Fuquay-Varina High School senior Gates Hinton is ranked third in the nation for discus. 

Discus is a track and field sport which includes throwing a disc that weighs 2.2 pounds in an attempt to hurl it as far as you can.

Hinton has grown overtime, going from placing third and fourth in competitions to consecutively placing first in all of his events.

“What has really helped me improve is the physical aspect of it and really just being in the weight room and being consistent with all of my lifts for the last couple of years. Being in the weight room [has brought me] from freshman year, being an 116 foot thrower to my senior year being an 192 foot thrower,” said Hinton.

Becoming good at something takes a lot of hard work, but it is possible. Hinton has come a long way in his career due to his hard work and dedication. 

“Body composition is huge, and I’ve put on a lot of weight since freshman year. I have worked to improve my overall strength, and over time, my technique has grown a lot since when I started till now. I am a lot more smooth and consistent when I am throwing,” said Hinton.

Since Hinton started, people could see his potential to grow in discus due to his dedication.

“He is pretty simple to coach and he does exactly what you ask him to do. He started this in the ninth grade and you could tell from an early age he was going to be good at it. But, he is a lot of fun to coach because he can do a lot of things that a lot of kids can’t do. So he is a lot of fun to coach, a lot of fun,” said discus coach Jeb Hall.

Growth mindset is very important for being good at a sport and having the motivation to keep going and improving.

“My mindset has always been the same, go after it. Some days you’re going to get out there and you’re going to have really bad throws and some days you will have great throws. It’s just the matter of being as consistent as possible, but also paying attention to what you need to work on and focusing on keeping the mindset consistent,” said Hinton.

Hinton is committed to compete for UNC Charlotte in discus. This accomplishment is huge, and Hinton has come a long way in his track and field career. We hope to see him continue down this successful path in his college career.