The year 2003 proved to be an exceptional year for Hockley schoolboys Lewis Taylor and James McLean and both are looking for even brighter times ahead.
They only took up athletics during the spring of 2003 and have excelled beyond all expectations.
All-round sports stars James and Lewis are both 13 and have been good friends for their whole lives so far, sharing similar interests including cricket, football, basketball, rugby and athletics.
In athletics, during the summer of 2003, Lewis recorded at least five of this year's best performances in the UK for his age group in both the shot putt and discus and finished the year on top of the national rankings.
He is now fourth and eighth respectively in the all-time distances for his section in shot and discus. James has also excelled.
He took up hurdles in the early part of the season and by June he had broken the UK record over 75m, clocking 11.6 seconds.
His effort smashed the previous best, which had for 23 years.
When the rankings for 2003 were published a couple of weeks ago, James was first in both the 75m and 80m hurdles respectively, having recorded the four fastest times this year.
Remarkably he is also 14th best in the shot putt despite having only one throw.
These performances by both boys have earned them respect in the athletics community and they have represented Essex, winning both their events by convincing margins.
Published Wednesday January 7, 2004
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