“Javelin isn’t a particularly popular event in the UK so winning the award was very special,” he told BBC Norfolk.

The young athlete first started javelin two years ago at school.

“I only started throwing the javelin in March 2007 and by July I had managed to break an 18-year under-12 national prep schools record,” he added. “I added the under-13 and under-14 school titles with new record throws and last year I became the first UK 12-year-old to break 50m.”

Bradfield soon became the first 13-year-old to break 60m by throwing 62.33m, which became the best throw in the world for his age this year.
This was followed by the English Schools Championships in Sheffield last July where he achieved even more success.

“I’ll never forget the English Schools Championships. Breaking the under-15 record with my best throw of 60.42, almost 6m further than the record was an amazing experience. Breaking the old under-15 record in five out of my six throws at the English Schools Championships was an amazing exeperience.

Bradfield’s javelin coach Tim Newenham, a former international thrower, believes it is the 2012 Olympics which first encouraged the youngster to start. “He’s a fantastic all-rounder,” he said. “But it’s javelin that he’s focused his enjoyment, commitment and skills to be the best in the world for his age.

“It’s hugely satisfying for Oliver and everyone around him to be part of a success story that’s gained inspiration from the Olympics that can continue beyond 2012,” said Newenham.

All-rounder

Javelin is not Bradfield’s only sporting speciality as he is also a keen rugby, hockey and cricket player and was recently selected for the under-14′s Leicester Tigers elite player development squad. Oliver’s aim is to break the under-15 boys all time record of 63.86m.

“I was put forward for the Eastern Counties school of rugby and then I was selected for Leicester Tigers where I have a session every fortnight at Swaffam RFC,” he added.

“I attended an East area hockey camp last year and was then put forward to attend a summer course at the junior regional performance centre but unfortunately training clashed with athletics and cricket matches so I wasn’t able to pursue hockey any further.”

Bradfield believes playing a range of sports can only help him become a more well-rounded athlete.
“I feel that team sports can add to my overall development. I enjoy lots of different sports as they’re always a lot of fun. I’ve found that with athletics, you are essentially competing against yourself,” he said.

“You’re very much in the spotlight so the pressure is a lot greater and you only have yourself to blame if you fail.”

Future aims

Having to juggle school work with training means his days are very long, but off the back of his recent successes he is keen to break more records and make his way to the top.

“My best throw so far has been 62.33m,” he said. “So next year I would like to break the UK under-15 boys all-time record of 63.68m.

“Hopefully if my training goes well and I’m lucky I might be able to get close to the 70m mark.” At under-15 level Bradfield currently throws the women’s weight javelin of 600g whereas the men’s weight is 800g, so London 2012 may prove too soon for him to grace the Olympic stage.

“It’s a big step up, however I will ideally aim for the Rio 2016 Olympics,” he said. “In the meantime I want to continue with team sports as I feel they can add to my overall development as a sportsman.”

Centre manager Matt Breeze believes the new facility can only help to increase the number of high standard of tennis players coming out of the county.

“We’ve tried hard to set ourselves up by adding to the Norfolk tennis landscape as opposed to conflicting it,” said Matt.

The facility, near Norwich, has eight top of the range tennis courts.

As well as being open to the public, Easton College are looking to provide a tennis academy that will run in conjunction with a sport course at the college for 16 to 19 year olds.

“Our main aim is to cater for players of a high standard and to see that tennis is integrated into the culture of the college, but we’re also a general tennis centre for all ages and abilities, for players who don’t think they’re that talented but enjoy playing,” said Matt.

“Hopefully by September 2010 we’ll be looking to offer scholarship places where students can stick with their education, but also play as much tennis as they’d like,” he added.

New talent

Easton College has built some good partnerships with local schools and colleges, so new talent can be identified and invited to come to the facility and receive coaching.

“We have a talent ID programme which runs throughout Norfolk and anybody who we pick out and feel to be athletic, co-ordinated and talented at a young age and who want to play tennis, can be supported through subsidised funding from the Lawn Tennis Association,” said Matt.

Matt Breeze is the tennis centre manager at Easton College

“We’re very grateful to the LTA for helping fund the centre through the capital project and we get on-going funding from them for our performance programme, which makes us the highest funded centre in the east of England.”

