Shot put champion forced to bin 'too heavy' kit to fly home

Scott Lincoln decided to bin his shot put, after it was deemed "too heavy" to be in his hand luggage

Britain's shot put champion was forced to bin his prized equipment at airport security after it was deemed "too heavy" for hand luggage.

Scott Lincoln, 31, from Northallerton, said he was travelling back home from the Golden Spike event in the Czech Republic when he missed the airport bag drop.

However, Mr Lincoln said check-in staff told him he would not be able to take the shot put - worth between £100-£150 - on to the plane himself due to its weight.

After trying and failing to get it sent back to North Yorkshire by post, the nine-time British champion said he had to discard it in a bin and return home empty-handed.

Mr Lincoln had set a new personal best at the athletic event in Ostrava on Tuesday, throwing his shot put 21.31m (69.91ft) and coming fourth.

The competition followed a two-week tour around Europe, which he said was "ramping up nicely" to the Paris Olympics, in which he is hoping to participate.

But when he was on his way to the airport on Wednesday morning, some delays with the coach journey meant he missed the bag drop-off by just minutes.

Scott Lincoln achieved a new personal best at the Golden Spike event in Ostrava

Despite the help of airport security staff, the shot put could not be taken on the plane, Mr Lincoln said.

"In the end they said it was too heavy. They gave me a choice to either send it back to my house - there was a postal service - or I’d got to leave it.

"I tried the postal service, but it was closed and there was nobody there, so I took the executive decision to leave it there and bin it."

Mr Lincoln said his coach was already on the case to find a suitable new piece of equipment so he could continue his training.

"Just like cyclists set their bikes up in a specific way, it sounds stupid but you get the feeling of the shot put," he said.

"It does make a little bit of a difference between shot puts to be honest."

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