An Ashby-based former racing driver is now reviving his sporting career as a duathlon competitor.

Simon Ward, who is opening a new shop in Market Street called Blinds & Shutters 2U next week, was formerly a top 800 metres runner who was denied a place at the 1992 Olympic Games after being attacked while out training.

After that, Simon, aged 51, turned his hand to motor racing and briefly competed in the NASCAR series which has a huge following in the USA.

But then he switched his attention back to running - with the addition of a bike - to turn his hand to duathlon.

And that resulted in him collecting a bronze medal at the World Winter Triathlon and Duathlon in Andorra.

But Simon's sporting life is an unusual one - and has not always gone to plan.

He explained: "In my teens I represented Great Britain as a track athlete, but I actually got mugged and stabbed in Bradford while I was out training.

"I fractured my pelvis and got a real kicking which meant I missed out on the 1992 Olympics.

"I was meant to be running in the 800 metres. I was really gutted, but in all I failed to qualify for five Olympics. That's got to be a record!

"It's hard to say whether I would've made it to Barcelona.

"I was living in Bradford at the time, but four guys got hold of me, I don't know what they were after. I wasn't carrying anything when I was running.

"I was never the same after that, I fell out of the sport. I didn't know what I wanted to do."

Simon, who has recently moved to Ashby, also had a passion for motorsport and that was his next step.

He added: "A few years later I started motor racing, and won the longest motor race in the world, the Spa 25 hours, I raced in the American Le Mans series. Then I went to America to live over there, I lived in North Carolina and began racing in NASCAR.

"But that was at the start of the credit crunch, I did my first NASCAR race and then the sponsor pulled out.

"That was where my dream ended, I was meant to earn $4.5million a year

"But it all crashed around my ears in the space of 48 hours.

"I walked away from the Sport and thought, that's the last time I get into a racing car.

I did get tempted out from retirement into racing in the Caterham championship, I got a pole position, the fastest lap and won the race.  I could've won the championship that year easily, we were leagues ahead of everybody else.

"But I was bored, and my girlfriend at the time couldn't understand why.

"During that time I met Michael Schumacher, who is my hero."

That was when Simon moved into competing in triathlons.

He added: "That was in 2016, but I'd had a bike since 2012 and done nothing with it.

"For four years it gathered dust, I just dusted it off and did my first triathlon which I hated because I'm not a very good swimmer.

"So then I did duathlon, which is run – bike – run

"I qualified for the World Championships in Canada in 2017, then in Denmark in 2018, and Spain in 2019.

"Then came Covid, and I did winter duathlon after that - which meant taking up cross country skiing.

"I qualified for the championships this year, went out then won the bronze medal."

Simon admits it has been a varied sporting career.