SHEER determination drove a promising young athlete from Northallerton to the Yorkshire under-15 800m title last weekend.

Andy Lagan had been suffering from a virus ahead of the championships at the Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield and still felt unwell after the 800m heats.

The 14-year-old said that he didn't think he could run in the final, but somehow managed to win the race in 2 minutes 7 seconds.

His mother, Michelle, said: "He fell across the line and was lying on the ground for ages. He's very focused."

The victory was the latest in a long line of achievements for the Allertonshire School pupil, who is a talented all-rounder.

He plays area rugby and football and last season picked up seven trophies with his Northallerton Juniors football club, including player of the year and top goalscorer in the Richmond and District under-13 league.

But Mrs Lagan said her son, who is trained by Dave Wilkins at Middlesbrough AC, was going to cut down on his football to concentrate on athletics.

His ultimate aim is to compete in the Olympic Games and he has already shown the talent and dedication which suggests he has a big future in the sport.

At last year's inter-counties cross-country championships at Nottingham, Andy produced a tremendous run to finish third despite having to run two miles through traffic just to reach the start line on time.

He also lost a shoe during the race, but finished only five seconds down on the winner.

The youngster, who moves up to Northallerton College in September, intends to go on to study sports science at Loughborough University