by Nick Evans

Fulston Manor School pupil Alex Wharfe will be competing in a national youth decathlon event in Stoke this weekend.

Alex, 17, will face stiff competition in the event from athletes as much as three years older than him over the two days.

This is his first year as a competitor in the under 20 age group and he is hoping the event will improve on personal bests across the 10 events which include hurdles and pole vault.

Alex, always keen on sports, first took up athletics four years ago after a taster session.

He quickly established himself in county level events in hurdling and vaulting and by the end of 2006 was ranked ninth in the country at hurdles and 11th for pentathlon.

Two successive leg injuries ruled him out for the 2007 and 2008 seasons but he made a comeback in the octathlon towards the end of last year.

This season has seen him start well, concentrating on multi sport events including the English Schools regional qualifiers.