Ben has the desire for Olympic glory (From Dorset Echo)

Ben has the desire for Olympic glory

8:52am Wednesday 25th January 2012 in Youth Sport By Adam Summers

STEEPLECHASER and middle-distance runner Ben Westhenry has been winning races and breaking records since his early teens.

The Thomas Hardye sixth-form student, who is also a keen cross country runner, finished top of the UK under-17 rankings for the 1,500m and 2,000m steeplechase, and finished eighth in the 2,000m steeplechase in the European Youth Olympics in Turkey in 2011 but his ambitions go far beyond that.

The 17-year-old not only possesses the potential to become a future Olympian in terms of his physical attributes but he also appears to have that unflinching desire to succeed – a key ingredient which is often missing in many aspiring sportsmen.

When asked about his recent achievements, Westhenry immediately played them down and instead chose to focus on the challenges ahead with the clear realisation of just what it is going to take to realise his dream.

He told Echosport: “I was a little disappointed with some of my performances last year. Finishing top of the UK rankings was good but I would have liked to have run quicker to challenge the UK record.

“I also felt I should have done better at the European Youth Olympics in Turkey even though it was my first experience of taking part in such a big event.

“For some reason our squad did not travel over until a bit later than a lot of the other teams and it did not give me enough time to acclimatise to the 34-degree heat.

“I raced on the first day and ended up coming eighth. I was 16 then and a lot of the athletes were two years older than me as it was an under-18 race but I still felt I could have finished higher.

“Competing for your country is always a big honour and Turkey was a steep learning curve for me.

“It made me realise just how important preparation is and the way the bigger crowds and the temperature can affect you psychologically.

“That is something I need to get used to and I am sure that will come with experience.

“It is also about trying to peak at the right competitions because throughout the year there are so many and at the end of the day it is difficult to run at a high level continuously.

“I train six times a week and I am also studying for my A-levels so it is a difficult balance to strike. It is also quite costly having to travel to and from training in Poole every week.

“This summer I will go up to junior men (under-20), which means I will be going up against people who are three years above me, which will be another huge challenge.

“I would love to qualify for the World Junior Championships but as a bottom year junior that will obviously be very tough to achieve.

“I will be stepping down to the 1,500m this year to try and improve my flat speed but I will still do some steeplechase on the side.

“Hopefully I will get down to some really good times and then in 2013 my aim will be to medal in the European Junior Championships.”

Westhenry went on to add: “It would also be great to make the team for the European Cross Country Champion-ships in December but that will be pretty tough too as again I will be going up against athletes that are older than me.

“The following year I definitely want to make it and try and finish in the top five.

“It is just about building things up with my ultimate aim being the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero and the World Championships in London in 2017.

“However, you can never predict development unfortunately so all I can do is keep working hard and listening and learning from those around me in the hope it will be enough to reach my goals.”

Westhenry would ideally like to specialise in the shorter distances but he is not discounting anything.

He said: “My favourite event is the 1,500m and 800m flat as I like the speed and the tactics that go into them.

“However, there is a lot of competition in those events and it might be that I won’t quite have enough flat speed for them as I develop.

“If that proves the case then I will probably end up running 5,000m or the 3,000m steeplechase.

“I don’t particularly want to go up to 10,000m but when I get older I might. We will just have to wait and see.

“The main thing is to not peak too early. It is great to be a good junior but I want to be an even better senior and it is all about getting that development right, particularly when you are still growing.”

Westhenry, who is currently coached by former England Athletics endurance mentor Tom Watson, owes much of his maturity as an athlete to Pete Clarke of Weymouth St Paul’s Harriers and the late Nick Nicholson of Dorchester AC.

Both men, along with Rupert Pepper at Poole Runners, have played an integral part in his progression and the teenager would like to see them and all the local clubs gain an Olympic legacy of their own in the future.

He said: “There is a real problem with the lack of quality tracks in the area.

“There is one in Bournemouth, which is competition ready, and one in Ashdown but nothing in South West Dorset and I would like to see that change.

“We have seen the development of a new tennis centre here in Weymouth and a lot of money spent on the sailing academy but nothing on athletics.

“The track at the Marsh is terrible to run on and it can be quite a risk.

“I have turned my ankle on it before and it would be great to think that a new one could be built as a legacy to all the youngsters in the area.

“There was a bid for one to be put at Redlands but unfortunately it fell through.

“The clubs at Weymouth and Dorchester were going to combine and it would have been fantastic. Hopefully something along those lines will end up happening in the near future.”

* Ben Westhenry and Chris Perham, another talented athlete in the area, are interested in setting up a training group on Saturday mornings for advanced runners. Anyone interested can contact Ben on 816354.