Lawrence Okoye wants Olympic and world success after European bronze

By Will Jennings in Munich Defiant discus thrower Lawrence Okoye vowed to use his thrilling comeback season as a springboard for Olympic and world success after winning a historic European bronze medal in Munich. Ad The Loughborough-based star, 30, took almost a decade away from athletics to play in the NFL after a disappointing 12th-place finish in the final at London 2012. AthleticsHodgkinson kept it simple on the way to first major gold8 MINUTES AGO But after bursting back onto the scene three years ago, Okoye made history on Friday by becoming the first British athlete to win a European discus medal.

Okoye also won silver at the Commonwealth Games and insists his memorable summer marks only the start of his discus journey. Okoye, who threw a season's best of 67.14m to haul himself onto the podium behind Mykolas Alekna and Kristja Ceh, said: «To come back after missing all those years and missing all those opportunities to get better and be where I am now makes it all the more sweeter. »To win a medal at the Commonwealth Games and Europeans too makes me believe that I can go on to do even more – the world and Olympics in the next couple of years.

«I’ve just got to keep grinding, keep improving because everyone else is going to too, and hopefully, get it done. »It's been a tough year for me in a lot of ways and to do what I did today just meant the world to me. «It's not something that I can describe.

To medal in this field after some of the things I've been experiencing, I couldn't really hold it back. »I think the Commonwealths showed me what's possible and it opened my eyes to a whole new world. «Being on that podium, there's no feeling like it and I just wanted to get back there again.