CLEETHORPES-based athlete Tony Whiteman continued his assault on the veteran category record books with a superb performance in Sheffield.

The 40-year-old set a new European M40 indoor 800m record of 1:51.97 at the UK Indoor Championships, beating the previous best mark from Russian Vyacheslav Shabunin (1.52.44).

It was good enough for second place in his heat and a place in the national final the following day at the English Institute of Sport.

However, he gave up his place in the final as he had already committed to joining a training camp in Malta that day.

His 1:51.97 display came just two days after another record-breaking run, this time on the roads.

Whiteman – who works as a personal trainer in Cleethorpes – took his place on the start line alongside some high-calibre opposition in the Armagh International 5k road race in Northern Ireland.

He clocked 14:27.16 for 15th place, shattering the previous Vet40 course record by around 30 seconds.

The race was won by young Brit James Wilkinson in 13:54.97, ahead of American Michael Crouch in 13.55.93.

Four men went under 14 minutes and 40 men went under 15 minutes, underlining the quality of the race.