European silver medallist Jamie Webb back in South Norwood school class this week – and now his pupils know his first name
A science teacher in South Norwood has now had his cover blown – his pupils know his first name.
That’s because Jamie Webb helped Great Britain to their best medal tally at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow yesterday.
The full-time science teacher, 24, won a silver medal in the 800m, behind Álvaro de Arriba, of Spain, with a personal best of 1 min 47.13 secs.
The middle-distance runner, who trains in Battersea Park and Bermondsey, admitted afterwards: “They’ll all know my first name now — that’s the biggest secret ever at school.”
The 24-year-old declared his favourite element in the periodic table was krypton, “like Superman”, before adding: “I only started training at 18 properly, very progressively, and we’ve got a long-term view – it’s a big 18 months now, with world champs all the way through until the Olympics in Tokyo.”
He found the right formula for silver but warned his pupils: “They best go easy on me because I’m tired.
“I look at people like Nick Symmonds, who won a world championship bronze at 30, and there is no reason why I can’t run 1:44 or 1:43 this summer. I’ve improved every year and I was a latecomer to the sport.”