A POOLE Athletic Club coach has leapt at a second chance of success.

James Hind won the over-40 high jump title for Great Britain at the European Masters Indoor Championship in Madrid.

Taking on 15 other athletes, Hind cleared six heights through to 1.95m first time to ensure at least a silver medal.

Taking up the story, he said: "In the latter part of the competition, the Latvian athlete, Peteris Valdmanis, cleared 1.98m first time. I cleared it on my third attempt, so he was in first place.

"He passed at 2.01m. I had to clear it to win and failed at my first two attempts. On my third effort, I ran the clock down and took as much rest as possible. I managed to clear the bar significantly and take the gold."

Hind is only the second Briton to clear two metres after turning 40. The Olympian Dalton Grant set national age group records of 2.15m, and 2.10m indoors, in 2008.

Astonishingly, this was only Hind’s fourth competition in 20 years. The week before Madrid, he cleared 1.90m to win the British Masters Championship at Lee Valley.

As a youngster, Hind was coached by John Miles and competed for Leamington Spa C&AC. Later he was mentored by former national high jump coach Mike Dolby but dropped out of the sport after completing university.

Late in 2016, a decade of commuting three hours per day to Winchester began to take its toll.

Hind said: "I started to have anxiety and panic attacks. My lifestyle needed to change. I was very lucky to find work as an architectural designer in Poole. This freed up 15 hours a week.

"I wanted to make a positive impact in my life and in the lives of others through athletics. I joined Poole Athletic Club and qualified as an assistant coach.

"I had no thought of competing again. One night at the track, I gave into temptation and scissor-kicked 1.70m.

"Coach Mark Roach suggested I try an open meeting. We worked on a basic run up and some technical ‘in air’ points.

"At my first competition, indoors at Eton in December, I jumped 1.85m with very little training. I was amazed I was top of the British M40 rankings.

"I aim to get as close to 2.10m as possible before September. I want to be in great shape for the World Masters Championship in Malaga."

For more information about Poole AC, visit pooleac.co.uk.