Athens Olympics 2004

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Sarah Claxton (Belgrave Harriers) heads for the Olympic Games in Athens knowing that a swift little personal best will enable her to join the elite band of eight UK athletes who have run the 100m hurdles in under 13 seconds.

“A PB would be as good as a medal for me,” says 24-year-old Claxton, whose fastest time so far is 13.01 seconds, which she achieved at the Bedford International Games on 13 June this year.

“I want to go under 13 seconds,” she adds, knowing that such a success could take her further up the UK all-time list, in which she currently stands ninth.

“I just want to do my best – take each round as it goes,” says Claxton, who seems to have finally resolved one pleasant problem that has been with her ever since she entered athletics aged 10 or 11, whether to be a hurdler or long jumper.

“I do better in the hurdles,” she accepts now, having earned a place on the UK Athletics World Class Potential Programme, funded from the Lottery by Sport England, for her track times last year. “I think I’ve been doing more training for the hurdles than I have for the long jump. And I have been aiming for the Olympics all year, ever since I went warm weather training to California in the spring. The aim all along was to try and get the qualifying time.”

The company was right, too. She pays fulsome praise to all the coaches who have helped her during her career – Roy Nicklin when she first joined her local club at Colchester; Cynthia Sketchley and former hurdles international Judy Vernon as she moved through the age groups and now Lloyd Cowan, who has gathered a high quality group to work together.

Ask her what has got her to Athens, and her reply is short and to the point: “My coach and hard work.”

She trains with 20-year-old Jenni Molloy (Bournemouth AC) most of the time while Andy Turner (Notts AC) and Rob Newton (Sale Harriers Manchester) are rarely far away. There are not too many training groups in the UK that can boast three Olympians selected for Athens!

Moreover, all are in the infancy of their international careers. Claxton heads a domestic list of considerable pedigree, too. King, currently ranked second in the UK with her season’s best of 13.18 at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at Gateshead on 27 June, competed in last year’s World Championships.

Diane Allahgreen (Trafford AC), third with 13.23 at the Bedford International Games after a brave recovery from long-term injury, was at the 2000 Olympics. Kelly Sotherton (Birchfield Harriers), fourth with 13.29 also at the Bedford International Games, is the global heptathlon discovery of the year. Pratt, fifth with 13.33, remains determined to prove that World Junior Champions can make it to the top as Seniors.

Yet such are global standards that Claxton is currently 51^st in the World rankings, which are headed by the reigning World Champion, Perdita Felicien (Canada), who clocked 12.46 at the Prefontaine Classic IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Oregon on 19 June. Ranked second, with a season’s best of 12.50 seconds, is the legendary Gail Devers (USA), who has two Olympic Games 100m Gold medals and has won three World 100m hurdles titles but has yet to collect an Olympics hurdles medal of any colour.

That said, Claxton is beginning to pick-off some scalps. Five-hundredths of a second behind her in the current rankings is Patricia Girard (France), the 1996 Olympics Bronze medallist.

Not that the current UK No.1 will have anyone else in her sights as she settles to her blocks in Athens: “I just want to do my best.”

Sarah finished in 3rd place in the 60mH.

“I am really pleased.  I hoped to run quickly but I didn’t think I would get another pb.  I am really happy.  Last year here, I ran 8.21 so it is a big leap.  I am aiming for the British record which is 7.99 and I want to be a medal contender at the Europeans, that’s my aim for the indoor season.”

A great race ended with Sarah Claxton US$5,000 richer for her second UK record in eight days.

The former record holder, Diane Allahgreen (Trafford AC) was out of the blocks like lightning and led over the penultimate hurdle. But Claxton not only remained fluent under pressure, she found the extra strength and pace off the last hurdle to edge ahead of Allahgreen and stop the clock at 7.96. 

“ I knew I would do well today but I wasn’t sure about how fast it would be.  I can’t believe that I won this one.  The time is very good but I think I can go under that.  Now for the European Indoors and, fingers crossed, a place in the final and even a medal.”

Pre-race: Womens 60mH: Britain’s Sarah Claxton has set two National Records this year and could do so again here. Heptathlon Olympic Gold and Bronze medallists Carolina Kluft and Kelly Sotherton are in the field, while the best of the high hurdle specialists are Olympic Bronze medallist Melissa Morrison and Russia’s Irina Shevchenko, fastest in the world this year.

“It has been a fantastic year. I cannot believe I won here; it just gets better. I have really focused this year and got down to some real hard training. My performances last week [at the Norwich Union European Indoor Trials] and today show that I am now consistent. I am looking forward to going to the Europeans and I have one more race next week in France. It’s great to win in front of this crowd here today in Birmingham. I could not believe the noise!”

Every little helps for Claxton

February 23, 2005

SARAH CLAXTON spent Wednesday night working in the clothing department of Tesco in Chadwell Heath scraping together the money to pursue her athletics dreams, of last season when she was dumped from receiving lottery funding, writes Steve Landells.

Just 48 hours later, the shy, modest Claxton defeated Olympic bronze medallist Melissa Morrison to win the 60m hurdles in front of millions of TV viewers at the Norwich Union Grand Prix at the NIA, also earning a handy $5000 in the process.

Claxton, an outstanding teenage talent, who finished fifth in the 1997 European junior long jump final, has concentrated her efforts on the hurdles for the past couple of seasons but up until this winter has struggled to find consistency and often disappointed in the big races.

However, so far this winter it has all gone swimmingly well.

After taking one-hundredth of a second off Diane Allahgreen's UK 60m hurdles records with 7.98 in Norway, a week later she lowered the mark to 7.96 at the AAA Indoor Championships in Sheffield, defeating Allahgreen in the process.

But, perhaps, her most pleasing performance was at the NIA.

But what has brought about the upturn in fortunes?

According to her KALM representative, Alf Vickers, technical changes and greater maturity have contributed to her outstanding indoor season.

Vickers said: "Sarah, who lives with her boyfriend (the hurdler Richard Alleyne), has become more independent. She can cope much better now when she is on her own in races, or it certainly seems that way. Sarah has grown up a bit."

Claxton has also worked hard on the technical aspects of her hurdling and since last summer Vickers has worked on improving her lead leg.

He explained: "She was following the leg into the drive position but isolating the leg away from the body. The foot position also wasn't right, it was too tense.

"We've worked on that and she is starting to get results. Her hurdling technique is now good. I wouldn't say brilliant, but it's effective. There is no reason why she can't run 7.80-something indoors and realistically she has a good medal chance at the Europeans."

Pre-race - The Women’s 60m hurdles will see UK record-holder Sarah Claxton (WGEL) up against Under 23 international Gemma Bennett (Newham & Essex Beagles) and talented heptathlete Jessica Ennis (City of Sheffield), preparing for her Senior debut at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. 

Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies) gave herself a fixture headache – achieving the right to attempt an World Indoor-Commonwealth Games double appearance with 8.01 for silver behind Derval O Rourke’s Irish record of 7.98. 

Claxton will be returning from Moscow on 13 March – and leaving for Melbourne on the following day if her plans to double-up are realised when the selectors name the Norwich Union GB Team for the World Indoors.

In the 100m hurdles, Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) marked a fantastic return to form with an accomplished fourth position but better still a 13.01 season’s best and claimed the scalp of established hurdler Glory Alozie.

“I am absolutely delighted with that,” she said, “I was a but slower than I wanted to be over the last four hurdles but I’ve been working on getting over the hurdles quicker and it is really starting to show.”