2019 was a very good year for Pyers Lockwood. The 17-year-old 400 metre hurdler won the English Schools, the England Athletics U17 Champs, SIAB, the SEAA Champs and the Sussex Champs, where he also took gold medals in the 400m and 200m and silver in the 100m. Off the back of this he was ranked number 1 in the UK. Kate Matthews caught up with the talented youngster to chat about his background in the sport, training and how he has dealt with changes around Coronavirus.
Kate: Who are you?
Pyers: I’m a 17-year-old student, who lives on the outskirts of Bexhill on Sea, in East Sussex. I currently attend Bexhill College, were I am studying PE, Business and Environmental Sustainability. My coach is Trevor Simcox and I have been training with him for just under 2 years. I recently transferred from Eastbourne Rovers, where I had been competing for 5 years, to Lewes AC.
Kate: What are your favourite distances/disciplines? And why?
Pyers: I enjoy all the sprint distances up to the 400m, with my main focus now being the 400m Hurdles. However, this season I would have loved to try my hand at an 800m or two for a bit of fun. I love the 400m hurdles, even though I’m sick after nearly every race. It’s so satisfying when you can get your steps and hurdling all timed just right, and the grit required at the end of the race is so enjoyable. Besides watching the hurdles, I really enjoy the middle distances, and the way that all the athletes work so tactically to get the win. I also love to watch the javelin, the power and timing that is required, is insane.
Kate: How did you get into athletics?
Pyers: I have been participating in athletics, competitively for 6 years now, however I have always done running and cross country for my schools. I started to train at my first club, Eastbourne Rovers AC, in 2015, when I was in year 7. Throughout the years, I have switched and moved disciplines and events. I started out in the short sprints, before moving up to the 300m in U15. In 2018 I started the 400m and my Dad thought it would be a good idea for me to try the 400 hurdles as well. After the race I realised that the hurdles were actually pretty fun, especially as I never done any before. That year I made the English Schools final, after only 3 months of “hurdles” training. I decided to keep at it and my team manager, who’s now my coach (Trevor) said he’d be happy work with me on my technique.
Kate: What do you love/hate about the sport?
Pyers: Well there is a lot of things that I love about the sport, the first being the ability to try out such a variety of events from a young age and find the discipline that you really enjoy. As well as this, I feel that it provides such a great opportunity for kids to develop and experience different levels of competition. However, I feel that there could be more opportunities for Junior athletes to represent their county and country more often, as at the moment there aren’t a great deal for the young athletes coming through. There does seem to be much more support and opportunities in mainland Europe.
Kate: What has kept you in it? Have you had any breaks from it and come back?
Pyers: For me it’s been all about meeting new people and just improving on my own ability each year. I find it so rewarding when everything clicks into place just when you want it to, and the joy that I get from running around a rubber oval is just amazing. Fortunately I haven’t had any major breaks from the sport, which has been a blessing, however I have had so many niggles and injuries throughout the last few years, that have made me so frustrated. I’m just glad that am able to rest and get going again when my body is feeling good again.
Kate: What is your most proud athletics' achievement moment?
Pyers: I have to say my English Schools Gold medal from 2019, along with my UK 1 ranking. As the previous 2 years, I had missed out. This was my first major Gold medal, and it felt so good to finally get on the top of the podium after a few years of disappointment. However, the year before when I made the 400 hurdles final at ESAA and came 5th was pretty special. I was so surprised and just over the moon that I had made it through the heats from lane 1.
Kate: What has been the toughest moment?
Pyers: This has to be my 300m at English Schools in 2017 when I didn’t qualify for the final. I told my Dad straight after the race exactly what I did wrong and I knew that it cost me a place in the final by such a small amount. I found out it was only 0.03 seconds. As well as this during my 2nd International race in Dublin, for England, I tripped over at Hurdle 9 and fell right into the track, in a race I knew I could have won and PB’d.
Kate: How often do you train (in normal times) and type of things this includes?
Pyers: Normally I train 6 days a week, and over the past month or so I have been able to get back into this rhythm and routine. I normally do track work, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, either in Brighton, Lewes or Eastbourne, and then on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do a variety of gym based stuff, focused on strength, stability and power.
