Beth is buoyant after superb debut at prestigious indoor event - The Redditch Standard

Beth is buoyant after superb debut at prestigious indoor event

Redditch Editorial 17th Mar, 2015 Updated: 18th Oct, 2016   0

RISING Redditch athletics star Beth Lloyd competed impressively in her first England Athletics Indoor Combined Events Championships in the under 15 girls’ pentathlon on Sunday in Sheffield.

Representing her club Birchfield Harriers, 13-year-old Beth was the youngest out of the 53 competitors, and her main goal was to complete the pentathlon, which she achieved.

However, although nervous about the competition, Beth took it in her stride by focusing on each event individually and made the championships an occasion to savour as she came away from the Steel City ranked a superb tenth in the UK.

Beth started steadily in the 60m hurdles with a time of 10.11secs and followed that with a high jump personal best, before recording another PB in the shot put with 9.34m.




Beth was very close to her long jump personal best of 4.45m so, going into the last event, she knew that if she moved up a few more places she would stand a chance of winning a Midland Counties medal within the championships.

The athlete and her coach Sharon Morris agreed a tactical plan to accomplish this and she achieved the bronze medal with an astonishing performance in the 800m as she finished in an impressive 11th place in the England Championships, meaning she is now ranked tenth in the UK.


The results in Sheffield capped a fine weekend for Beth, who just the previous day was rewarded with three gold medals for her performances in the Birmingham Sportshall League.

Her coach collected the medals on behalf of Beth, who over four previous dates had produced league performances which nobody could match.

Beth’s delighted coach Sharon Morris, who works for British Athletics, said: “I am very proud of Beth’s achievements in Sheffield in her first indoor pentathlon, especially moving up to a new age group.

“She learned a lot about herself and also that when she puts her mind to it she can achieve her goals.”

A couple of weeks prior to competing in Sheffield, Beth was in action in the England Indoor Championships 60m hurdles and she qualified for the semi-finals, which was an excellent achievement in her first year in this age group, especially as she is a natural multi-eventer.

Beth and her coach are now focusing on her training in preparation for the outdoor season and the England Combined Outdoor Championships later this year.

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