Our young member Emma Leiper, is an aspiring Sports Journalist, and has put together this article interviewing one of our hardworking athletes who has been making an impression- Joseph Lanahan. We are delighted to see our young members taking an proactive role in celebrating the successes of our dedicated athletes and we hope that this series might become a recurring feature
After being with Shettleston Harriers for 5 years, Joesph Lanahan has had a lot of great achievements so far and after asking about how he was feeling for this new season, he says, “I’m very excited for this season and my main goal is to achieve 7 metres in the long jump.” He expressed how much that would mean to him and how big of a dream it would be to get this result.
After asking him how he felt about matching his coach Tom Harrison’s PB, he says “It feels great to match Tom and I hope I can go even further.” He also says Tom has helped him a lot as an athlete from when he joined his training group when he was only 12 years old.
After asking about what Joesph thinks about his current performances and what he wants to improve on, he reply’s “I’m very happy overall in my performances and I think I need improve a lot in my decathlon”
His biggest Scottish inspiration is long jumper Alessandro Schenini, and says he wants to eventually beat his record of 8 metres.
Like many athletes, Joseph has faced many injuries. He talks about a shin injury that forced him out for two months, but by staying patient and letting it heal, he rebuilt his strength.
A goal that he works towards every day is being able to compete in the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games. This is a huge dream of his and he is determined to make it happen.
Finally, Joseph’s advice for young, aspiring athletes was, “Keep doing what you’re doing, train hard and you’ll be fine.”
