SHOT-PUTTER John Nicholls has landed the big one!

The 51-year-old from Stockton Heath became a world champion for the first time at the weekend.

Nicholls, a winner of titles at all other levels, threw 15.36m at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea, to ensure he got on the flight home today with a shiny gold medal.

Warrington Guardian:

The Sale Harriers ace, a Carlsberg employee, had previously finished from second to fifth at four other world-title shots in Austria, France, Finland and Hungary since 2006.

Nicholls had set off to Korea in good form, having produced second-place finishes at senior level in the Northern Athletics Championships in Sheffield and the Scottish National Championships in Glasgow, both in January.