Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes today announced the provision of four Norwich Union funded ‘On Camp with Kelly’ bursaries for the most promising junior athletes on her successful mentoring initiative.
For achievement in 2006, Hannah England from Oxford and Emma Jackson from Stoke will all receive a £2000 bursary to help them train and prepare for the new season. The girls were both part of the Norwich Union GB Team at this summer’s World Junior Championships in Beijing and performed creditably.
Jo Finch from Glasgow will receive a bursary of £3000 as she moves from her home in Glasgow to St Mary’s College where she will be able to use the facilities at this high performance endurance centre. She will also change coach and the bursary will help fund this move.
Dani Christmas from Horley, Surrey, another member of the Norwich Union GB Team from Beijing, has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be coached by Kelly’s coach Margo Jennings in Oregon. This experience with one of the best coaches in the world of athletics will ensure that Dani receives the best possible support and preparation as she looks to make the next step on her career.
Kelly said, “All these girls have shown great promise in the past and are now starting to make their mark internationally. The transition between junior and senior is incredibly difficult and these bursaries will help enormously in their development as athletes and I am grateful for Norwich Union’s continued support for the girls that make these awards possible.”
The bursaries will be awarded to the girls at the latest ‘On Camp with Kelly’ get together that starts today at UK Sport where they will learn about funding and anti-doping procedures amongst other things. Saturday will then see the group travel to Kelly’s home town of Tonbridge where they will meet Margo Jennings, train and even give training sessions themselves to local athletes.
Kelly has also invited one of her main rivals on the track - Slovenian world indoor 800m record holder and Olympic 800m bronze medallist Jolanda Ceplak - to take part in a Q&A session with Kelly and the girls to give a different perspective on life on the professional circuit. Recent Commonwealth 1500m champion Lisa Dobriskey, whom Kelly and six of the girls witnessed winning gold in Melbourne earlier this year, will also join the session.
There will be 15 girls involved in the latest get together, including four new faces to the initiative:
Dani Christmas, 18 from Horley, SurreyOne of the original ‘On Camp with Kelly’ girls, Dani won the 800m at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo, Australia (Dec 2004) and also the Under 20 Great North Mile in September 2005. In 2004 she won the English Schools 1500m title at Gateshead and also represented Great Britain in the U20 International, winning the 1500m in 4:24.51. Dani was a member of the Norwich Union GB Team at the World Junior Championships in Beijing, running in the 800m.
Jo Finch, 18 from Newton Mearns, GlasgowHas been a regular on all ‘On Camp with Kelly’ initiatives after having won the middle distance double at the 2004 Scottish Schools Championships. Jo recently came 5th in AAA U20 800m and hopes to study at Loughborough University. Named as the Daily Record ‘Scottish Young Athlete of the Year’ in January.
Hannah England, 19 from OxfordHannah won the middle distance double at the UK Women’s Athletics League Qualifier in 2005. She also won the Under 20 Norwich Union AAAs indoor title and took Silver at the English Schools 1500m. She also joined Kelly in Melbourne. Hannah was a member of the Norwich Union GB Team at the World Junior Championships in Beijing, running in the 1500m.
Hannah Brooks, 18 from Caterham, SurreyHannah won the 2005 English Schools Senior Girls 800m title and took bronze in the 800m at the Under 20 Norwich Union AAAs Championships. Hannah was one of the girls selected by Kelly to join her in Melbourne
Emily Goodall, 17 from Haywards Heath, West SussexIn 2005, Emily won the English Schools Inter Girls 800m as well as the Norwich Union Under 17s 800m Indoor and Outdoor titles. Emily also joined Kelly in Melbourne.
Non Stanford, 17 from Penllergaer, SwanseaA talented all-round sportswoman, Non represented Wales in gymnastics at the age of nine and was also part of the Welsh Talent Identification squad for swimming before opting for athletics. Non has been a regular ‘On Camp with Kelly’ participant and won the Flora girls mini-marathons in 2004 and 2005. In this year’s event she was narrowly pipped in the home straight by Stephanie Twell.
Nikki Maddick, 19 from Kingston-upon-HullNicola was 2nd to fellow OCWK girl Hannah Brooks in the English Schools Senior 800m, and finished 3rd in the 2005 Under 20 Great North Mile. Nikki also joined Kelly in Melbourne.
Rachael Thompson, 20 from Crosby, LiverpoolAfter South Africa, Rachael finished 6th in the 800m at the Norwich Union European Indoor Senior Trials. After winning the 1500m at the Norwich Union Under 23 International she went on to be the youngest member of the Norwich Union GB Team at the European Under 23 Championships, competing in the 800m.
Charlotte Browning, 19 from LoughboroughCharlotte won four consecutive AAA 1500m titles between 200 and 2003, as well as dominating cross country winning the Inter-Counties title in 2001, 2002 and 2003. She finished 6th in the 1500m at the 2003 World Youth Games and has been involved in several of the OCWK warm weather training camps.
Becky Townsend, 19 from LeedsIn 2005, Becky won the North of England 1500m Indoor title, and came 2nd in the 800m. This year, despite carrying injuries, she finished 5th in the Indoor AAAs. Becky finished 6th in the BUSA 800m indoor championships, 5th in the AAA 1500m. She went on to win the North England indoor championships and came 2nd in the 800m.
Holmes has also selected four new girls who have shown promise this season and are on the verge of breaking through to the top junior ranks.
