Helen Clitheroe (née Pattinson)
Personal information
Born (1974-01-02) 2 January 1974
United Kingdom Preston, Lancashire, UK
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight57 kg (126 lb; 9.0 st)
Sport
Country Great Britain
ClubPreston Harriers
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)1500 m: 4:01.10
3000 m: 8:51.02
3000 m steeplechase: 9:29.14
5000 m: 15:06.75
10000 m: 31:45[1]
Medal record
Women’s athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place2011 Paris3000 m
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2002 Manchester1500 m
Updated on 6-03-2011.

Helen Teresa Clitheroe (née Pattinson) (born 2 January 1974 in Preston, England) is a female former British middle and long-distance runner.[2]

Athletics career

She competed in the 1500 m at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[3]

She represented England in the 1,500 metres event, at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[4][5] Four years later she was the 1500 m bronze medallist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[6]

She achieved the Olympic A qualifying standard for the 3000 m steeplechase at the Meeting Iberoamericano, in Huelva on 13 June 2008, where she finished eighth in a time of 9:43.56.[7] Her place in the British team for the Games was confirmed when she won the British trials in a new national record time of 9:36.98.[8] At the Games she finished sixth in her heat and did not advance to the next round of competition, despite beating her own national record with a time of 9:29.14.[9] At the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final, in Stuttgart, Clitheroe placed 9th in the 3000 m steeplechase in a time of 9:39.72.[10]

She completed a spell of high-altitude training in Iten, Kenya and then came close to a 3000 m lifetime best at the Aviva International Match in January 2011, finishing with a stadium record run.[11][12] The May 2011 Great Manchester Run saw her produce a career best for the 10K as she completed a dominant performance to win the race in a time of 31:45 minutes.[13] She set herself a similar target at the European Cup 10000m in June 2011, but suffered in hot conditions and finished in fourth with a time of 32:11.29 minutes.[14]

She continued working in the Industry as a coach, and during 2022 was coaching with the New Balance team at Manchester, working as personal coach to Ciara Mageean during her very successful 2022 season.

References

  1. "Great North Run 2011". Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  2. "Team GB > Beijing 2008 > Athlete profile > Helen Clitheroe". Website of the BOA. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  3. "Athlete Biography - Clitheroe, Helen". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  4. "1998 Athletes". Team England.
  5. "England team in 1998". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  6. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  7. "Tim Abeyie wins in Rabat, Helen Clitheroe attains Olympic standard in Huelva". Athletics Weekly. 15 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2 August 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  8. "Clitheroe qualifies for Beijing". BBC Sport. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  9. "Olympics 2008 - Day 1 Evening Session Report". UK Athletics. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  10. "Ohuruogu ready for Richards". sportinglife.com. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  11. Brown, Matthew (2011-01-29). Ennis sparkles in Glasgow. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
  12. Jessica Ennis starts season with hurdles win in Glasgow . BBC Sport (2011-01-29). Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
  13. Wenig, Jorg (2011-05-15). Gebrselassie takes fourth Manchester 10Km victory, Clitheroe surprises. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-27.
  14. Portugal double victory at the European Cup 10000m Archived 8 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics (2011-06-04). Retrieved on 2011-06-05.
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