YOUNG athlete Toby Wilson has thrown himself to the forefront of the county scene with a quick rise through the ranks.

The 12-year-old St Bernard's School pupil only started competing for Barrow and Furness Striders 18 months ago, but already he was won county titles and medals in national championships.

Having started out as a javelin thrower when he took up athletics in April last year – a discipline in which he suffered a setback with an elbow injury this spring – Wilson has switched to the discus to good effect.

He won gold in County Championships at both club and schools level, as well as taking titles in the Cumbria League, Wrexham Games and Trafford Medal Meeting.

There was silver in Scottish National Championships and the Mid Lancs Medal Meeting, while his skills in the shot putt have seen him win silver at the North of England Indoor Championships and gold in the Cumbria League – where he took a silver in javelin despite his injury.

Dad Martin, himself a former thrower, and Striders' Steve Thomas, have helped push him through to success, with elder brother Ryan setting an example with his own prowess as a sprinter for the club.

Martin said: “He started off doing a bit of running, but he's quite short and, while he was fairly quick to start with, he wasn't quite built for it.

“We got him into the throwing side of it, and he's gone from there. He hasn't done that many competitions, because he is playing football and rugby. He sometimes needs pushing a bit more, but it's about confidence and when he does well in the competitions, he realises he's quite good.

“The javelin was his best event before he hurt his elbow and had to stop doing it for a couple of months.

“He switched over to the discus and it's an event where, if you just catch it right, it will fly. He's a bit impatient and he wants everything yesterday, but he has started improving and training and it has all gone from there.”

Wilson's discus displays has seen him rise to fifth in the North West rankings, with a personal best of 21.97m thrown at Grangemouth in the Scottish Championships.

His shot putt best of 7.42m came in Wrexham, while his 22.09m PB in javelin came in April before his arm problem surfaced.

Wilson also plays rugby league for Walney Central Under-12s – winning the Cumbria Cup and Barrow Youth League play-offs this season – and football for Crooklands Casuals Under-13s.