“Everything is about one metre away.”
It doesn’t sound like a lot, but for Scottish discus thrower Nick Percy, one metre is what has come between him and his dreams of glory on the biggest stages.
The Glaswegian has long been making his mark on the domestic scene. Five British titles and four runners-up spots bear testament to that.
However, Percy, who missed out on a place in the final on his Olympic debut in Paris last summer, is determined to bridge the pesky gap he feels has held him back at international level.
“Knowing that, in all of these major championships, I am a metre off everything, at the Commonwealth Games I was a metre off a medal, the World Championships in 2022 I was a metre off making the final, last year I was a metre off making the final at the Olympics,” he said.
“It is trying to figure out what is going to get me that extra metre to actually get me in that final, get a medal around my neck, let me be competitive against these giants of the sport.”
Having been selected as part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, this month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo will afford him another chance to try to crack his 100cm conundrum.
“It is exciting,” Percy said. “It is a little bit scary, but also I have been trying to find a way of not putting that pressure on now, because for me a World Championships is still another step up from where I am, even over the last few years.
“So this is still just part of the journey and moving towards next year with the Europeans and the Commonwealth Games.
“That is the standard where I can definitely excel and grow – and still keep looking to the future of where these big opportunities are going to be.”
The 30-year-old sits second on the all-time UK discus standings, with a distance of 67.86m.
While that is hugely impressive in its own right, it is almost eight metres behind the world record (75.56m), which is held by Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna.
Percy, who is hoping to challenge for the podium at next year’s Commonwealth Games in his home city, says there are pros and cons that come with being part of an “amazing” time for the event.
“Unfortunately, I am in the golden time of discus in the world, where I think, even with 67m this year, I am sitting eighth in the Commonwealth Games,” he explained.
“But I am crying internally because what a time to be part of it – when 10 years ago I would be seen as one of the greatest in the sport and now I am seen as very much middle of the road, but you can’t pick the time that you have it.”
