REDDITCH athletics star Beth Lloyd became a double UK champion at the prestigious UK Sportshall Finals at Sportcity Regional Arena in Manchester at the weekend.
Following on from her amazing achievements in the West Midlands Regional Sportshall finals where Birchfield Harrier Beth became regional champion in the under 13 girls’ four-lap race, shot put and 4×2-lap relay, she headed to the north west with belief for Saturday’s competition.
Beth did not disappoint as she started off with the shot put competition and won a silver medal with a personal best of 10.79m.
Oozing with confidence, she put in an incredible performance in the four-lap race final to win the event in a nail-biting finish which had the spectators on their feet.
After crossing the finishing line, Beth immediately went to join her team-mates in the 4×2 relay and again won the gold medal.
Her coach Sharon Morris, who works for British Athletics, said: “It was an incredible all-round performance by Beth yet again.
“Her four-lap race was one of the highlights for me as she was trailing in third place going into the final lap but I had no doubt she would win, it was just a matter of time until her strength, determination and belief kicked in.
“She trained hard for her events and earned the right to be crowned UK champion.”
The young athletes who competed in Manchester at the flagship athletics development of the year are the most successful youngsters from across the UK. Past competitors include Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Kelly Sotherton and Mark Lewis-Francis.
The success did not end there for Beth as the following day she competed at the Birchfield Open in which she won her 200m race with a PB of 27.75.
In the javelin event she won the silver medal with a throw of 27.42m.
Two months ago Beth was the youngest of the 53 competitors on her debut at the England Athletics Indoor Combined Events Championships when she starred in the under 15 girls’ pentathlon in Sheffield.
Representing her club Birchfield Harriers, the 13-year-old took the occasion in her stride to come away from the Steel City ranked tenth in the UK in the pentathlon as she clinched a Midland Counties bronze medal in the process.