Cheltenham to sponsor triple jump champion Joel Townley

Cheltenham racecourse has announced it will this year be sponsoring local triple jump champion Joel Townley.

Townley, 18, lives close to the racecourse and competes for Gloucester Athletic Club. He has won two English Schools championships and represented England at the Schools International Athletics Board Championships. In 2018 he broke the south west under-20 record formerly held by Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards.

In 2020, he will aim to win at the under-20 National Championships.

Townley said: "It’s an honour to partner such an iconic venue as Cheltenham, which is such an important part of our local community. I’m grateful for their support."

Ian Renton, the Jockey Club's regional director of Cheltenham and the south west, said: "We're proud to work with Joel over the next 12 months. He's clearly brimming with talent and it's wonderful to be able to support a local athlete to hopefully one day make it on to the global stage."

Knight's Woodland Venture campaign raises £10k for IJF

Henrietta Knight has raised more than £10,000 for the Injured Jockeys Fund through her Woodland Venture plant-a-tree campaign, through which she has sold more than 500 trees.

Henrietta Knight: has sold over 500 trees for the Injured Jockeys FundCredit: Edward Whitaker

The campaign encourages members of the public to pay £20 to have a tree planted with their or someone else’s name on it.

Knight said: "This is such a lovely initiative and I couldn’t be more delighted that it’s going so well. Not only does it provide a lovely Christmas gift, but it also supports the IJF and helps support the environment."

The campaign is named after Woodland Venture, the horse who Knight’s late husband Terry Biddlecombe rode to success in the 1967 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

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