YORK shot putter Scott Lincoln has thrown his way into the top eight in the all-time British list - and he now plans to rewrite the record books again to pave his way to this summer's European Championships and even the Rio Olympics.

Lincoln, 23, a member of the City of York Athletic Club, enjoyed a productive two days of competition, initially setting a new personal best distance of 18 metres 99 centimetres at an event in London to confirm his status as the current British number one.

His stock then rose further at the inaugural Geoff Capes Classic Shot competition in Lincolnshire, a rare throwing-only event hosted by the three-time former Olympian and Commonwealth record holder.

Lincoln won the first competition and extended his PB to 19m 48cm - a distance which put him tenth on the all-time UK list of throwers. 

In the second round, he again led the way - this time with a throw of 19.83, the eighth best ever by a Briton.

It also left him needing to find only seven centimetres to qualify for the European Championships in Amsterdam, and in range of the qualifying distance for the Olympics, of 20.50.

The British team for the Euros is announced on June 21 and the qualification date for Rio is mid-July.

"What a competition!" Lincoln tweeted. "Such a great atmosphere and crowd to get behind all throwers! Everyone stepped up! Chuffed with my huge PB 19.83m."

Lincoln is hopeful of improving again this weekend in the Yorkshire Championships in Barnsley when he has the 55-year-old championship record of Arthur Rowe, of 19.56, in his sights.

He is also hoping to receive an invitation to this month's Halle International Throws meeting in Germany to gain experience against top international shot putters.

Notching European or, even better, Olympic qualifying distances would open up invitations to international events such as the prestigious Diamond League series.

Paul Wilson, who has coached Lincoln in York for eight years, said: "Scott is two and a half metres ahead of the next best British competitor - which is like Usain Bolt running 9.8 seconds and the next best coming in at 10.5 seconds. He needs to challenge himself against the top athletes.

"Geoff Capes described him as a 'rare breed' as he has a full-time job as a builder and trains four or five times a week after work. He has to work as he doesn't get any sports funding."

To that end, Lincoln and Wilson are seeking sponsorship from businesses or funding bodies to enable them to travel to international events. Anyone interested can email Paul Wilson at paulthecoach@hotmail.co.uk.