by Nick Evans

Fulston Manor School pupil Alex Wharfe came a creditable 11th in a national youth decathlon event in Stoke last weekend.

Alex, 17, faced stiff competition in the event from athletes as much as three years older than him over the two days – some with international experience.

This is his first year as a competitor in the under 20 age group and he achieved three new pesonal bests at Stoke in the discus, javelin and 100 metres events.

The 10 events he took part in also included hurdles and pole vault.

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

He quickly established himself at 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, preparing for multi sport events including the English Schools regional qualifiers at the end of this month.