Eight of the UK’s most talented young female middle distance athletes will benefit from the fantastic opportunity of competing in an 800m exhibition race during the Norwich Union London Grand Prix on Friday 3 August. The annual IAAF Super Grand Prix is UK Athletics most prestigious televised meeting. The athletes are all part of double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes’ ‘On Camp with Kelly’ mentoring scheme sponsored by Norwich Union.

The athletes competing in race have been selected from the 30 athletes who are members of ‘On Camp with Kelly’ based on their performances to date in 2007. The full line up is: Tara Bird (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies), Danielle Christmas (Crawley AC), Lucy Dowsett (Cambridge & Coleridge), Hannah England (Oxford City AC), Alison Leonard (Blackburn Harriers), Carolyn Plateau (Radley AC), Linzi Snow (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies), Rachael Thompson (Liverpool Harriers).

Alison Leonard won the 800m silver medal at the recent IAAF World Youth Championships in Ostrava and Hannah England finished fifth over 1500m at the European Athletics Under 23 Championships.

Two other ‘On Camp with Kelly’ athletes will be competing in the Under 20 3000m at the meeting – Emma Pallant, who finished fourth in the 1500m at the European Athletics Junior Championships, and Jess Coulson, who finished seventh in the 3000m at the same event.

Dame Kelly started ‘On Camp with Kelly’ in early 2004 as a result of her desire to help young athletes learn what it takes to become world class and achieve their dreams. Thanks to funding provided by sponsor Norwich Union around 40 young British female middle distance athletes have been involved in the initiative which includes educational activities, training camps, races, financial and medical support as well as mentoring from Dame Kelly.

Dame Kelly said: “This is a great opportunity for the athletes to experience what it’s like to compete in front of a large crowd in one of the biggest athletics meetings on the Grand Prix circuit. I am sure that the girls will benefit greatly from the experience. ‘On Camp with Kelly’ is about giving the athletes all the tools they need to achieve at the highest level in athletics and this is another part of the learning process.”

Tanya Veingard, Head of Sponsorship at Norwich Union, said: “At Norwich Union we are committed to providing opportunities for young athletes and helping to make it easier for them to achieve their dreams. Through our support of ‘On Camp With Kelly’ we are delighted to be helping nurture and develop talented girls into world class athletes that Britain can be proud of and we look forward to seeing them progress from strength to strength. As the team behind UK Athletics we are proud to be able to offer support for all levels of athletics – from grassroots through to elite – and ‘On Camp with Kelly’ is a fantastic programme for young girls who dream of winning gold.”


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