships, where the 22-year-old will be going in as the favourite.

Scott works at the family building firm Shaun Lincoln Builders in Northallerton, where he works with his father Shaun, and his brother.

After work, he drives to York three nights a week to train with the City of York Athletics Club, currently based at Huntington Stadium.

He said: “I do three technical sessions, where we go over different techniques, followed by three general fitness sessions. It’s hard work in winter when the weather’s miserable and you’re freezing cold at work, then home for an hour and back out in the cold again until 9pm, but you get used to it, and it’s worth it.”

Scott was introduced to the sport by a PE teacher at Allertonshire School and continued it throughout his time at the school and Northallerton College.

Now Scott has his sights set on qualifying for the Olympic team next year.