Great British triathlete Garry Walker has won a gold medal at the European championships.
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His achievement is made all the more commendable by the fact that only three years ago, the 36-year-old from South Tyneside was a couch potato who smoked 30 cigarettes a day and was six stones overweight.
Garry, who competes in the non-professional Great Britain Age-Group category, has transformed his life through sport and has now been chosen to carry the Olympic torch on part of its journey through South Tyneside.
Mr Walker, who lives in Boldon, Said: “I’m living proof that it’s possible to do.
“The only exercise I ever did was purely through sitting on the settee, picking up the remote control and pressing the buttons.
“I’d tell anyone out there who wants to make a change in their lives to just pick a goal and work towards it.
“If I can do it, anyone can.”
The torch will travel through the borough on Saturday, June 16.
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