4:58pm Thursday 9th July 2009
Emma Buckett, a year 11 student at Kings School, Winchester, had a remarkable weekend representing Hampshire Schools in the inter-counties regional competition at Kingston Surrey.
Buckett, left, won the intermediate girls’ heptathlon with her best ever points total that sees her ranked second in the UK.
And she also equalled a season’s best in one of her seven events and set personal bests in three others – shot put, javelin and 200m.
Though the Hampshire team which came second did not qualify for the finals, coming second to Hertfordshire, Buckett’s first place ensures her a place in the finals in September as the top individual.
It means that she will have competed in eight successive English schools finals over the last four years, four of which were for combined events and four individual championships.
This year Buckett has had the benefit of being able to train at the new running track at Winchester University Sports Ground at Bar End and, with the considerable help of the university staff, it has greatly helped in her preparation.
But much of her winter preparation and the need to improve and progress to the senior Great Britain ranks, be it for the 2012 or 2016 Olympics, necessitates indoor facilities during the winter months.
Due to lack of any local facilities, this has been achieved by a 120-mile round trip to Brunel University, Uxbridge.
As an unsponsored athlete that is very costly – as it is for her independent local volunteer coaches – Tony Bateman, John Davis and John Miller, all of whom have coached athletes to major International Championships in jumps, sprints and hurdles.
Buckett lives in Winchester and competes for Basingstoke Athletic Club.
Also training at the new facilities with Emma are 13-year-old Emma Cowell from Team Southampton who at the same meeting qualified for the finals by finishing fourth, and Jessica Sandwell of Basingstoke AC, who was part of the Hampshire team.
Both travel to Winchester to take part in specialist hurdle training.
Along with local coach Ernie Chambers, both Bateman, former Scottish national jumps coach, and Miller, former British and national hurdles coach, coach university students during term.
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