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   Salford Firefighter in podium position at ‘Olympics’
Two Greater Manchester firefighters have returned home victorious after competing in the World Police Fire Games. Steve Jefferies, from Stockport Fire Station, won the Gold on the Powerlifting competition while Stuart Percival, from Salford Fire Station, took the bronze in the Cycling. The Police Fire Games are held every two years and are the emergency services own version of the Olympics, with staff from around the world competing in different sports. This year the event was held in New York and with this year being the 10th anniversary of 9/11 it was a sell-out event months ago. Competitors got a little more than they bargained for with Hurricane Irene landing at the same time but most sports went ahead as planned. For Steve, it was touch and go whether he'd be able to make the competition. He explained: "We nearly didn't get there as all the flights were being cancelled because of the hurricane. Even on the morning we were due to depart we still didn't know what would happen but fortunately our flight was the first to actually go ahead." His first contest was the Toughest Competitor Alive, which is considered one of the premier events of the Games. It includes a range of physical tests insluyding a 5k run, shot put, rope climb and obstacle course. He narrowly missed a podium place by 50 points, as he was awarded a score of 4,722. The very next day his disappointment was soon forgotten as he scooped a Gold in the Push Pull, a Powerlifting challenge. He said: "I was disappointed that I didn't get a medal in the Toughest Competitor Alive competition but that disappointment turned to elation the next day when I won the medal. I literally only just got that, it went right down to the wire." Stuart took part in two cycling events, the Hill Climb and Road Race, as part of the Great Britain Fire Service Cycling Team. He said: "The Hill Climb is not really an event I take part in normally and I was only planning on doing the Road Race but I thought I would make the most of my opportunity so I signed up for that as well. I didn't expect to do that well but I ended up winning the bronze. The Road Race took place the day after, with competitors racing around one of New York's most famous attractions and Stuart came 11th. He added: "It was pretty memorable racing round Central Park." Photo: Steve Percival. Source: GMF. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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