Mansfield business Cowens Financial Planning is supporting a young athlete in his dream to compete for Great Britain.

Jacob Clark, (17), who started his sporting life as a gymnast, is now a pole vault winner.

He trained for four years at Notts AC, topping 4.70 metres and winning all the major championships he competed in.

That success led the teenager, then a student at Toot Hill School, Bingham, to gain a scholarship to Millfield School, Somerset.

Jacob has continued his success and gained second place at the National Championships and won the Welsh Championships with a championship record.

When asked about his future, he said: “My aspirations are to compete for Great Britain at a senior level and to be able to compete on the professional circuit.”

Tony Duckworth, managing director of Cowens Financial Planning, said: “We were introduced to Jacob via our client, Stuart Cross, of Morgan Cross Consulting.”

We benefited from Stuart’s expertise earlier this year and he advised us about Sports Aid and sponsorship opportunities, so we decided that we would like to help and he put us in touch with Jacob.

“We are proud to be supporting Jacob in his quest to become a star for Great Britain.

“We wish him every success and can’t wait to see him on the professional circuit.”