Basingstoke athlete and coach Neil Barton has added another medal to his collection after winning the silver at the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships held in Torun, Poland.

The event, which is exclusively for athletes aged 35 and above, featured more than 4,000 participants from 88 countries.

Barton, a member and coach of Basingstoke & Mid Hants athletics club, competed in the long jump and 60 metres sprint in the over-40 age group.

In the long jump, Neil jumped over 6.20m four times, with his best effort of 6.50m in the first round.

However, the gold medal and world title went to Poland’s Lukasz Sobara with a distance of 6.84m, while Adrian Olszewski from Poland secured the bronze with a jump of 6.42m. Fellow Brit Ashley Reid finished in 8th place with a jump of 5.59m.

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“It’s always an honour to don a GB vest, and very happy to have won silver at the world champs,” said Neil, now 42, who had already won the European Masters long jump title in 2019.

“I gave it absolutely everything, and after briefly leading the competition, I thought maybe, just maybe, I could claim the title - but it wasn’t to be this time. Hats off to Lukasz, I’ll be back to get that elusive gold medal one day, mark my words.”

Neil also competed in the 60m sprint, finishing third in his heat with a time of 7.68 seconds, behind fellow Brit Sylvester Juwe (7.31) and USA’s Durran Dunn (7.33).

The Basingstoke athlete expressed his gratitude for the support he received from his family, friends, and Basingstoke & Mid Hants athletics club, as well as the British Masters Athletic Federation team management, who helped to fund his trip to the event.