Shot putter Scott Lincoln’s roving reporter role for Radio One's Greg James

The 28-year-old chatted live to host Greg James on Tuesday morning after his brother contacted the show for a “shout-out” to celebrate the athlete’s Olympics spot.

The DJ asked Scott how he got into shot putting, and he explained how his talent was discovered while he was at school, when he won through to the English Schools Championships.

“It was just something I fell into doing,” he told the millions of listeners. “I had really good fun, and got the day off school while doing it.”

Scott, who is a six-time British champion, added: “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it. A lot of it is about pride in shot putting. We don’t get the funding and attention that the other athletes do, like the sprinters.”

His achievement is all the more remarkable as he fits in his training around working three-days a week for his father’s firm, Lincoln Builders, and he described how he had built his own practice area in his garden during lockdown so he could keep on top of his sport.

He also has the potential for training at work. “My dad does a building site Olympics,” he joked. “He brings the shot put to work and we spray a circle on the floor and get everyone to have a go.”

Greg, who also hosts cricketing podcast Tailenders, then asked Scott: “Would you be up for being our man on the ground in Tokyo? I think this would be the most brilliant story to follow through. The Olympics is all about discovering new sports and new disciplines and shining a light on things like shot putting. I imagine 99 per cent of the population don’t think about shot putting very often. We love an underdog on the breakfast show.”

Agreeing to come back on the show with updates when he lands in Tokyo, Scott replied: “Hopefully that can change then.”

The games are due to start on July 24, but Scott will have to wait until August 5 for his event to take place.