Leon Reid is looking for local funding

A long way to Rio

Leon Reid, not a household name in Oldfield Park, Lansdown or Combe Down yet but he is the talk of Team GB and big talk in the rest of Europe. Born and raised in Bath and having lived in Bristol, Leon has been competing in the 200 meters for the past 4 years and now he is the best in Europe and still just 19.

Leon in action
Leon in action

This summer he will be looking to take his place in the Commonwealth games lining up for Northern Ireland to defend this feat. To do this he will be heading out to Spain with the rest of the Team GB squad for warm weather training in Barcelona, for a week in April. He needs to do this training to ensure his body is in top shape to compete against the best Europe has to offer.

The only stumbling block for all athletes is funding as these world class training facilities charge premium rates to train there. Leon explains that “I’m aiming for the 2016 Olympics and after the Commonwealth games I will be looking to enter other events around the world. But my Team GB funding doesn’t cover all of the training fees which I need to pay; in order to compete against the world’s best.”

Leon is lucky to receive some funding but will need to take another job in order to maintain his number one status in Europe. However amateur athletes rarely fulfil their true potential as their bodies can’t copy with working and the intense training. His potential is up there with the best; he was rank World number 4 in junior competitions, giving him medal potential looking to Rio 2016.

So Leon is looking for local businesses to help sponsor him through his warm weather training next month and beyond. “Growing up Bath I have been lucky to have world class training facilities on my door step and I’m grateful to the University for helping me start out in the sport. However I now need to condition my body abroad as well to keep ahead of my competition and would love to have the backing of my home town behind me” saying Leon.

Anyone interested in meeting with Leon with a view to sponsorship opportunities then please contact JF Sports Management; Jodi Findell – Jodi@jfsportsmanagement.com

I managed to catch up with Leon in person with a longer interview coming soon; he has answered your questions on the facebook page. So any more questions for Leon get them in quick on here or via social media and I’ll do my best to get them to him before the interview is uploaded on Monday night!

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