Maidstone Weightlifting Club coach Matt Vine shares memories of competing at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul

Former weightlifter Matt Vine takes some time to warm up when he’s asked to reflect on competing at the Olympic Games.

In many ways, 1988 seems like a lifetime ago, and Vine’s focus these days is firmly on his work at Maidstone Weightlifting Club.

He genuinely means it when he says he finds it more exciting to help youngsters make their way in the sport.

And his work on that front will be on show when the club co-host the England Age Group Championships at Maidstone Leisure Centre next weekend (February 23-25).

“Sometimes it’s a conversation-starter, no more than that,” says Vine. “It breaks the ice. I don’t look at it any other way.

“I find this much more exciting now than even thinking about what happened all those years ago because it’s new and fresh.”

But the past is there to be celebrated, too, and no one can take away Vine’s achievement in competing at the Olympics.

Maidstone born-and-bred, he was 29 when he got selected for the Seoul Games, where he finished ninth.

He was balancing training with his work in telecommunications when he was named in the Great Britain squad.

“I was in the British team for a few years and there were various competitions in that Olympic year where we had to do various qualification standards,” recalled Vine.

“It all boiled down to a final trial where they actually selected the team, which was in Edinburgh.

“I knew I was going to be close but I didn’t want to get too excited.

“There was no internet in those days, everything was done manually, so you had to read the team out.

“I remember the day they announced the team - I was just lost for words. It was quite surreal.

“It was an element of fact and fantasy, a mixture of the two. Is it really going to happen? Am I dreaming this?

“For