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Charlotte Best and Laura Finucane Receive ‘On Camp with Kelly’ Awards
09 October 2007

At The Daily Telegraph and Norwich Union School Sport Matters Awards at the Emirates Stadium in London on Tuesday 9 October ‘On Camp with Kelly’ athletes Charlotte Best (Crawley AC) and Laura Finucane (Pendle AC) were presented with ‘On Camp with Kelly’ awards, supported by Norwich Union, in recognition of their achievements this season.

A total of nine athletes were selected to receive the first ‘On Camp with Kelly’ awards, with the others being presented on the occasion of the Norwich Union London Grand Prix in August while Charlotte and Laura were away competing at the World University Games in Bangkok. Charlotte has recently graduated from Loughborough University where Laura is still a student.

Charlotte received an Outstanding Achievement Award for winning a bronze medal in the 800m at the World University Games in a new personal best time of 2:01.50. Laura, who receives an Excellent Achievement Award, was sixth in the same race and also picked up a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay, running the fastest split in the GB team.

Charlotte and Laura also finished fifth and sixth respectively in the 800m final at the European Athletics Under 23 Championships and at the Norwich Union England Athletics Under 23 Championships Charlotte took the gold and Laura the silver.

Charlotte and Laura have both been involved in double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes’ ‘On Camp with Kelly’ mentoring scheme since it began in 2004.

Two other athletes received Outstanding Achievement Awards for their medal winning performances at this summer’s international age group championships. Alison Leonard (Blackburn Harriers) won a Silver medal in the 800m at the IAAF World Youth Championships and Emma Jackson (City of Stoke AC) took a silver medal over the same distance at the European Athletics Junior Championships.

The other athletes who received Excellent Achievement Awards all also competed at this summer’s international age group championships: Hannah Brooks (Crawley AC), Hannah England (Oxford City AC), Jessica Coulson (Stockport Harriers), Emma Pallant (Aldershot Farnham & District) and Rachel Stringer (City of Norwich).

Dame Kelly said: “The athletes receiving the awards have all performed brilliantly this season, with the support of their coaches and families. Representing your country at a major international championship is a significant achievement and they will all have learnt a lot from the experience. The athletes receiving the awards have also set new personal bests this season and won medals at national age group, university and schools championships. I am very proud of what they have achieved and I am looking forward to seeing them progress even further next season.”

Tanya Veingard, Head of Sponsorship at Norwich Union, said: “On behalf of Norwich Union I would like to congratulate the athletes on their excellent performances this season. We are delighted to support these awards to recognise their achievements. As the team behind UK Athletics we are proud to be able to offer support for all levels of athletics – from playground to podium – and ‘On Camp with Kelly’ is a fantastic programme for young athletes who dream of winning gold.”


Athlete Biographies

Charlotte Best

Age: 22
Club: Crawley AC / Loughborough University
Home Town: Redhill, Surrey / Loughborough
Coach: George Gandy
Personal Bests: 400m 54.97 (2007), 800m 2:01.50 (2007), 1500m 4:16.57 (2007)

Charlotte capped an excellent season by winning a bronze medal in the 800m at the World University Games in Bangkok in a new personal best time of 2:01.50. She has also set new personal bests for 400m (54.97) and 1500m (4:16.57) this year. She won the 800m gold medal at the Norwich Union England Athletics Under 23 Championships and went on to finish fifth at the European Athletics Under 23 Championships. She also finished fifth in the Norwich Union World Trials & UK Championships and won the British Universities Indoor 800m title after having taken the gold outdoors in 2006. She was English Schools Senior 400m champion in 2003 and has won a number of medals at AAA age group championships. Charlotte has been involved in ‘On Camp with Kelly’ since in began in 2004 and attended the training camp in Valencia in June 2005.


Laura Finucane

Age: 21
Club: Pendle AC / Loughborough University
Home Town: Colne, Lancs / Loughborough
Coach: John Nuttall
Personal Bests: 400m 53.23 (2004), 800m 2:01.35 (2007)

After taking the 800m silver medal at the Norwich Union England Athletics Under 23 Championships Laura finished sixth over the same distance at the European Athletics Under 23 Championships. At the World University Games she again finished sixth in the 800m final but took the bronze medal in the 4x400m, running the fastest split (52.8) on the GB Team. Earlier in the season she had improved her personal best to an excellent 2:01.35 to top the UK Under 23 rankings for the distance. She also finished sixth in the 400m at the Norwich Union UK Championships. In 2005 Laura finished fifth in the 800m at the European Athletics Junior Championships, having also made the final at the IAAF World Junior Championships the previous year, and was a semi-finalist in the IAAF World Youth Championships in 2003. She also won the AAA Under 20 800m title in 2004 and 2005. Laura has been involved in ‘On Camp with Kelly’ since the first Educational Camp in South Africa in November 2004.


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