Matt, who’s been a tennis coach since he was 18, believes that tennis players with potential will be able to benefit from the centre.

“Players who are playing at a high standard will be able to receive discounts and we’ll try to make it easier for them to continue playing at a high level because it will be more affordable to them,” he said.

As well as providing coaching and a college education, Easton College aim to give tennis players a platform to build on, with increased opportunities in employment after they have completed their course.

“When students have finished their time with us, they will be suitably qualified to go into the sports industry with things such as coaching or refereeing on their CV’s,” said Matt.

“In years to come we hope to be a huge flagship for tennis, not just in Norfolk, not just for the east of England, but for the whole country,” he added.

The official launch date for the tennis centre will be in September 2009.

For further details visit the Easton College website .

Manager Bryan Gunn, himself a new signing in many ways much to most fans’ delight, has secured the signings of 12 players with only one – Ben Alnwick – having signed on loan, from Tottenham Hotspur.

Michael Theokiltos signs for Norwich’s new season

The 22-year-old keeper will provide an experienced back-up to Australian goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos.

Big central defender Michael Nelson has impressed in the games he’s played, as well as showing he could be a serious threat from set pieces in the opposition’s penalty box.

Danish defender Jens Berthell-Askou, recently signed on a two-year contract and also looks to be a great acquisition by Gunn, after being largely impressive in the Canaries’ tour of Scotland.

“We were hopeful of getting some new faces in and adding to the squad and making it very competitive,” said Gunn.

“This will give us the best chance of being successful in League One,” he added.

Gunn hasn’t been afraid to shop locally for his new squad.

After securing his dream move from Exeter, Norwich-born midfielder Matt Gill has already showed signs of the grit and determination which will be needed to win the tough midfield battles this season – he brings with him lots of experience in the lower leagues.

Midfielders Stephen Hughes and Owain Tudur Jones will provide strong competition for a midfield starting place, while winger Simon Whaley will add pace and an alternative attacking threat to the side, which will accommodate for the departure of Lee Croft, who joined Derby County.

While failing to capture striker Alan Lee, Gunn finally secured Grant Holt and Goran Maric at Carrow Road.

Grant Holt hopes to bring his goal-scoring skills to the Canaries

Holt, who signed from Shrewsbury Town recently after being linked with the Canaries towards the end of last season, scored an impressive 20 goals for the Shrews last season.

He’ll be hoping for a similar return for the Canaries in League One over the coming months.

Simon Lappin and Matty Pattison also appear to be back in Gunn’s first-team plans and along with the return of youngsters Chris Martin and Michael Spillane from their successful loan spell at troubled Luton Town, Gunny’s squad appears to finally be taking shape.

Wes Hoolahan will be looking to re-capture the form that persuaded former manager Glenn Roeder to sign him from Blackpool.

His performances during the closed season have gained rave reviews and City fans will hope his skill and eye for a killer ball will lead to many assists in the new campaign, but the future of Darel Russell remains increasingly uncertain, with the club rejecting a recent offer of £500,000 for the player from Premier League new boys Burnley.

Positive pre-season

On the pitch, pre-season results have been extremely positive.

After big wins over local non-league sides Fakenham Town and Dartford Town, City embarked on their now regular tour of Scotland, in which they won every game.

Gunn has been happy with the way pre-season has gone for his team and the quality of new players he’s been able to bring to the club.

Norwich City players prepare for the new season at Carrow Road

“The way the lads have been working in pre season has been very encouraging and it’s also given me the opportunity to bring in players to fill a lot of the spaces we had after the end of last season,” he said.

“We’re delighted with the standard of players we’ve brought in.”

City’s new look side recently played their first game back at Carrow Road in a pre-season friendly against a Manchester United XI.

Although it was a rather inexperienced United side with little first-team experience, the touch and technique of possible future Premier League players proved to be a good test for the new-look City team.

While City fans may have been expecting one of the new signings to put on a show, the name on everyone’s lips after the game was that of Tom Adeyemi.

Some Canaries supporters may be un-familiar with the young youth prospect, but the coaching staff have clearly sat up and taken notice of his emerging talents.

