A talented student from St Benedict’s School in Whitehaven has recently become World Champion in his age group for Hammer Throwing.
Aaron Holliday, who is in Year 9 at the school, took part in the ‘World Hammer Decathlon Championships’ on Saturday 13th October in Derby. He is part of Copeland Athletics Club, and also competes for Team North Cumbria, as well as Cumbria Schools.
At the competition last weekend, Aaron threw 10 hammers in total, starting at 2kg all the way up to 12.5kg. This was an impressive achievement – a total of thirty throws in five hours.
Not only did Aaron win in his age group to become World Champion, he also broke the World Record which was set in 2010. He scored a total of 2500 points, beating the previous record of 2457 points.
As a rule, Aaron throws a 4kg hammer in competition, he is currently ranked 101st in the UK and 15th in the North West.
This season Aaron has represented Copeland Athletics Club and Team North Cumbria as well as Cumbria Schools in a total of 22 competitions across the season.
Miss Powe, Subject Leader in PE at St Benedict’s said: “We are delighted with Aaron’s achievement. Aaron is a dedicated hammer thrower and always looks for opportunities to develop. To be a world champion at the age of 13 is brilliant and a fitting reward for all his hard work.”
Aaron also likes to throw the Shot Put, Javelin and Discus, but Hammer is his favourite.
