Lanark's Nathan Fleetwood gets double gold at School Games finals

Lanark's Nathan Fleetwood had a sensational double gold medal haul at last weekend's prestigious School Games National Finals.
Nathan celebrates gold medalNathan celebrates gold medal
Nathan celebrates gold medal

The former Lanark Grammar School pupil contested the ambulant 100m and 200m at Loughborough University and romped home in both races.Nathan was part of the Scotland squad and performed well, finishing with an impressive time of 11.80 seconds in the 100m.The following day, he flew across the finish line in a time of 24 seconds in the 200m, taking another gold.Of his scintillating performances, Fleetwood said: “I’m really happy because I’ve just come back from a knee surgery eight months ago, so this is a really good result and I wasn’t expecting it.“My favourite part of the School Games is the atmosphere, just everything; I was here two years ago too and the atmosphere was great then as well. I love it.“I’m aiming for Tokyo 2020 in the future.”What Nathan is referring to there is the Paralympics in Japan in two years’ time.And Lanark Grammar depute head Nav Munagee – who witnessed Nathan’s outstanding athletics pedigree during the youngster’s five years at the school – has no doubt that the teen can succeed on disability sport’s biggest stage.Nav told the Carluke and Lanark Gazette: “I’m sure that Nathan can get a Paralympic medal in Tokyo.“I taught him in loads of classes so I know that he has total determination and he believes that he is the best.“He was always a standout in school sports and always did very well in the competitions.“Nathan was very good at football to begin with and gradually progressed into other events.“He was pushed into running and was always a very fast short distance runner and good at the 100m, 200m and 60m.“Nathan always has that kind of drive and I think his home life – with his foster parents Fiona Donaldson and Ian Cope – has a big impact on that.“Nathan has a really stable home life and they push him the right way.“He was always improving when he was a Grammar pupil as he told me his PB was always getting better.”Some of Britain’s top stars have previously competed at the School Games before going onto international success, including Ellie Simmons, Jonnie Peacock, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Adam Peaty.The Games provide a fantastic springboard for some of the most talented school-age athletes, with over 200 graduates of the School Games Finals competing at this year’s Commonwealth Games, winning 85 medals.

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