Pattison shows heart

WHEN Ben Pattison was told that he required surgery that involved burning off part of his heart, he thought his athletics career was over.

The 21-year-old was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a medical condition which caused his heart to beat abnormally fast. He once clocked his heart rate at a staggering 246 beats per minute.

Corrective surgery only took place in 2020 and kept him out of action for four months. Now, just three years later, he is a men’s 800metres World Championship bronze medallist.

It was a fabulous performance from Pattison, who kept himself in contention for a medal before flying down the home straight to take third behind Marco Arop and Emmanuel Wanyonyi. ‘With 100 metres to go I always back myself,’ said Pattison.

‘I only saw two people in front of me but I felt a lot of people on my shoulder. They started to come past with 50m to go but then it’s just about who wants it more.

‘I thought about all the work I put in. I didn’t have much of a winter running-wise, I put the hours in on the bike, in the swimming pool, in the gym… all the stuff no one wants to do. I’ve done it day in day out and it’s paid off.’

It’s been a family effort for Pattison, who joked that he owes his mum a gift for driving him to airports across the country to allow him to travel to races.

‘I think I need to buy her a new car,’ said Pattison, who is the first British man to medal in this discipline at the World Championships since Peter Elliott in 1987.

‘I’ve seen her in the stadium and she’s in tears. My girlfriend flew out yesterday and she was staying on my parents’ sofa, so I think it was worth the trip. They were just crying. I managed to hold it in myself.’

It was disappointment for the men’s 4x100m team, who finished fourth despite the return of Zharnel Hughes to the team.

Meanwhile, Great Britain’s men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams both qualified for today’s final after coming through their heats.