British thrower is looking to repay the faith of the couple who backed him – and settle any arguments over the British shot put record – by “unlocking” the huge throw he knows he is capable of, writes Ben Bloom.
Scott Lincoln learned long ago that it was unwise to rely on his federation’s centralised funding programme to finance his athletics career. On the two previous occasions that he had worked his way onto British Athletics’ list for second-tier funding, the 32-year-old found himself swiftly removed after a season or two.
So when his name appeared among Britain’s Olympic and world medallists on the highest tier of funding for the first time this winter, Lincoln’s joy was tempered. The financial reward came as rightful recognition of his achievements last summer, when he placed eighth at the World Championships, achieving Britain’s highest ever shot put finish in the competition’s 42-year history. But, without the security of backing from his governing body, Lincoln had already found an alternative route to support a career that he hopes will this year produce international medals and the end of a disputed British record.
It was at the 2022 Oregon World Championships – where he failed to advance from qualifying – that Lincoln was fortunate enough to be introduced to a husband and wife pair from London. The couple, who insist on remaining anonymous, had been successful in the business world and enjoy using some of their wealth to help others – giving money to those they felt were deserving, with no strings attached. That Lincoln became one of them may well have saved Britain’s best shot putter in a generation.
“Without them I would probably have walked away from the sport a couple of times,” says Lincoln, who turned full-time five years ago. “But I had the financial backing from them, which made all the difference. I’ve struck gold with them, not only with the money but I’m good friends with them now.
“I’ll go and visit them quite often, and I’ve stayed with them. They are just fantastic people wanting to help people like me. They help a lot of other people in different avenues of the world. They don’t want me feeling any pressure. When I first got the funding they said I didn’t have to speak to them ever again and I’d still get the money. They just want to watch and enjoy from afar. But they are great people, so I’ve been thrilled to get to know them over the past few years and we’ve become very good friends.
“I go to them for advice because they can give me a different perspective on things that don’t come from within sport. I really respect both of them for what they have done for me in my career.”
While he now stands alongside the great and very good on British Athletics’ Olympic podium funding, it is telling that an athlete of Lincoln’s calibre had to resort to such measures to keep his career going.
“It’s a difficult sport to be in unless you are financially backed or are willing to spend all of your wages on what you do,” he says. “British Athletics funding is there to help you in your career, and progress your career, but you also can’t rely on it because it’s very fickle. It’s very performance-based and quite brutal if you don’t match the things they are asking of you straight off.
“The first time I was on it, they said I would be on it for two years, and then they dropped me after one. The second time, I appealed being removed because I felt hard done by – the appeal seemed to be successful but then they reconvened and said no. It’s just a matter of not relying on it.”
It is approaching a decade since Lincoln first pulled on a senior GB vest, but these are early days in what is something of a second coming in his shot put career. It was after competing at his second Olympics in Paris 18 months ago that he decided a change was needed. Having been with his childhood coach Paul Wilson since his early teenage years, he began scouting around for a fresh set-up. The search landed him in Melbourne, Australia, under the guidance of Dale Stevenson.
“I was wanting a new challenge, something fresh, to find my spark again,” explains Lincoln. “I became a full-time athlete with Paul, he got me to two Olympics and I won a Commonwealth medal [bronze in 2022]. I’ll always be thankful for what Paul did for me. But I still feel I have more to give.
“I needed something to stimulate me again: fresh ideas and a fresh perspective on things. I was very frustrated by my major championship performances. I was doing well throughout the year and was very consistent, but as soon as I got to a major championship I was way down. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.”
Since November 2024, Lincoln has lived a dual life, spending winter and much of the spring in Australia – where his girlfriend, javelin thrower Freya Jones has family – and returning to his home in Yorkshire for indoor and outdoor competition seasons. It has not taken him long to start reaping the rewards.
After just a few months Down Under, he came within two centimetres of a European Indoor medal last winter. That was then followed by that career high of finishing eighth at the World Championships in Tokyo.
“That was definitely a huge step forward in my career, in regards to actually performing at a major,” says Lincoln, of making the world final. “Dale is all about the major championships – everything in between works around that.
“It was a big step not just in results, but mentally, knowing I can make the finals comfortably. There was genuinely a time in that final where, for the first time in my career, I was sat watching the circle feeling like I could win a medal if I connected fully. It didn’t happen, but it’s a huge mindset shift from trying to scrape into finals and never quite making it. We’re going to build from there now.”
His current return to home shores began with an astonishing 21st consecutive British title won in Birmingham last month. Yet despite not tasting defeat at a national championships either indoors or outdoors for 10-and-a-half years, and earning Commonwealth bronze in front of the Birmingham crowd three years ago, his yearning for more prompts a surprising admission: “I feel like I don’t have much to show for my career right now.
“Getting the medal at the Commonwealth Games gave me a taster of what it feels like to win medals. Hopefully I can get a few more now and also the British record.”
That latter goal is non-negotiable. Geoff Capes’ official national mark of 21.68m has stood since 1980 and there is a personal connection to Lincoln, with the former World’s Strongest Man serving as a mentor until his death a little over a year ago. The situation is also made a bit murkier by Carl Myerscough’s 21.92m throw in 2003 – soon after his return from a doping ban – which was never ratified by the governing body.
READ MORE: Geoff Capes tribute
“In all honesty, I just want to be the first British 22m thrower,” says Lincoln. “I’ve got this thing in my head that I just want to clean the whole British record thing up. If I throw 22 metres, the record is clean, there’s no dispute about it and the job is done.”
The time to do so, he insists, is now. His latest British indoor title came with a best effort of 20.80m, but Lincoln says the moment was tinged with frustration because “I know that there’s bigger in me”. After a second winter spent in Melbourne, he is ready – and fully expecting – to unleash something in the near future.
He adds: “I did a bit of training in Loughborough the day before the [British Indoor Championships] and they were going a long way past my PB. I’m definitely in PB shape. In my eyes, I’m in British record shape. But you’re not in that shape until it comes out.
“I’ve got a lot of horsepower at the moment, it’s just not quite coming out at the right time in competition. We’ll figure it out and then it will come. It’s a ticking timebomb at the moment. Hopefully it will come out when it needs to. I need to unlock the big throw that is sat there waiting.”
If things go to plan, it will emerge at this month’s World Indoor Championships, where he hopes to challenge for the podium. Whether it comes in the next few weeks or not, he is confident that this summer will be his most successful yet, with a self-imposed expectation of winning medals at both the Commonwealth Games and European Championships: “I think 2026 is my time.”