William Richards-Baldwin is a young athlete with a bright future.

The 15-year-old Gloucester Athletic Club member is a very good thrower, someone who excels in the shot, discus and hammer.

So much so, that this season he is hoping to win a Wales age-group vest.

William, a pupil at Alderman Knight School in Tewkesbury, was born in Cheltenham but qualifies for Wales through his dad, David Richards.

And it was his dad, who was a good triple jumper back in the day, who encouraged him to get involved in athletics in the first place.

“We live in Newent right next door to the rec where the rugby club play,” said Richards. “We used to walk around the rec and William would always be throwing things – foam javelins, nerfs, tennis balls.

“I thought, ‘My goodness, he’s got a really good arm on him’.”

And his dad was right because in his second ever competition – the Welsh Championships in the summer of 2021 – he won silver in both the shot and the javelin in the under-13 age group.

William, who is coached by two-times Olympian and former Commonwealth Games hammer champion Lorraine Shaw, stopped throwing the javelin a couple of years ago but he’s certainly not taking it easy because he’s full-on with the hammer and discus as well as the shot.

“We could not have imagined the rapid progress he would make,” said his proud dad. “He’s in the top 10 in the UK for all three events at under-17 level.

“A Welsh vest is his target, hopefully it will come along this season, probably at under-18 but maybe at under-20.”

He’s won two Welsh titles and been crowned South West champion five times over the past few years and his figures, as you’d expect, certainly stack up.

His best for the hammer is 46.74 metres, he’s thrown 42.82m in the discus and his PB for the shot is 13.91m.

“The aim is to compete at age group for Great Britain at some stage,” said his dad. “He’s got a lot of junior athletics left, it’s five years until he’s a senior athlete.”

Richards knows his athletics because he was a senior Welsh international in his 20s.

He was a triple jumper for 30 years and said: “I competed at Crystal Palace, Sheffield, Meadowbank, all the top venues in the country.”

He also competed in Belgium and he continued: “I was a three-times British champion as an over-40 in Masters athletics.”

So William has plenty of experience to call on as he looks to the future while Richards’ daughters Hannah and Lauren were pretty decent at sport too.

Both were members of Severn Athletic Club, as was Richards, and Hannah was something of a sporting all-rounder.

Hannah and Lauren are now both in their late 20s and Richards said: “Hannah was a goalkeeper who played for both Gloucester’s girls and Ashleworth’s boys.

“She was the boys’ league’s outstanding player for two years in 2005 and 2006.”

She was also a county medallist in the shot, a discipline that Lauren enjoyed.

“Lauren was a two-times champion of Wales at under-13s and under-17s,” said Richards. “She won South West regional titles as well.”

Winning titles is clearly a family trait!

“William has got where he is with hard work and perseverance,” said Richards.

“Following his performance at the 2023 British Championships when he was fifth in the under-15 discus, he was invited on to the Welsh National Development Programme which provides a performance pathway for identified talented athletes.

“Over the Easter break, he will be going on a 10-day warm-weather training camp to Portugal with the Wales squad.

“He may go on to be the most successful in our family, I’m delighted for him.”