As well as scoring a superb long-range effort which proved to be the Canaries only goal of the game and his third so far this pre-season, the young midfielder showed great strength, composure and ability which was somewhat reminiscent of watching a young Patrick Vieira.

Everything now looks to be in place in time for Norwich City’s first game of the season against Colchester United on Saturday, 8 August, at Carrow Road.

Norwich City fans, as ever will be right behind the team and a full house at Carrow Road every other week is sure to spur the players on.

The attendance of 13,381 at the Manchester United game would have been the third highest crowd attendance in League One last season.

Chris Goreham will commentate on every game for BBC Radio Norfolk

BBC Radio Norfolk’s Norwich City correspondent Chris Goreham has followed the Canaries throughout their pre-season campaign and believes City’s build-up so far has been highly impressive.

“Preparations could not have gone better and I think all Norwich fans will now be cautiously optimistic,” he said.

“I just hope that the success the club has had so far this summer can be translated into league success in the coming season.”

After the disappointment of relegation at the end of last season, this summer was always going to prove a crucial time for getting the club back on its feet again.

From a new chief executive to 12 summer signings, Norwich City Football Club appears ready to compete in League One this coming season.

Pre-season for the Canaries has not only proved valuable time for players to regain fitness and mould the squad together, but has given manager Bryan Gunn the chance to shape things the way he wanted and give the Canaries the best chance of having a successful season.

Hear exclusive commentary of every match, home and away, with BBC Radio Norfolk on 95.1, 95.6 and 104.4FM.

The 26-year-old from Alpington has been recovering from a slipped disc.

“It was good to have a bit of time off, but my world ranking has dropped so I’m going to have to gradually work my way up again,” he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

“Some time off has refreshed me, but I’m keen to get out there and start playing again,” added Bloomfield, the former world number 176.

Bloomfield, who turned professional in 2002, hopes to use his experience to reach new heights in the game.

“The older you get, the more you learn and I think it’s a shame some players don’t get the finances to keep them in the sport. If you’re not quite good enough at a certain age you do tend to get cut off.

One of the highlights of Bloomfield’s career was playing against Leyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2007.

“It was very special, it can’t get much better than playing in the best tournament in the world. It’s definitely a good story to tell when you’re older.

“I’m going to keep trying to enjoy playing and if I’m not enjoying it anymore, there are more things out there than just tennis.”

“It was good to have a bit of time off, but my world ranking has dropped so I’m going to have to gradually work my way up again,” he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

“Some time off has refreshed me, but I’m keen to get out there and start playing again,” added Bloomfield, the former world number 176.

Bloomfield, who turned professional in 2002, hopes to use his experience to reach new heights in the game.

“The older you get, the more you learn and I think it’s a shame some players don’t get the finances to keep them in the sport. If you’re not quite good enough at a certain age you do tend to get cut off.

One of the highlights of Bloomfield’s career was playing against Leyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2007.

“It was very special, it can’t get much better than playing in the best tournament in the world. It’s definitely a good story to tell when you’re older.

“I’m going to keep trying to enjoy playing and if I’m not enjoying it anymore, there are more things out there than just tennis.”

The Wind, Water and Wheels event, organised by City College and Active Norfolk, takes place at Chapelfield Plain in the city.

“It is an opportunity to show that sport, exercise and healthy living is for everyone,” said Dick Palmer of City College Norwich.

The event takes place on Friday, 24 and Saturday, 25 July, 2009.

Activities will include rowing, canoeing and cycling as well as opportunities for the shoppers of Norwich to get their Body Mass Index (BMI) measured.

State of the art fitness equipment will be available for people of all ages to have a go, under the supervision of City College gym instructors.

“Hopefully local people will be inspired to come along, have fun and perhaps make the decision to take up a new sporting activity,” said Dick Palmer.

Along with being involved in the London 2012 Open Weekend, Norwich is set to be the venue for a triathlon training camp for the 2012 games.

The Wind, Water and Wheels event takes place at Chapelfield Plain, Norwich, from Friday, 24 – Saturday, 25 July, 2009, from 9.30am to 4pm.