A YORK sprinter is so desperate to race against the world’s best athletes at next year’s Olympics he has taken a job stacking shelves at Tesco to help fund his dream.

Richard Buck, 25, who has a string of international medals to his name, lost his UK Athletics funding worth about £20,000 two months ago, leaving his Olympic hopes in tatters.

But rather than be defeated, Richard has taken a 15-hour-a-week job in the supermarket around the corner from his training base at Loughborough University.

He also trains about 35 hours a week, including three hours before his five-hour shifts on the shop floor and an hour afterwards.

It will all be worth it if he lines up for the Great Britain team in next year’s 4x400m relay.

Richard said: “I have never been afraid of hard work, I think it’s my Yorkshire upbringing.

“The job isn’t too bad – there’s quite a lot of lifting involved but thankfully I’m quite fit so the loads aren’t taking too much of a toll on my body.

“It’s a nice break from training.

“I have been absolutely privileged to be allowed to train full-time for so long. I have had opportunities some people will never have.

“It’s devastating to lose the funding this close to the Olympics, but I don’t think I can feel bitter really.

“There’s far worse things happening to people at the moment, everyone is really struggling.

“I’m excited about the Olympics. Every so often I have butterflies in my tummy. Usually when you have a major championship, it does not ring in your mind every second, but everywhere you look you are reminded of London.

“I will come back stronger from this. It’s motivated me a lot. I’m very hungry for this and I’m determined.”

Britain finished fourth in Beijing in the race four years ago when Richard was an unused member of the squad, so are genuine contenders for a medal.

Richard was one of four 400m runners cut by UK Athletics. It means he has to go his own way in terms of training camps and schedules, but he does have access at Loughborough – and at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield where he trains once a week – to the country’s top coaches.