Helen Clitheroe

Helen Clitheroe ( Helen Teresa Clitheroe ; born Pattinson ; born January 2, 1974 in Preston ) is a British middle-distance , long-distance and obstacle runner .

Career

Initially, she specialized in the 1,500 meter distance and cross-country running . From 1998 to 2005 she qualified eight times in a row for the short-distance competition of the Cross Country World Championships , with a 19th place in 2004 in Brussels as the best placement. At the European Cross Country Championships she came in 2004 in Heringsdorf on the 27th place, in 2007 in Toro on the 22nd place and 2010 in Albufeira on the 21st place and won silver with the British team.

Starting for England , she finished ninth in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 over 1500 meters . At the 1999 World Athletics Championships in Seville, she was eliminated in the preliminary stages, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and at the 2001 World Cup in Edmonton, she reached the semi-finals. In 2002 she won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester , but was eliminated in the preliminary round at the European Athletics Championships in Munich . In 2005 she was fourth at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Madrid and tenth at the World Championships in Helsinki , in 2006 fourth at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and eleventh at the European Championships in Gothenburg and in 2007 again fourth at the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham .

From 2007 on she switched to longer distances and the obstacle course. Over 3000 meters obstacle she was eliminated from the 2007 World Cup in Osaka, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2009 World Cup in Berlin. In 2010 she was seventh at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha and eighth over 1500 m at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi , in 2011 she won gold over 3000 meters at the European Indoor Championships in Paris and was twelfth over 5000 meters at the World Championships in Daegu . At the Indoor World Championships 2012 in Istanbul she was seventh over 3000 m.

Her first successes in road running were the Ribble Valley 10K, which she won six times in a row from 2004 to 2009. In 2007 she finished second in the Great Ireland Run . In 2008 she won the Leeds Abbey Dash and in 2009 the Lucerne City Run . In 2011 she won the Great Manchester Run and finished fifth in the Great South Run .

In 2001, 2005 and 2006 she was British champion over 1500 meters and from 2007 to 2009 in the 3000 meter obstacle course. In the hall she won the national title over 3000 meters in 2008 and 2011 and over 1500 meters in 2010. In 1999, 2001 and 2002 she became the British short-distance cross-country champion.

Helen Clitheroe is trained by John Nuttall and starts for the Preston Harriers. In December 2002 she married the teacher Neil Clitheroe.

Personal bests

• 800 m : 2: 03.20 min, September 3, 2002, Stretford
• 1500 m: 4: 01.10 min, July 19, 2002, Monaco
  • Hall: 4: 05.81 min, February 20, 2007, Stockholm
• 1 mile (hall): 4: 29.46 min, February 20, 2010, Birmingham
• 3000 m: 8: 51.82 min, August 29, 2010, Rieti
  • Hall: 8: 39.81 min, February 19, 2011, Birmingham
• 5000 m: 15: 06.75 min, 6 August 2011, London
• 10,000 m : 32: 11.29 min, June 4th 2011, Oslo
• 10K road run: 31:45 min, May 15, 2011, Manchester
• 3000 m obstacle: 9: 29.14 min, August 15, 2008, Beijing (British record)

Web links

• Official website
• Helen Clitheroe in the database of World Athletics (English)
• Athlete portrait at The Power of Ten
• Interview in Runner's World , May 9, 2011

Footnotes

1. ^ IAAF: Gebrselassie takes fourth Manchester 10Km victory, Clitheroe surprises ( Memento of May 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). May 15, 2011