9:41am Thursday 2nd July 2009
By Iain Liddle
Athletics: Chippenham sprint queen Elaine O’Neill’s stunning season shows no sign of ending after she claimed another gold at the European U23 trials in Bedfordshire.
The 19-year-old sprinter took first place in the 100 metres in a new personal best time of 11.59 seconds, more than a tenth of a second clear of her nearest challenger Lucy Sargent.
At the same event last year, O’Neill took silver in the U20 event and she is delighted at the progress made in just 12 months.
“I just wanted to go out there and win really,” said the former Sheldon School pupil.
“The qualifying time is 11.60 secs, but I ran 11.53 secs in the heat although it was wind-assisted so it doesn’t count.
“I beat it properly in the final and set a new PB though so I was really pleased with that.”
O’Neill’s impressive form has also caught the eye of the Great Britain selectors who called her up as a late replacement for the recent European Team Championship in Portugal.
“They called me on the Thursday and I went out there on the Friday,” she said.
“They wanted me for the senior 4 x 100m relay. I didn’t get the chance to race but I warmed up with them and it was a brilliant experience.”
O’Neill had wanted to race at the upcoming UK Championships on July 10 but has been ordered to rest by her coach ahead of the European U23 Championship, in Lithuania on July 16, where she will run in the 100m and 4 x 100m relay.
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