A Hove café has sponsored a promising local athlete, equipping him with a new javelin as he prepares to head off to an elite international training camp.
Wish Park Café is sponsoring Hove javelin thrower Edan Cole, 18, who has just completed his A levels at Cardinal Newman Sixth Form College.
At the England Under 20s Open Championships in Bedford just over a week ago he threw 62.36 metres.
His throw broke the senior record for his club, Brighton and Hove Athletics Club.
Edan is the current Sussex Schools Champion and a former English Schools gold medal winner.
He currently ranks number 5 in the UK under 20 although in 2016 Edan was the UK number 1 in the under 17 age group.
He aims to become the British number 1 and compete for a place at the Olympics.
This week Edan is one of a select number of UK athletes invited to attend a week-long training camp in Finland to train among Europe’s elite javelin throwers.
Wish Park Café leaseholder Carla Poretti said that Edan and his family had been loyal customers of the café since it opened in 2012.
She said: “We are delighted and very proud to be sponsoring Edan.
“By investing £700 in a new javelin for him, we hope it will help him achieve his ambitions.
“We look forward to seeing him at an Olympics very soon.”
Edan would not be the first former Cardinal Newman pupil to make it to the Games. In Rio de Janeiro two years ago Charlie Da’Vall Grice – then known as Charlie Grice – made it to the 1500m final, finishing 12th in a tough field.
And the café has supported other local good causes in the community, donating £10,000 towards the refurbishment of the toilets and helping obtain a new defibrillator.
It has also sponsored the West Hove Dynamos youth football team and the park’s vegetable patch.
The café recently secured planning permission to extend its decking and seating area to help better accommodate and serve customers with disabilities and in wheelchairs.
