Hugo Bucher threw the javelin for the first time just over three years ago.

Now the 14-year-old Cheltenham Harrier is a national age group champion and he’s smashing club records for fun.

Bucher, who lives in Cirencester, won under-15 gold at the recent England Championships at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, the latest standout performance in a remarkable two or three years.

Bucher threw 69.70 metres to claim gold – he was almost 12 metres clear of his nearest rival – and his mum Elissa said: “It was pretty incredible. He’s been leading the rankings by quite a long way so there was quite a lot of pressure.

“There were a lot of eyes on him but it was a really mature performance, it was spectacular.”

It certainly was and it’s all the more impressive because Hugo, a boarder at Harrow School, fell into the sport almost by accident after sustaining a bad ankle injury playing rugby at the start of 2022.

“He wanted to do something on the school’s sports day so he threw a cricket ball and a javelin,” explained his mum.

“He was very close to the school record in both competitions.”

Hugo has always been driven to be the best at whatever sport he does and it was that competitive edge that led him to joining Cheltenham Harriers where he came under the watchful eye of club president Carolyn Franks.

“He wanted to break the school record for the javelin,” continued Elissa. “He broke the Harriers’ under-13 record in his first competition.”

And that was just the start because he won gold at the English Schools’ Championships with a throw of 69.89 metres which is his best throw yet.

That’s the second best throw for the age group in the UK for all time so he’s clearly making a big impression.

The javelin is the only throwing event that Hugo has competed in and his mum added: “He’s not a giant, but he’s very powerful.

“He does a lot of work on his flexibility, he works very hard in the gym.”

And it’s a sport that he very much enjoys.

“He loves the event,” said Elissa. “He loves taking part in an individual sport but he loves the support that he gets from Cheltenham Harriers, they keep him grounded.”