Linskill beats expectations

By [mjenkin]

THE SUMMER athletics season just gets better for North Devon AC triple jumper Claire Linskill.

Her display at the UK championships in Birmingham was the latest leap towards the top of the sport and potential Great Britain honours.

By finishing third at the world trials, the 21-year-old even exceeded her own expectations with one of her best results.

"I wasn't really expecting it," said Linskill, who has just graduated from Brunel University in West London.

"At the start of the season I was aiming for the top eight then as the season went on I thought maybe top five.

"Come the last round I thought if I jump to my capabilities I could actually take bronze."

After a nervous wait while the last two competitors both produced no-jumps, Linskill's place on the podium at the Alexander Stadium was confirmed with a jump of 12.91m.

It was the latest honour in a season that has already brought gold at the England Under-23 Championships and a personal best of 12.97m at the Southern Championships.

That jump was desperately close to the 13-metre benchmark for the UK's elite women — now Linskill's goal for the rest of the summer.

"There is still another half a season to go but it almost feels like the season is over because I've ticked all the boxes — apart from the 13 metres," she said.

"All the pressure is off now, I can go out and enjoy the rest of the season and hopefully the 13 metres will come."

Currently the top under-23 athlete in the country, Linskill is ranked sixth at senior level and has benefited from training with more experienced athletes.

"I actually train with most of the girls that are above me so I'm pretty much competing with them day to day," she said.

"Even though we're great friends there's still that competitive edge."

If the former Ilfracombe College pupil's progress continues, she will surely be in contention for a place in the senior England team at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year.

And that drive to reach the pinnacle of her sport means Linskill is already dreaming of representing Great Britain on home soil in the 2012 Olympics.

"When I was 17 I had the England call-up and I really enjoyed that — but it wasn't quite enough," she said.

"My aim all through my teens was to represent Great Britain."

The call-up finally arrived in February and Linskill admitted she was "like a kid at Christmas" after being asked to represent GB in an international meeting against Holland.

Passion for athletics is something that has been with her for as long as she can remember.

"My older brother and sister used to train at the North Devon athletics track in Braunton and I used to get dragged along," said Linskill.

"I was only about four or five at the time and I used to run down the side of the track and have the Olympics, or whatever, in my head.

"As soon as my ninth birthday came around I joined the club and I've been there ever since.

"I started out doing the high jump, then the long jump and then on to triple jump.

"When I started out I used to aspire to Ashia Hansen or Jonathan Edwards, or anyone who was better than me."

Having graduated with a degree in sports science, Linskill has found a job in London with sports shoe company Runners Need doing running gait analysis.

Linskill receives no Lottery funding but the job means she can continue training with coach Keith Fleming in the evenings.

"It's gone amazingly this year and I can put it down to hard work in the winter, training six nights a week," she added.

"It's going better than I imagined. But I can still pick out lots of things that are wrong with my jump

"I can improve my strength and my speed and just little things can make you jump a lot further."

Fleming agrees Linskill has the potential to jump well beyond 14 metres if her progress continues.

In the shorter term, she will concentrate on the 13-metre mark, starting with the UK Athletics jumps festival in Birmingham this weekend.