Ninth podium finish for Nicholls (From Warrington Guardian)

Ninth podium finish for Nicholls

11:07am Thursday 23rd August 2012 in Sport

SHOT-putter John Nicholls extended his incredible run of podium finishes at international events with a third-placed finish at the European Masters Championships in Zitau, Germany.

The Stockton Heath resident’s throw of 14.53m in the M45 shotput gained him a bronze medal after he finished just 5cm off the eventual second-placed competitor, stretching his medal run to a superb nine podium finishes across his last three world and six european events.

Nicholls, who won the European Indoor title for a third consecutive time in 2011, is now setting his sights on reclaiming his title in San Sabasian in March 2013.

He said: “The standard has been set.

“I will need 15m to win in March, so I will sit down with my coach and go through where we need to change for me to do that.

“Right now I see bronze as a second loser, so I need to put that right next year. “Bronze at the World and European Championships this year is a good year, but not good enough for me.”