BOURNEMOUTH AC ROAD AND DISTANCE RUNNING INFORMATION

Here is a report from Suzie Hignett's England Athletics 5000m and subsequent Euro selection. Click here to go back to our main index page.

Hignett Wins National Title
Suzie Is Hungary For Euro Success - Bournemouth AC star Suzie Hignett is celebrating a place in next month’s European Under 23 athletics championships having won the England Athletics 5000m title at the weekend

Competing at the Bedford International Stadium, Hignett secured her second major title of the year clocking a time of 16:26.43. She claimed victory by thirteen seconds from Vicky Webster of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers.

Hignett’s winning time may have been inside the European qualifying standard of 16:50.00, but she surpassed the mark further competing in Manchester earlier this month. Running against quality opposition, a time of 16:10.70 was enough to place third in her national age group rankings.

The twenty-one year old won the British Universities 3000m Indoor Championship back in March and has enjoyed the step up in distance from 1500m. She has also benefited from working with new coach Martin Rush at the High Performance Centre at Bath University.

Combined with last weekend’s win, Hignett’s form made her difficult to ignore in the selection process. The former English Schools 3000m champion was on the verge of qualifying for the European Junior Championships when she suffered a stress fracture.

The injury to her lower spine kept her out of action for a significant period. Her performances this summer are a culmination of a determined fight back to full fitness. And the Bournemouth athlete’s selection for the plane to Debrecen, Hungary, marks a courageous return to the higher echelons of British Athletics.

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