Golden Girls
Two young local female sprinters have returned to Teesside victorious after competing at the North East Indoor Athletics Championships.
15 year old Ellie Mullen and 13 year old Rachel Highfield stormed to victory in the 60m.Both girls are members of Middlesbrough AC (Mandale) and Tees Active Sports Academy and were delighted to win at Gateshead.
Ellie, a pupil at Northfield Marsh House site and coached by Cyril Banks said “ It was great to win the Under 17 title although it has been difficult to prepare for the championships as the recent sow and ice has made training at Clairville stadium impossible. Fortunately I have been able to maintain my general fitness by training at the Activ8 gyms over the holiday period.”Rachel, a pupil at St Patrick’s RC school Thornaby set a new personal best of 7.99 seconds and received the Competitions Best Performance Award. Rachel who is also coached by Cyril Banks continued with her superb form at the Northern Athletics Indoor Championships staged at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. The Thornaby Tornado was narrowly pipped in the 60m to gain silver but gained revenge over Kate Wasyliw of Halifax in the 200m winning the gold in a time of 26.06 seconds.
Rachel said “Due to the weather conditions training has been difficult but I have been fortunate enough to have a couple of sessions indoors at Gateshead, where Richard Kilty has been giving me some great tips. The wins are great but there is a lot of hard work I need to put in before the start of the outdoor season,” For further information on Tees Active Sports Academy contact Allan McDermott on (01642) 528772 or visit teesactivelimited.co.uk