Hatch Warren athlete wins gold
Local athlete Neil Barton has been crowned European Masters champion after being upgraded to the gold medal, two years after being awarded the silver.
Barton, a member of Basingstoke & Mid Hants Athletics Club, was competing for only the second time for Great Britain at the 2019 European Masters Championships in Jesolo, Italy, where he finished second in the over-35 men’s long jump.
Two years later Barton received some unexpected news that the German athlete who’d won gold has been disqualified following a doping violation. This meant that Barton was upgraded to the gold medal position.
“While I would have loved to have heard the British national anthem played at the medal ceremony, I can’t complain” said Barton. “To say that I’m shocked and over the moon is an understatement!”.
