Glen Quayle’s indoor season ended on a high with a new personal best and record of 4.82 metres at Vault Cardiff in early March.

Two days after his 18th birthday, the pole vaulter from Baldrine cleared the height of a double-decker bus on his final attempt.

This performance cemented his place as joint number one under-20 male in the UK alongside his long-time friend and rival Frankie Johnson.

It drew to an end an encouraging indoor season for the former Northern Athletics Club member, following on from his exceptional 2019 outdoor season that peaked last July when he vaulted a 43cm personal best to clinch the English Schools’ Athletics Association’s annual championship with a gold medal-winning vault of 4.80m.

Glen started vaulting at the age of 12 under the supervision and experience of local jumping coach John Whitlow and later Tony Pithers.

His first competition was in July 2014 at the IoM Amateur Athletics Association Championships when he vaulted a height of 1.95m.

2015 saw him go from 2.15m to 2.80m and 2016 saw an increase from 3m to 3.91m, clinching every major title he could from the England Athletics indoor champs (under-15s) with a height of 3.31m.

At the North of England’s indoor u15s he cleared 3.40m, replicating that height at the Lancashire County champs and squeezing out another 10cm at the Merseyside County Schools.

His consistent rate of improvement continued with 3.60m at the IoM AAA Champs (3.60m) and English Schools’ (3.65m) then the Northern Athletics Inter Counties (3.80m).

Glen’s competition year finished on a high of 3.91m at the England Athletics U15/U17 Championships, making him number two in the UK in the U15 age group to Frankie Johnson.

2017 was a frustrating year for him in which he seemed to go one step forward and two steps back. He started well indoors and broke the four-metre barrier in January. By February he had cleared 4.10 at the Birmingham Games.

The outdoor season started with the Lancashire championships where, vaulting well, he suffered his first pole break. He dropped to the mat, suffering minor grazes, in what was a terrifying fall to watch.

He handled it well, recomposing himself to ultimately win the competition with a clearance of 3.80m using a borrowed pole. But the knock to his confidence had put paid to his chances of climbing any higher that day.

July saw him return to his previous form in time for the English Schools’ where he vaulted 4.20m to gain a silver medal and qualification for the Schools’ International Athletics Board Competition the following week in Santry, Dublin where he claimed the silver medal representing England with a pb of 4.21m.

In an effort to progress further over the winter of 2017/2018, he sought advice from then IoMAAA chairman Glen Hamilton who set up weekend training sessions for Glen in Manchester with Sale Harriers coaches.

2018 proved another frustrating year with training taking second place to GCSE revision and examinations. At the age of 16 he then attended Loughborough College to study art and ultimately have an indoor facility to train at over the winter months.

Here he was initially coached by former 4.35m Commonwealth Games vaulter Henrietta Paxton, but she began maternity leave and Glen was introduced to Olympic Games pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw and coach Scott Simpson.

The Manx teenager hit a new pb of 4.35m in the December, so things were finally starting to fit into place. By February the pb inched up to 4.36 then to 4.43m at Vault Cardiff. By summer Glen was experiencing pain in his shin on and off but he tried to train around it and underwent physiotherapy.

Last July he competed for Leicestershire at the English Schools, while sadly parting company with Northern AC to join Shaftesbury Barnett Harriers in order to compete in the Upper Youth Development League.

He came away as the English Schools’ champion again, qualifying him to represent England at the Youth Nations Cup in Dublin. He won that, clearing a height of 4.60m in his final jump of the year to end on a high.

After a period of resting his shin, and adapting his run up to alleviate the problem, his first event of the 2020 indoor season he produced a solid 4.66m at a local event in Loughborough. In early February his height rose to 4.71 in another event in Loughborough.

Hopes were high for the England Athletics Indoor Championships in Sheffield, but he no-heighted (where the athlete’s opening height is not cleared after three attempts). This was a crushing setback for him, particularly as the event was won with a 4.60m clearance.

Once again, he came back strongly to produce a pb and island record at Vault Cardiff on March 8 to end the season on a positive.

The skills he learnt at the IoM Sport Aid Academy were invaluable in helping him learn to deal with disappointment, seeking out the positives and learning from the negatives.

l Glen wishes to thank IoM Sport Aid, Gubay Chase Your Dream, Northern Athletics Club, Sport Aid Academy, coaches past and present, plus friends and family who help to support him financially and emotionally.