YORK shot putter Scott Lincoln will take on the best in the world today at the London Anniversary Games.

Lincoln, 23, missed out on qualification for the Olympic Games but was invited to take part in today's event because he is the British number one.

His coach Paul Wilson, from the City of York Athletic Club, says the experience will stand him in good stead for the rest of his career.

A builder from Northallerton, Lincoln will be the rank outsider in a ten man field that includes nearly all the stars likely to be chasing gold in Rio next month.

World champion Joe Kovacs, from America, is favourite to win having thrown the longest distance, 22m 56cm.

His closest rivals are European champion David Storl, from Germany, who has thrown 22m 20cm, and Poland's Tomasz Majewski, who has thrown 21m 95cm.

Lincoln's best is 19m 83cm which fell short of the 20m 50cm standard required to represent Great Britain this summer in Rio.

"Scott was frustrated to miss out on the Olympics but it was always a long shot at this stage in his career," said Wilson. "This meeting is as close as you can get, though, to competing in the Olympics this summer.

"It will be great for Scott to throw against the best in the world and if he can just finish anywhere inside the top eight, he will regard that as a success."

The star-studded Anniversary Games, which began last night, takes place at the Olympic Stadium in London and doubles up as the tenth round of the 2016 Diamond League.