Meet the South Yorkshire Hermes delivery driver on the verge of Tokyo Olympics qualification

“Anyone you meet who doesn't know pole vault holds two fingers and says ‘It's not that much’ but it's a lot different when the bar's up there,” says the 23-year-old, who is a member of City of Sheffield and Dearne Athletics Club.

"It’s very, very, very difficult.”

He needs to clear 5m 80cm to qualify for the Games. For context, that’s about the height of a giraffe.

Kimberworth-based Adam, who balances training sessions at Sheffield Hallam University and the English Institute of Sport with work as a Hermes delivery driver, first vaulted aged 11.

“I was really sporty when I was younger,” he recalls, “I did athletics then I quit and did football and swimming.

“I remember we were driving up Parkway and I said to my mum I really want to try athletics again. She took me down to the track, I saw a pole vault bed and said ‘I want a go at that’. They set me up with Trev (coach Trevor Fox) and that was it.

“I'm really really grateful Trev was there that day.”

The pair are still working together 12 years later and Adam’s progress has propelled him to within touching distance of fulfilling his ultimate dream, having already enjoyed international success.

He won gold at the European Junior Championships in 2015 and just missed out on a medal in the men’s pole vault at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast when he finished fourth.

"Even now I'm training extremely hard the fun element still hasn't stopped, I could pole vault all day because I just have fun and enjoy doing it,” Adam says.

“I don't think my mum knows this but I went over the washing line once. This was when I first started and I just wanted to pole vault all the time.

“Me and my friend used to use a snap pole vault between trees. We were just kids enjoying the sport and enjoying having a laugh.”

Adam could qualify for Tokyo next month at competitions in Loughborough and Manchester, which will be his first taste of competitive action since September.

Due to his status as an elite athlete, unlike some of his peers in the track and field event, he was able to access training facilities throughout the latest lockdown.

“It would mean everything,” he adds. “I've put in so much effort knowing that other people can't do what I have done it's just made the burn even more to just keep up training, keep working hard.

“Every session I have come away thinking I have left no stone unturned. I'm really, really happy with how training's been going and I haven't wasted one session.

“To make Tokyo would just make that dream come true because it would pay off.”

And would he back himself to deliver success?

“I would love to say a medal but at the moment with how the pole vault standard is, to get there would be the goal,” Adam says

“Getting there and then the final would be the ultimate goal just to say ‘I'm an Olympian’. That would be enough for me.”

Whatever happens, he’s come a long way from his clearing mum Adele’s washing line.