Kate: Have you had any bad injuries and how did you deal with these?
Pyers: Thankfully I haven’t had any bad injuries, just a ton of niggles over the last few seasons, which I have been able to keep on top of quickly, and implement things into my training to assist with these.
Kate: Other than actual achievements/PBs, what has being part of athletics brought to your life?
Pyers: As I mentioned early, I have been able to meet so many different people, and make friends with people all over the country, which is amazing. it means that when I go to a competition I don’t feel as if I’m there all on my own.
Athletics has also brought a lot of structure into my life and provided me with something to focus on and take my mind off the stress of school/ college work.
Kate: Best athletics memory?
Pyers: I have to say going to the Paralympic Games in 2012 to watch inside the London Stadium. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible. And I can remember my mum shouting and screaming for the athletes in the Amputee High Jump, which was surreal, seeing people clearing 2m with only one leg. This was probably the start of my love for the sport.
Kate: Any strange memories?
Pyers: I have a few, but I think the best one is when I had to take a 14 hour flight back from Bangkok on a Friday night in August 2017, because I was racing at the South of England Championships in Crystal Palace at 11.00 on Saturday morning. We arrived at Heathrow at around 8.00am, and we had to get out of the airport, collect our car and drive to Crystal Palace. Somehow, I made it through the heats of the 300m, but the weirdest thing was that the athlete who came in 2nd place in the race had started in the wrong position. They were in lane 7, just outside of me and they had placed their blocks on a white line 2m in front of the start line. When we finished the race, we had to hang around for about 10 minutes while the officials and the athletes coach had a heated argument about whether the kid would get a time. I honestly was more surprised that I had made the final and came 6th, after 2 weeks of only training on the beaches of Bali, when visiting with my family.
Kate: What would you say to younger people wanting to get started?
Pyers: The main thing I would say, as I’m sure everyone else would, is to just enjoy it and have fun. Have a go at all the events and see which ones you enjoy the most, keep working hard at trying to improve, even if it’s only by small amounts each year.
Kate: What would you change about the sport?
Pyers: We need to try and make the sport more exciting to people that aren’t involved in it, and therefore don’t know that much about who’s competing. So I think that at the big events like Diamond leagues there should be teams, as well as the individual athletes, where people can back a team to win a certain event as well as build their own type of virtual team, just like in football with the fantasy leagues.
Also much more investment into facilities and growing athletes.
Kate: How do you juggle training/competitions around college?
Pyers: A lot of the time I find it very hard to combine both training and my college work. As I’m always tired after training and then lack the motivation to do my work. However, I always try and make sure that I do provide ample time for both. I often stay longer at college, after my timetable has finished for the day, in order to finish work or do some research.
Kate: Favourite athlete (past or present)?
Pyers: I have a lot of favourite athletes in a wide variety of disciplines, but my overall favourite has got to be Edwin Moses. He completely revolutionised the 400m Hurdles and made people sit up and take note of the event, eager to watch the races. He was the first man ever to run 13 steps all the way round, breaking the world record on 4 occasions, as well as having one of the longest winning streaks in athletics, winning all his races for 9 years, 9 months and 9 days.
Kate: Any other favourites i.e food, music?
Pyers: I really enjoy my food, and have certainly started to widen the variety of foods I eat over the last few years. I think my favourite is the Indian Restaurant in town, that I have been going to for 7 years on my birthday. My music taste is very broad, but I would say that my favourite artist is probably Tom Misch. Sports wise away from athletics, I’m a very keen mountain biker, skier and snowboarder, first going skiing when I was 1 ½ years old.
Kate: How are you managing to keep fit/train during Corona? Any tips for others?
Pyers: Thankfully I have been able to still do some hurdles, albeit on grass in the first 2 months. However recently I’ve been able to get back on the track to practice my race rhythm over the proper distances. As well as this I am very fortunate to have a home gym set up, so I am able to continue doing my strength work alongside my brother who is now back from Uni. The main advice I would give, is to use the time to work on your minor weaknesses, so that when we do compete you are able to fix these in your events.